And then there was one
RM Sotheby’s, Amelia Island, USA 10 March
who could possibly know how many important cars were lost back in the days when no one seemed to care? The fact that this Maserati was very nearly among them suggests that the number of similar rarities consigned to the scrapyard must have been too large to contemplate.
At first glance, it’s easy to imagine you’ve seen a car like this before. But it’s highly unlikely, because it’s thought to be the sole survivor of just two Maserati 3500GT Speciales bodied by Pietro Frua, the Italian coachbuilder most readily linked with the Trident marque as designer of the Quattroporte and Mistral.
The car was originally delivered to Lugano Maserati dealer Martinelli and Sonvico before being sold to its first owner almost 200 miles away in Bern, the Swiss capital. There it likely served as a prestigious ‘gentleman’s express’ before somehow ending up in Chicago during the following 15 years – minus both its engine and its delicately-curved rear window.
The saviour of the car was probably Concorso Italiano founder Frank Mandarano who owned it through most of the 1980s, but it was Maserati collector John Bookout who properly researched the Speciale’s history after acquiring it in 1996. Having established its significance, he embarked on a full rebuild that was completed a decade or so ago by the next owner, the marque enthusiast and restorer Keith Duly.
Returning the car to its former glory involved fitting a period-correct, fully rebuilt 3500GT engine and ensuring that every one of the small signatures that mark it out as a Frua creation were present and correct. Note, for example, the special headlamp bezels, the beautifully slim bumpers and the tiny Trident badges positioned discreetly above the rear quarterlights.
Superbly applied Azzurro Metallizato paintwork, complemented by rich upholstery in tan leather and carpeting in grey, completed a car of a standard sufficiently high to win concours awards for the present owner at both Amelia Island and Greenwich.
The fate of its only sibling is unknown, but it’s assumed to have turned to dust long ago. Unless, of course, any reader knows better. Please tell us if you do. rmsothebys.com