CM10 the last of the Cameron Millar built recreations
Driven by Sir Stirling Moss at the Australian Grand Prix
Of all the cars the great Sir Stirling Moss drove throughout his illustrious career, there was one which he said “fiKed him like a glove”. With its long bonnet, eye-catching red paintwork, shapely tail and low snout, the 250F is surely one of the most beautiful Formula 1 cars ever built.
Designed to comply with the new 1954 Grand Prix regulations whereby engine size was reduced to a much lower 2,5 litres for naturally aspirated engines, the 250F used a straight-6 layout with independent front suspension and De Dion rear. The car’s performance in the first two races of its career was better than anybody at Maserati could’ve dreamed of, with legendary driver Juan Manuel Fangio winning both races, before joining Mercedes for the remainder of the season.
With Maserati not being in a position to fund their own team, most 250Fs were sold to privateer teams, which just couldn’t compete against the might of Ferrari, and especially Mercedes. For the 1957 season however, the 250F was revamped with a lighter tubular chassis and increased power output, allowing Fangio, now back in the seat of a 250F, to win his 5th Formula 1 championship. Perhaps one of the most famous F1 drives ever was recorded by the Argentinian that year at the Nürburgring, recovering from a 1-minute gap back up to 1st place and going on to win the race a]er breaking the lap record 10 5mes in 22 laps. The 250F was widely retired by privateers by the end of 1959 as the single seater world moved on progressively towards sleeker and faster solutions. But the story of the 250F did not end there.
Squadron Leader Cameron Millar, an avid fan of the car himself as well as a highly commended engineer bought his first Maserati 250F in 1964 which would start a lifelong affair with the model. Millar would go on to build a handful of 250F replicas using in large part original Maserati parts he had acquired from Scuderia Centro Sud, Maserati’s official factory-backed race team, and using the original chassis jigs he managed to obtain from Maserati. Millar reworked two Scuderia Centro Sud chassis but built 10 himself over a period of 30 years, numbered CM1 through to CM10. These cars were so close to the original that the FIA awarded them eligibility to race alongside period racing cars in historic racing events. As you guessed,
CM10 was the last car built by Cameron Millar, completed in the 1990s.
CM10 the last of the Cameron Millar built recreations
Driven by Sir Stirling Moss at the Australian Grand Prix
Of all the cars the great Sir Stirling Moss drove throughout his illustrious career, there was one which he said “fiKed him like a glove”. With its long bonnet, eye-catching red paintwork, shapely tail and low snout, the 250F is surely one of the most beautiful Formula 1 cars ever built.
Designed to comply with the new 1954 Grand Prix regulations whereby engine size was reduced to a much lower 2,5 litres for naturally aspirated engines, the 250F used a straight-6 layout with independent front suspension and De Dion rear. The car’s performance in the first two races of its career was better than anybody at Maserati could’ve dreamed of, with legendary driver Juan Manuel Fangio winning both races, before joining Mercedes for the remainder of the season.
With Maserati not being in a position to fund their own team, most 250Fs were sold to privateer teams, which just couldn’t compete against the might of Ferrari, and especially Mercedes. For the 1957 season however, the 250F was revamped with a lighter tubular chassis and increased power output, allowing Fangio, now back in the seat of a 250F, to win his 5th Formula 1 championship. Perhaps one of the most famous F1 drives ever was recorded by the Argentinian that year at the Nürburgring, recovering from a 1-minute gap back up to 1st place and going on to win the race a]er breaking the lap record 10 5mes in 22 laps. The 250F was widely retired by privateers by the end of 1959 as the single seater world moved on progressively towards sleeker and faster solutions. But the story of the 250F did not end there.
Squadron Leader Cameron Millar, an avid fan of the car himself as well as a highly commended engineer bought his first Maserati 250F in 1964 which would start a lifelong affair with the model. Millar would go on to build a handful of 250F replicas using in large part original Maserati parts he had acquired from Scuderia Centro Sud, Maserati’s official factory-backed race team, and using the original chassis jigs he managed to obtain from Maserati. Millar reworked two Scuderia Centro Sud chassis but built 10 himself over a period of 30 years, numbered CM1 through to CM10. These cars were so close to the original that the FIA awarded them eligibility to race alongside period racing cars in historic racing events. As you guessed,
CM10 was the last car built by Cameron Millar, completed in the 1990s.
