Design
and Development of the 53barchetta
The design and development of the 53barchetta has been a collaborative effort between Dave Frow and Grahame Berry over the past three years.
Dave Frow is a graduate Mechanical Engineer, who has been building and racing boats and cars since 1963. With extensive engineering and executive experience in the engineering industry, he has provided the strategic direction, design concepts and engineering input to the team.
Grahame Berry has a vast experience in designing and building custom vehicles for the New Zealand and international markets. Grahame Berry Race Cars are fully qualified to undertake such work with skilled and experienced staff, a well-equipped factory and good sub-contractors. Over the past 30 years they have built approximately 300 cars, including 180 Cobra replicas of which 30 were for export to the USA, Hong Kong, Canada, Switzerland and the Philippines. The company has been in continuous operation since 1976 and has traded steadily and profitably throughout that time. Grahame has provided the car building expertise and detailed engineering solutions to the team.
Scope of Effort
The scope of this project was to carry out the detailed work required to develop a 'production ready' prototype of the Maserati A6GCS replica. This included the following:
- Develop design concepts
- Develop prototype drawings.
- Design and build prototype.
- Develop low volume production jigs and components.
- Provide production costings.
- Test and certify prototype.
Bodies are manufactured in fiberglass alloy lined to preserve the appearance of the original or in hand beaten alloy.
Key design goals were to produce a car that:
- Looks and is dimensionally the same as the original 1953 Maserati A6GCS, also known as the Maserati Barchetta.
- similar power output to the original i.e. 160+ BHP.
- Uses a tubular steel chassis design very similar to the original, upgraded to provide greater torsional stiffness and safety performance.
- Uses the original front mounted, in-line engine and rear drive configuration.
- Retains the handling feel of the original car with its live rear axle, however upgrades the design to incorporate features from the later Maserati 200S.
- Uses modern engine, transmission, braking and electrical components, for their better performance and reliability. This includes the ability to meet stringent emission requirements.
- Has no frills, such as heaters, radios, roofs, etc, which the original cars didn’t have.
- Can be produced with either a more economical and durable fibreglass body, or with ‘true to original’ hand beaten aluminium bodywork.
- Incorporates detail features as per the original cars e.g. bonnet catches, Perspex wind deflectors, etc.
To achieve these goals the following solutions were developed:
- The body mold was taken off one of the few remaining original cars, then rectified to straighten out irregularities from the original hand built manufacturing and from a lifetime of racing. The resultant bodies are true to the original form and dimensions, but have left to right symmetry, which was not always present in the original hand beaten bodies.
- The latest generation of Alfa Romeo JTS 2 litre, fuel injected engines was selected for its Italian performance heritage, proven power and performance (121 kW/162BHP). See independent reviews of this engine [review 1, review 2]. As the car weighs approximately half what the Alfa 156 does, this gives very lively performance. The engine-gearbox set-up was converted from its modern East-West front drive configuration, to a North-South front engine, rear drive configuration as per the original cars, driving through a five or six speed manual gearbox. The rear axle has been upgraded from the original live axle to the De Dion arrangement used in the A6GCs’s successor, the Maserati 200S. This provides lower unsprung weight, important in a very light performance car such as this, to give superior handling performance, yet retaining the driver involving feel of the live axle.
- The chassis design starts as a close replica of the original large bore steel tubular ladder frame. This was then strengthened through the creation of lateral triangulated frames along each side of the car to provide both increased torsional rigidity and good side intrusion protection. Chassis are all MIG welded to a very high standard. The result is a chassis that looks, on cursory inspection, to be as per original, but delivers modern car standards of stiffness.
- Modern disc brakes are used all round (with ventilated front rotors) and steering is by way of a smooth rack and pinion. All electrical gear is of modern design to achieve high levels of reliability.
- The overall manufacture and finish is maintained to a very high standard, undoubtedly far higher than the original cars.
- Finishing details, fittings, instruments, seat trimming, and body colour can all be built to the purchaser’s own specifications.
This car has been developed by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts.
The design and development of the 53barchetta has been a collaborative effort between Dave Frow and Grahame Berry over the past three years.
