Better times
On the one hand, 1957 had been a disaster for Maserati: in the last race in Caracas for the World Sports Car Championship, the Modenese team had lost almost all of its racing material in a single blow. On the other hand, the 3500 GT had been launched in the same year. This was the brand’s first truly successful road car, with almost 2000 units sold by 1964 (road test: here). But it had to go on, Aston Martin had a strong competitor on the road with the DB4, so Maserati had to react – and so the Italians presented the 3500 GTI S in 1962, more as an addition than as a successor. This was based on the chassis of the 3500 GT Spyder, so it had a wheelbase that was 10 centimetres shorter than the 3500 GT Coupé. The familiar 3.5-litre inline six-cylinder engine was used to power it, and it came exclusively with fuel injection, so with 235 hp. What also remained with the 3500 GTI S was the not particularly suitable rear rigid axle. The body was made by Vignale, and the fairly conservative design is attributed to Alfredo Vignale, although other sources claim it was Giovanni Michelotti.
It was only in 1964 that the coupé was given the name Sebring, in memory of Fangio/Behra’s magnificent victory in the 1957 12-hour race in a Maserati 450S. At the same time, as an alternative to the 3.5-litre, a more powerful 3.7-litre engine with 245 hp. In 1965, the second series of the Sebring was introduced, with new headlights, new rear lights, a new dashboard, and optional automatic transmission and air conditioning. A year later, the Maserati received the 4-litre engine with 255 hp. Nevertheless, only 243 of the second series, which was built until 1970, could be sold; the first series had reached 348 units in just three years. Above and below, we show an early example, AM101/01549, which had long belonged to the famous Buick engineer Joe Turlay. Incidentally, the colour has the beautiful name Amaranto Roma.
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VIN: AM101/01861
Auktion: Bonhams, Paris 2025, estimate 100’000 to 140’000 Euro, with these informations: «A five-speed, manual transmission model, chassis number ‘01861’ was delivered new to Barcelona, Spain, with an Amaranto Roma, elegant colour it retains today. This example was converted to utilise the more-reliable Weber carburettors induction instead of the original Lucas fuel injection, a common in period modification. The current owner acquired it in 1996 from a previous owner in Zaragoza. This Sebring, which appears to have never left Spain until now, underwent a restoration in 2021.»
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VIN: AM101/10/015
Engine: AM101/10/015
Auktion: Bonhams, Monaco 2024, sold for 115’000 Euro, with these informations: «According to the build sheet supplied by the Maserati factory, this beautiful and very early Series II Sebring (body number ‘4’) left the works in Modena on 19th November 1964 and was delivered to its first owner, S.A.I.E. of Piazza Adriano, 11 in Turin. The colour specified was giallo (yellow) with a black leather interior, and the car came complete with a fifth (spare) wheel and a tool kit, as per the original order form. It is believed that this is the only Sebring which has left the factory in yellow, a striking yet elegant colour for this car. Since 2017 the Maserati has formed part of the collection belonging to the Austrian owner, who commissioned the well respected Austrian coachbuilder Bernhard Fleischhacker to undertake a comprehensive rebuild. Approximately 2,500 hours were spent on the restoration, during which the car was stripped back to bare metal, removing the non-original red paint. The body was then repaired where necessary and repainted in the original colour of giallo by the experienced craftsmen at Sergio Guerra’s works in Lugo near Ravenna, Italy. The interior likewise was renewed with a strict emphasis on originality: the seats were stripped, freshly re-stuffed, and then re-trimmed using the original leather. In addition, the dashboard was removed and restored. On the mechanical side: the engine was dismantled and rebuilt with new pistons, bearings, etc..»
Of course, we will find more examples to highlight the differences. We have more Maseratis in our archives.
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