Lot 160: Maserati Mistral Coupe

The name of Maserati is one of the oldest and most respected in Italian motoring history. Established in 1926 by racing driver Alfieri Maserati and his brothers, it began as a racing marque and developed into a sporting one. The production of road cars started in 1958 with the glamorous 3500GT, a Touring bodied coupe powered by a detuned version of Maserati's famed 350S competition engine of 1956. Representing the height of Grand Touring automobiles, the 3500 series proved to be a great success until it was superseded in 1963 by the Mistral, named after the wind which blows over the French Mediterranean coast. The new Mistral continued to use the race-proven twin-camshaft six cylinder engine, this time in 3.7 litre and later optional 4.0 litre guise, the latter representing the ultimate development of the engine. The Mistral was the last Maserati to use the straight six layout, all following models adopting V8 or V6 configurations. Coachwork was designed by Frua and built in steel, with the exception of doors, bonnet and boot lid, which were in aluminium. Two body styles were offered, a coupe and a spyder, and both were particularly attractive because of their unique styling. The Mistral enjoyed a long production life from 1963 until 1970, a total of 948 cars being built during this period and of which a mere 120 were spyders. Chassis AM109A11076 was manufactured in 1967 and was registered in Great Britain in October 1987. Two years later the car was acquired for a prestigious private collection, and since then it has been stored in a heated environment with full time staff employed to maintain it and the other cars in the collection. The car is therefore in remarkably good condition, and represents an excellent opportunity to own a piece of classic Maserati history. Il telaio AM109A11076 fu costruito nel 1967 e registrato in Gran Bretagna nell'ottobre dell'87. Due anni dopo l'auto fu acquisita da una prestigiosa collezione privata e fino ad allora � stata conservata in un ambiente riscaldato con uno staff a tempo pieno. L'auto si � mantenuta in ottime condizioni e rappresenta un'occasione eccellente di possedere un pezzo di storia Maserati.