Dave Frow is a graduate Mechanical Engineer, who has been building and racing boats and cars since 1963. With extensive engineering and executive experience in the engineering industry, he has provided the strategic direction, design concepts and engineering input to the team.
Grahame Berry has a vast experience in designing and building custom vehicles for the New Zealand and international markets. Grahame Berry Race Cars are fully qualified to undertake such work with skilled and experienced staff, a well-equipped factory and good sub-contractors. Over the past 30 years they have built approximately 300 cars, including 180 Cobra replicas of which 30 were for export to the USA, Hong Kong, Canada, Switzerland and the Philippines. The company has been in continuous operation since 1976 and has traded steadily and profitably throughout that time. Grahame has provided the car building expertise and detailed engineering solutions to the team.
Scope of Effort
The scope of this project was to carry out the detailed work required to develop a 'production ready' prototype of the Maserati A6GCS replica. This included the following:
- Develop design concepts
- Develop prototype drawings.
- Design and build prototype.
- Develop low volume production jigs and components.
- Provide production costings.
- Test and certify prototype.
Bodies are manufactured in fiberglass alloy lined to preserve the appearance of the original or in hand beaten alloy.
Key design goals were to produce a car that:
- Looks and is dimensionally the same as the original 1953 Maserati A6GCS, also known as the Maserati Barchetta.
- similar power output to the original i.e. 160+ BHP.
- Uses a tubular steel chassis design very similar to the original, upgraded to provide greater torsional stiffness and safety performance.
- Uses the original front mounted, in-line engine and rear drive configuration.
- Retains the handling feel of the original car with its live rear axle, however upgrades the design to incorporate features from the later Maserati 200S.
- Uses modern engine, transmission, braking and electrical components, for their better performance and reliability. This includes the ability to meet stringent emission requirements.
- Has no frills, such as heaters, radios, roofs, etc, which the original cars didn’t have.
- Can be produced with either a more economical and durable fibreglass body, or with ‘true to original’ hand beaten aluminium bodywork.
- Incorporates detail features as per the original cars e.g. bonnet catches, Perspex wind deflectors, etc.
To achieve these goals the following solutions were developed:
- The body mold was taken off one of the few remaining original cars, then rectified to straighten out irregularities from the original hand built manufacturing and from a lifetime of racing. The resultant bodies are true to the original form and dimensions, but have left to right symmetry, which was not always present in the original hand beaten bodies.
- The latest generation of Alfa Romeo JTS 2 litre, fuel injected engines was selected for its Italian performance heritage, proven power and performance (121 kW/162BHP). See independent reviews of this engine [review 1, review 2]. As the car weighs approximately half what the Alfa 156 does, this gives very lively performance. The engine-gearbox set-up was converted from its modern East-West front drive configuration, to a North-South front engine, rear drive configuration as per the original cars, driving through a five or six speed manual gearbox. The rear axle has been upgraded from the original live axle to the De Dion arrangement used in the A6GCs’s successor, the Maserati 200S. This provides lower unsprung weight, important in a very light performance car such as this, to give superior handling performance, yet retaining the driver involving feel of the live axle.
- The chassis design starts as a close replica of the original large bore steel tubular ladder frame. This was then strengthened through the creation of lateral triangulated frames along each side of the car to provide both increased torsional rigidity and good side intrusion protection. Chassis are all MIG welded to a very high standard. The result is a chassis that looks, on cursory inspection, to be as per original, but delivers modern car standards of stiffness.
- Modern disc brakes are used all round (with ventilated front rotors) and steering is by way of a smooth rack and pinion. All electrical gear is of modern design to achieve high levels of reliability.
- The overall manufacture and finish is maintained to a very high standard, undoubtedly far higher than the original cars.
- Finishing details, fittings, instruments, seat trimming, and body colour can all be built to the purchaser’s own specifications.
This car has been developed by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts.
- specifications
- completed cars
- construction
---- construction images
---- engine review 1
---- engine review 2
- the story so far
- purchasing
THE
STUNNING 53BARCHETTA HAS BEEN CREATED TO CAPTURE THE PASSION INVOKED BY
THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC MASERATI A6GCS/53.