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1956 Maserati A6G-54 news, pictures, and information

Coupe
Designer: Zagato
 
The Maserati brothers, Alferi Maserati, Bindo Maserati, Carlo Maserati, Ettore Maserati, Enesto Maserati and Mario Maserati, loved automobiles. Alfieri, Bindo and Ernesto built 2-liter Grand Prix cars for Diatto. In 1926, Diatto suspended the prodution of race cars, leading to the creation of Maserati. One of the first Maseratis, driven by Alfieri, own the 1926 Targa Florio. Maserati began making race cars with 4, 6, 8 and 16 cylinders (actually two straight eights mounted parallel to one another). Mario, an artist, is believed to have devised the company's trident emblem, from the Fontana del Nettuna, Bologna.

In 1937 the Maserati brothers sold their company to the Adolfo Orsi family. In 1968, it was purchased by Citroen. In 1975 Alessandro de Tomaso, a former racing driver from Argentina, had arranged for the Benelli motorcycle company, which he controlled, to buy Maserati from Citroen and install him as its head. 1993 saw the company acquired by Fiat. In 1997, Fiat sold 50% share in the company to Maserati's long-time arch-rival Ferrari. In 1999 Ferrari took full control, making Maserati its luxury division.

Zagato was invited by Maserati to design coachwork for the A6G/2000 model, and they produced 20 beautiful coupes, one of which is this example. All aluminum bodied cars, the A6G/2000 Zagato-bodied Maserati sold for $8,900 and was produced from 1955-1957.
Coupe
Designer: Zagato
 
The Maserati A6G/54 evolved from the A6G shown at the Paris Motor Show in 1951. It had a 6-cylinder engine giving over 150 bhp. In all, 63 A6Gs were built over three years. This is a unique Zagato-bodied A6G/54 that started life as a 'regular' Zagato coupe in 1956. It was sent back to Zagato for a tune-up in 1957, and when Gianni Zagato took it out for a test drive, he crashed it, destroying most of the delicate body panels. Instead of rebuilding it to its original form, Zagato fitted a more modern style, similar to the proposed 3500 GT body. With help from historian Adolfo Orsi this unique car was recently restored to its unique 1957 configuration. It is one of just two Zagato-bodied Maseratis with a 'double bubble' roof.
Coupe
Designer: Zagato
Chassis Num: 2121
 
One of the only Zagato double bubble ever built, the car was kept hidden in Sicily for almost forty years. it won First in Class at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Best Maserati at the Cavallino Classic, and First in Class at the Villa d'Este Concorso d'Eleganza.
Berlinetta
Coachwork: Allemano
Chassis Num: 2117
Engine Num: 2117
 
Sold for $429,000 at 2010 Gooding & Company.
When the A6G/54 was introduced, many believed that this new car was simply a coach-built variation of the successful A6GCS sports racer. In reality, it was a road-going sport car that shared its basic underpinnings with the A6GCS. The A6G/54 was powered by a 160 horsepower six-cylinder engine, powerful four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes, and a four-speed manual gearbox with synchromesh. The coachwork was available from Zagato, Frua and Allemano, each coming in their own distinct style and purpose. The Zagato built cars were purpose-built road-racers; the Frua-bodied examples were elegant, extravagant, and fashion statements. The Allemano cars were sophisticated, subdued and luxurious. In total, there were 21 examples of the Allemano cars produced.

The original owner of this example was Sig. Giulio Dubbini of Padua, Italy. This car, the fifth example bodied by Allemano, was delivered on November 27, 1956, and carried a price of 3,034,000 lire. It was originally finished in Verde Suro (Mackerel Green) with a green interior, and the same livery it sports today.

In the mid-1970s, the A6G/54 was exported to Canada where it remained for over a decade before returning to continental Europe. The current owner purchased the car in 2001 and imported it to the United States.

Between 2002 and 2006, a comprehensive cosmetic and thorough mechanical restoration was performed on the car. Prior to the work, the car was wearing a red paint scheme. After the restoration, the car was returned to its original, factory-delivered color scheme.

