1958 Maserati 3500 GT Roadster

Temple Buell Jr. was one of the Maserati's best customers, a wealthy individual, and a racing enthusiast. He purchased a 3500 GT Touring Spider, of which only three examples were ever built. These three early-production 3500 GTs, chassis 101.010, 101.124, and 101.126, were all built in 1958 as prototypes for a limited run of production Spiders. The styling of the cars foreshadowed Aston Martin's DB4 Drophead Coupe. The 3500 GT Spiders were built using Carrozzeria Touring's patented superleggera method. Nevertheless, Maserati ultimately decided in favor of Carrozzeria Vignale's proposal and, beginning in 1960, 243 production Spiders were built on the shortened 3500 GT chassis.

This car was originally finished in dark red (Max Meyer 12.207) with white Connolly leather and a black soft top. It was given three Weber 42 DCOE carburetors, a ZF four-speed gearbox, Girling turbo-finned drum brakes, 16-inch Borrani wire wheels, Pirelli Supersport tires, and an Autovox radio.

In September of 1958, the car was delivered to Temple Buell Jr. in Denver, Colorado. Over the years that followed, he used the car as his preferred means of transport. In the early 1960s, the 3500 GT Spider was re-finished in Scuderia Buell dark blue. In 1969 or 1970, the car was purchased by famed heavyweight boxer and Denver resident Joe Louis as a gift to his wife. Unfortunately, Mrs. Louis could not drive the four-speed stick and the car was returned to Farland-Buell Chrysler, where a 383 V-8 and TorqueFlite automatic were substituted. The engine and gearbox from the 3500GT were placed on a stand and put into storage at the Farland-Buell dealership.

In the early 1970s, the Louis family moved to Las Vegas and the Maserati was sold on. Armatha Napue of Northglenn, Colorado purchased the car in December of 1976. It would remain in his care for at least 15 years before being exported to Europe.

John Bookout of Houston, Texas purchased the car in 2001 from Joop Stolze in Holland. After receiving the car, Mr Bookout began a search for the car's original engine. In the 1980s, Jack Farland purchased a late-production Maserati 3500 GT Coupe, chassis 101.2340, from his uncle, Temple H. Buell Jr. After the car's fuel-injected engine began having problems, it was replaced with the carbureted engine from 101.124, which had been sitting on a stand at the family Chrysler dealership for nearly 15 years.

Mr. Farland later sold the Maserati Coupe to Dave Lucy who later sold it to Tom Adams. The 3500 GT Coupe was eventually sold to a collector in Texas and ended up on the showroom of a Houston-area classic car dealer. After Mr. Brookout was able to locate the car and the carbureted engine, he purchased 101.2340 in 2001 and re-united the engine with its original chassis.

Between 2002 and 2004, the car was completely restored to its original specification. It was finished in the correct dark red shade with white leather hides as was originally specified.

After the work was complete, the car was invited to take part in a special Carrozzeria touring retrospective held between April and October 2004 at the Museo dell'Automobile Bonfanti in Bassano del Grappa. The exhibit featured approximately 30 important examples of Touring coachwork illustrating the firm's evolution through the decades.

After the exhibit, the car was displayed at the factory showroom in Modena, Italy, during Maserati's 90th anniversary celebration and was the subject of a feature article in II Trident, the official magazine of the Maserati Club.

In August of 2011, the car received Best in Class (Italian Sport) at the Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours on the Avenue as well as Best in Class and best of Marque at Concorso Italiano. It received another Best in Class (European Sports Cars Over 3 Liters) at the Santa Barbara Concours d'Elegance in October.

The car has period-correct tool kit, jack, and owners manual.

Chassis 101.124 is the only authentically restored 3500GT Touring Spider in existence. The first Spider, 101.010, was sold new to a client in Rome and is belived to be lost. The last Spider, 101.126, was sold new in Paris and has not been seen since the 1990s.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2013