£195,000 - £235,000
Sotheby’s - LONDON 7 SEPTEMBER 2016
- A factory prototype; the second Mistral coupé built
- Originally delivered to racing driver Mario Mazzacurati
- Presented in its original colour combination
- An iconic 1960s GT and true piece of Maserati history
235 bhp, 3,485 cc DOHC inline six-cylinder engine with triple Weber 42DCOE 8 carburettors, five-speed manual transmission, independent front suspension with coil springs, rigid rear axle with semi-elliptical leaf springs, and four-wheel disc brakes. Wheelbase: 2,400 mm
Maserati historian Adolfo Orsi has confirmed from factory records that this car was one of the factory prototypes built in 1963 with chassis number AM109 004, and that it was the second Mistral coupé built. Once the car had fulfilled its purpose at the factory, it was sold to Mario Mazzacurati, a retired Italian racing driver living in Johannesburg. To avoid South African import duties, the factory re-stamped the car to chassis number AM101 960, relating to a 3500 GT which had been exported to the United States. Mazzacurati later informed Maserati that he had shown the “ex-109004” at the Cape Town Motor Show in 1964.
Shortly thereafter, the car was sold to the son of South Africa’s finance minister and lived a sheltered life in the warm, dry climate of South Africa before returning to Europe in the 2000s. Once back in Europe, it formed part of a small private collection in the United Kingdom. In 2006 and 2007, the car benefitted from extensive re-commissioning at the highly respected TDH Classics Ltd. in West Maldon, and by 2010, the car was ready to be displayed at Goodwood Revival in the Grand Touring Greats display in its original and highly attractive colour combination.
As one of the very earliest examples of one of their most charismatic models, this Mistral represents an important part of Maserati history.