Description
Introduced in 1962, the Sebring was one of the final manifestations of the landmark 3500GT, which had been the linchpin of Maserati's program to establish itself as a road car manufacturer. Despite numerous successes on the track, including Juan Manuel Fangio's fifth world championship – at the wheel of a 250F – and a second place in the World Sports Car Championship with the fantastic 450S – both in 1957, the brand's most successful season – Maserati was by then for a bleak future. The parent company's financial problems forced a withdrawal from racing and Maserati's survival strategy for the 1960s focused on switching production from competition to road models.
The new era of the Modena brand began in 1957 with the launch of the Touring-body 3500GT, the first road car to be built in significant numbers. A luxury 2+2, the 3500GT drew heavily on Maserati's competition experience, using a tubular chassis frame and an engine derived from the 350S sports car unit of 1956. Suspension was independent at the front by wishbones and coil springs, while at the rear there was a conventional live axis/semi-elliptical arrangement. The designer of the 3500GT was none other than Giulio Alfieri, creator of the immortal Tipo 60/61 'Birdcage' sports racer and the man responsible for developing the 250F into a World Cup winner. The twin overhead camshaft six-cylinder engine was a close relative of that in the 250F and initially developed around 220 hp, later examples produced 235 hp on Lucas mechanical fuel injection. Built initially with drum brakes and four-speed transmission, the 3500GT was gradually updated, with five speeds, front disc brakes and, finally, disc braking.
A car with such impeccable pedigrees not unnaturally attracted the attention of Italy's top carrozzeria: Allemano, Bertone and Frua all created bodies for the 3500GT chassis. Most of the coupes were the work of Touring, while all but one (a Frua-bodied example) of the much less common spyder version were the work of Carrozzeria Vignale. Introduced in 3500, Vignale's Maserati 1959GT Spyder was the creation of Giovanni Michelotti, the company's star designer at the time. Built on a slightly shorter wheelbase – 250cm instead of 260cm – than the coupe and constructed from steel panels rather than the aluminum of the closed car, the spyder lasted in production until 1964, by which time only 245 cars had been made .
Built on the spyder's short-wheelbase chassis and also styled by Vignale, the Sebring 2+2 coupe arrived in 1962. By now a five-speed gearbox, four-wheel disc brakes and fuel injection were standard equipment, with automatic transmission, air conditioning and a limited-slip differential as options. A 3,7-litre 245bhp engine became available as the original evolved into the Series II (introduced in 1965), while some cars left the factory with 4,0-litre units towards the end of production in 1966, by at that time, 591 Sebrings had been built.
A manual transmission model, this matching numbers Sebring was delivered new to an unknown Italian owner in 1966. The car was located in Parma between 1968 and 1984 and in Milan from '84 to 2000. From 2000 to 2014 it was owned by Dr. Noel Martine in Belgium and since then it has been owned by a Maserati collector in the Netherlands. The engine and fuel injection system were rebuilt in 1997, since then the car has covered only 12.000 kilometers, while more recently (in 2014) it received new tires and new brakes. Air conditioning was installed in 2015 and a service carried out. Finished in maroon with black leather interior, this beautiful and rare Maserati coupe is presented in generally very good condition and offered with Dutch registration papers and technical inspection certificates.
