By Carlo Cavicchi
2024 review by James Loveridge
Despite what its title may suggest, Inside OSCA: The Bolognese Miracle That Amazed The World by Carlo Cavicchi is not a history of Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili but it is a very interesting “insider” story of that amazing little company and its cars.
The book assumes the reader is familiar with the story of the Maserati brothers, their successes in Grand Prix and sportscar racing in the 1920s and 1930s and their sale to the Orsi family in 1937. Once released from the inevitable non-competition restriction in 1947 they formed OSCA and this book is a fascinating combination of recollections by three key employees of the company during its 20-year life combined with some outstanding photographs by Walter Breveglieri who not only raced OSCAs but was almost an intimate of the company.
Whilst the 225 photographs are not related specifically to the stories told by Mauro Fantuzzi, Martino Avoni and Luciano Rizzoli, they do complement them. As was probably to be expected the Maserati brothers got it right from the start: they designed, and their 40 or so employees built, cars that were fast and reliable straight away and continued to do so until the business was sold to the Agusta company in 1963 who, it seems from the tenor of this book, managed to screw things up.
The focus of the business was cars of up to 1500 cc for sportscar and later Formula Two competition though larger size engines were built for use in Formula One cars such as Cooper and Maserati, without much success. Several very attractive road cars were offered, presumably to make much-needed money.
The majority of OSCA’s many successes were in Italy which, despite sort of losing the war, was able to hold in the 1940s, 50s and 60s a considerable number of motor races and hill climbs which clearly offered sufficient winnings to justify the expense of entering, However, these little cars found success in other countries such as appearances at Le Mans and, probably most notably, Stirling Moss’s win in 1954 at Sebring co-driving with Bill Lloyd, a co-driver he had never even met before the event, and beating much more powerful cars. Stirling’s thoughts about this event are included.
Another top-class driver who talked about her experience with OSCAS is Maria Teresa de Filippis. She was very much the upper-class lady and the mechanics had to know their place, whereas the other woman driver mentioned is Adda Pace who wasn’t above giving you a clip round the ear if she was displeased with your work!
Many personalities are mentioned by the three employees but most of them are Italian, the most praised being Giulio Cabianca who won more events for OSCA than anyone else. There is no index to help but several top-class drivers are also talked about; it seems the OSCA works was a popular place for visitors so Fangio, Scarfiotti, Chinetti, Nuvolari and the Rodriguez brothers are talked about as well as some others such as Alfonso de Portago and “The Dishonest De Tomaso” as Rizzoli describes him!
It is probably these inside stories and thumbnail sketches of drivers and customers with their idiosyncrasies, such as Roberto Sgarbati who beat his carburettor to death rather than acknowledge that the petrol hadn’t been switched on, which are the true pleasures of this book, shedding so much light, as they do, on those early days. It makes a great read and is highly recommended.
This book was originally published in Italian and it has to be said the translation appears to be excellent. This hardback book is beautifully produced, using glossy paper throughout, and was printed In India. The publisher is Evro Publishing, Westrow House, Holwell, Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 5LF with ISBN Number 978-1-910505-91-5. It is priced at £95.00 but it has to be said that its somewhat limited appeal does not seem to justify such a price. Various bookdealers have it with prices down to £52 – search around!
Publisher: Evro Publishing (evropublishing.com)
Price: £95 direct from the publishers. Cheaper elsewhere.
Description: 280mm x 240mm, 272 pages, hardback in dust jacket. 225 black & white photos.
ISBN: 978-1-910505-91-5
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