In 2010, this rare Maserati was offered for sale at the Gooding & Company Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. The car was estimated to sell for $375,000 - $450,000. As bidding came to a close, the lot had been sold for the sum of $429,000, inclusive of buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2010
Berlinetta
Coachwork: Allemano
 
In the wake of the racing success of the A6GCS, Maserati redesigned the car as a road-going sports model. The 2-liter high performance sports chassis were sent to various Italian coachwork houses to be crafted into tourers or race cars as needed. Maserati contracted Allemano to build a total of 21 A6G Coupes.
Coupe
Designer: Zagato
Chassis Num: 2121
 
Zagato built many coupe bodies for the twin-cam Maserati A6G, but only this example sported Zagato's trademark double-bubble roof. This A6G when new was driven in the Mille Miglia but failed to finish, and after its competition career it was sold to an Italian living in the United States. In the 1960s, he shipped the car back to Italy, where it was hidden in a garage in the infamous city of Corleone in Sicily. After a 20-year search, the current owner found the car and bought it sight unseen.
Even though the company was not in financial difficulty, the Maserati brothers sold their shares of the company to the Orsi family from Modena in 1937. The headquarters were moved from Bologna to Modena. When they sold the company, the brothers had agreed to stay with Maserati for another ten years performing duties as chief engineers. In 1948, after their ten year agreement was satisfied, they left the company and formed OSCA.

With the chief engineers gone, the company was positioned for failure, but the company did have a strong history and more importantly, they had a newly developed straight six engine, courtesy of the Maserati brothers. The engine produced by Maserati brothers was nothing spectacular; the 1.5-liter power-plant produced 65 horsepower. It was, however, a good starting point and would prove to be very tunable in the years to come. The primary intention for the engine was competition, but Orsi understood that money needed to be made, so that it could be spent. So Orsi commissioned a sports road car that could be produced for exclusive clientele.

In 1947 Maserti introduced the Maserati A6 with custom coachwork by Pinin Farina. Under the hood was the 1.5-liter single overhead camshaft engine matted to a four-speed gearbox. The steel tubular frame was suspended by a live rear axle and a front wishbone suspension. Even though Pinin Farina is noted for their elegant styling, their design of the A6 was not well received. Coupled with the poor performance, the vehicle was not well received.

Modifications were performed on the engine resulting in an increase to 2 liters and 100 horsepower. Three updated versions of the A6 were displayed at the 1951 Paris Motorshow. The Berlina body styles were created by Pinin Farina and were the standard style; the Spider variants were created by Frua; and the Coupe was courtesy of Vignale. With all the mechanical improvements and bodystyle options available, the two-liter A6 was poised for success. With only 16 examples created, the A6 proved it needed more work.

The famous Gioacchino Colombo, known for his work with Ferrari, joined Maserati in 1953. His first task was to modify the A6GCM to include a DOHC valve train, dual-spark ignition, and more. Horsepower rose to nearly 200. The success of Maserati in racing was heightened with the new engine and new drivers such as Fangio, Gonzalez, Marimon, Bonetto and de Graffenried. Fangio had won the 1953 Italian Grand prix driving a Ferrari.

The third iteration of the A6 occurred in 1954, dubbed the A6G/54. This was the same year for the introduction of the Maserati 250F, which, in the hands of the capable Fangio won the Argentine Grand Prix on its debut. The A6G/54 was outfitted with a competitive engine and wonderful styling from Frua and Zagato. Production lasted until 1954 with multiple types of body styles being created. One of the most memorable bodystyles were the 19 lightweight Zagato bodies which could often be seen at race tracks. All of the Zagato hand-formed body styles were unique, even the interior.

The Maseati A6GCS was produced from 1953 through 1955 with a total of 52 examples being constructed. Four where Berlinetta bodies by Pininfarina while 48 were in Spyder configuration and bodied by Fantuzi. The A6GCS were very important to Maserati and scored many victories for the marque. In 1953 the A6GCs won its class at the Mille Miglia in its inaugural debut.

The Maserati A6G/2000 was produced from 1954 through 1957 with around 60 examples being created, many receiving custom bodywork from prestigious coachbuilders such as Zagato, Pinin Farina, Vignale, and others. Serafino Allemano constructed twenty-one examples of the A6G/2000. All of these cars were equipped with the DOHC engines. The A6G/2000 is some times referred to as the A6G/54. These second series cars used many mechanical components from its predecessor, such as its twin parallel tube design. The engine, however, had been modified which resulted in an increase in horsepower.

The A6G/54 was replaced by the 3500 GT. The A6 endured many growing pains but by the final iteration, the A6 variants were respectable and stylish machines. With the mechanical prowess of Colombo and the driving talent of Fangio and others, Maserati could continue to provide competition on the race track. While back at home, the A6 provided the bread-and-butter to continue racing and further development.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2007
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Arrow Right 1956 Maserati models
Maserati 150/250S
Maserati 250F
Maserati 300S
Maserati 450 S
Maserati Lister A6GCS

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