Lot 163: Maserati 3500 GTI Sebring Coupe

The 3500GT can lay claim to being the first true production Maserati, and indeed it marked a turning point in the company's history; previous models had been little more than revamped racers and appeared only in limited numbers. The 3500GT came about with Maserati's realisation that it needed a model to compete with those from Aston Martin and Ferrari and at the 1957 Geneva Show the company displayed the car in prototype form. Beneath two door aluminium coupé coachwork by Allemano, the Maserati featured a tubular frame chassis. Suspension comprised independent coil springs and wishbones at the front and a leaf sprung rear axle while brakes were alloy-finned drums all round. Production models, however, were styled by Touring of Milan using its Superleggera method of construction whereby panels were attached to a steel frame. Power came from a 3,485cc twin overhead camshaft, straight six engine developed from the 350S race car that Stirling Moss drove in the 1956 Mille Miglia; via triple Weber carburettors and twin spark plugs it produced 230bhp at 5,500 rpm which, allied to an all-synchromesh five speed ZF gearbox, allowed a 144mph top speed and 0-60mph in around eight seconds. Engine flexibility and smoothness were enhanced late in 1959  when the a Vignale bodied Spyder was also introduced  with the adoption of crankshaft counterweights, while early in 1960 front servo-assisted disc brakes became standard as did, the following year, a five speed gearbox, and rear discs in 1962; later that year, power rose by 5bhp when Lucas fuel injection replaced the carburettors, the model being renamed the 3500GTI  it made Maserati the first Italian manufacturer to offer such an induction system and the first worldwide to use the GTI suffix. In 1963 the car was fully revised with elegant new Vignale coachwork, a shorter wheelbase, twin headlights and optional Borrani wire wheels; it was also renamed the Sebring. The final model, the Sebring Series II, appeared in 1965; it featured various minor improvements, most notably an updated interior that included air-conditioning as standard, revised head and side lights, and a less obtrusive bonnet air scoop. Having had just three owners from new, this fine Sebring coupe benefits from optional wire wheels and is offered in good original condition. Finished in red with black hide seats with red piping and complementary red carpets, it comes with all EU taxes paid. Appartenuta a solo tre proprietari, questa bella Sebring coupè è dotata delle opzionali ruote a raggi e viene offerta in buone condizioni. Rifinita in rosso con sedili neri bordati di rosso e tappetini in coordinato rossi, viene offerta con tasse di importazione pagate.