O.S.C.A. was founded in 1947 by Ernesto Maserati and his two brothers Ettore, and Bindo who had all left Maserati after their ten-year contract with Adolfo Orsi terminated. Ten years earlier, in 1937, the remaining Maserati brothers had sold their shares in the company to the Orsi family, who, in 1940, had relocated the company headquarters to their hometown of Modena, where it remains to this day. The O.S.C.A. factory was located in San Lazzaro di Savena outside Bologna, where Maserati were originally made 1926 to 1940. Their basic business goal was to develop an automobile to compete in the 1,100 cc racing class. O.S.C.A.'s first automobile was the MT4, for Maserati Tipo 4 cilindri. The 1,092 cc engine, which produced in 1949. In 1950, a new DOHC raised power to a maximum of at 6,300 rpm, and in 1953 the engine was enlarged to 1,453 cc, producing at 6,200 rpm. The all new tipo 372 DS twin spark engine with 1,491 cc, which produced at 6,300 rpm, was later used in the O.S.C.A. MT4 TN of 1955. With this new engine, the car received the new name FS 372, of which five were built. One of these belongs to Sir Stirling Moss, who raced it in historic races across the globe until his retirement in 2011. Versions of this engine went on to be used in coupé and convertible models of regular Fiats from 1959 to 1966. These automobiles were mainly barchettas, but a few were built with more luxurious berlinetta bodies by Pietro Frua, Michelotti, and Vignale. A Vignale bodied MT4 was run in the 1,500 cc class at the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 1954 12 Hours of Sebring was won by drivers Stirling Moss and Bill Lloyd in an O.S.C.A. MT4 as part of the Briggs Cunningham Team. From 1951 to 1962, automobiles or engines made by O.S.C.A. also were entered in some Formula One and Formula Two events although they mainly built small sports cars of which some were designed by Pietro Frua. In the World Sportscar Championship OSCA ranked 10th, 4th, 6th, 5th and 4th. The 750 cc type S 187 was introduced in 1956. Weighing, this car had a top speed of. The name "187" refers to the displacement in cubic centimetres of each cylinder of the engine. In 1959 Jim Eichenlaub won the American H-Mod Title with this OSCA S 187. Operating on a shoestring budget, Eichenlaub often slept in his tow car because there was no money for a motel. However he won his first race at Pensacola in April 1959. The Formula Junior used a Fiat engine of 1089 cc, and saw wins by Colin Davis and Berardo Taraschi in 1959. In 1963 the brothers sold the company to Count Domenico Agusta, owner of MV Agusta, They did design work for Agusta until 1966. One of their final designs was a desmodromicfour-cylinder engine. O.S.C.A. ended operations in 1967.
OSCA Fiats
The 1500S Coupé and Convertible were available with OSCA's twin cam 1491 cc engine as the 1200 were produced with a Fiat engine. These 1500S models went on sale in November 1959, with Pininfarina bodywork. The engine was uprated to 1568 cc and in the summer of 1962 thanks to a 2 mm bore increase, and the shell underwent a facelift as the Fiat 1300/1500 replaced the original 1200 in 1963. This continued in production until replaced by the Fiat 124 coupé/spider, with Fiat's own twin cam engine, in late 1966. OSCA also offered their own cars powered by this engine, such as the Fissore-bodied 1600 GT2.
