Completing a lap at 272.0 km/h (169 mph) and maintaining a lead over cars fielded by rival Ferrari of over 4 minutes at the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Winning the 1000 km Nürburgring in both 1960 and 1961 with the Camoradi team.
In 1958, the Orsi family assigned technical director Giulio Alfieri to devise technical solutions to make Maserati race cars more competitive on the track. Alfieri and his team came up with an innovative idea of using 200 small steel tubes having a diameter between 10 and 15 mm welded together in very short lengths in a complex mesh to form a cage-like structure.
The first car was completed in May 1959 and was given to Stirling Moss for testing. Initial tests revealed cracks in the chassis, which the development team resolved by changing the grade of the steel used to construct the chassis. On 12 July 1959, the Tipo 60 won in its debut race, driven by Moss.
The Tipo 60/61's impressive performance caught the attention of "Lucky" Casner. After testing a prototype of the car at the Modena Autodrome, a prototype of a Tipo 60 was converted to a Tipo 61 and delivered to him fielded by Maserati.
The Tipo 61 showed promising results at the 1960 Targa Florio driven by Umberto Maglioli but retired due to an engine failure. The Casner Motor Racing Division fielded three Tipo 61's in the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Tipo 61 was the most well-known model, but Giulio Alfieri designed 5 different models, all based on an intricate multi-tubular frame concept. The Tipo 60 featured a small 2-litre 4-cylinder engine rated at 200 hp (149 kW), located in the front and tilted over at a 45° angle for a lower center of gravity.
The Tipo 61 featured a 2.9-liter 4-cylinder engine rated at 250 hp (186 kW), located in the front at a 45° angle for a weight of 600 kg (1,323 lb) pushing the car at a speed of 285 km/h (177 mph).
The Tipo 61 never won Le Mans due to reliability issues; however, its performance and design made it a significant competitive advantage for a racing car.
The mid-engined Birdcage cars began with the Tipo 63, which used a similar multi-tubular chassis construction as the Tipo 60/61. The Tipo 63 through 65 cars have been described as a "historian's nightmare" due to various engines and chassis configurations.
The road-legal version of the 2004 Maserati MC 12 was available in a white color with blue stripes livery as a tribute to the Tipo 61 and the Camoradi racing team. The Maserati Birdcage 75th is a concept car to honor both the Birdcage and the 75th anniversary of Pininfarina, featuring a 700 bhp (522 kW) V12 engine.