Book review: Inside OSCA

OSCA – the acronym stands for Officine Specializzate Construzione Automobili – was founded in 1947 by the three Maserati brothers after they were cashiered from the eponymous automaker they’d founded before World War II. Until now, there’s never been an authoritative, dedicated history of the exquisitely tiny performance cars that Ernesto, Ettore and Bindo designed and built for 20 years at their new firm. Now published in English for the first time, Inside OSCA is an anecdotal romp through the company’s history and its always-fascinating creations.

For the uninitiated, OSCA was created to build cars suitable for the 1,100cc racing categories that became popular in Italy after the war. That engineering and design history is thoroughly told here, in a narrative penned by the respected Italian motoring journalist Carlo Cavicchi, who made ample use of personal recollections by longtime OSCA employees such as Mauro Fantuzzi, who recounts the design and fabrication work that went into the OSCA automobiles.

Moss, Fangio and the like

OSCA workers Martino Avoni and Luciano Rizzoli take the following step, putting the reader in touch with the racing drivers who built the cars’ competitive reputations, a gallery of greats that included Fangio, de Portago, Scarfiotti and Ricardo Rodriguez. An added plus is the memories provided by Stirling Moss, who owned and successfully competed in an OSCA.

Photography

We would be remiss if we didn’t offer recognition to the book’s other author, the Bologna-based photo chronicler Walter Breveglieri, who contributed scores of images documenting OSCA development and racing history. Also, from the reader’s standpoint, Inside OSCA is a very friendly book, with both the photos and text designed in a large, easily readable format.

Witness reports

We are impressed by the thoroughness of the research that went into the production of this story, particularly the invaluable contributions of the witnesses who saw OSCA grow and succeed. It’s brightly told, a break from the endless roll of statistics that sometimes dominate histories such as these.

From every standpoint, narrative and visual, Inside OSCA is a truly superior look at these small speedsters, the sort they’ve deserved for a long time. This is an excellent, highly readable history of a sometimes-obscure marque.

Evropublishing.com

Authors: Carlo Cavicchi, Walter Breveglieri

ISBN: 978-1-910505-91-5

Publisher: Evro Publishing

Pages: 272 Price: $120.00