1966 Maserati Sebring Coupe

Maserati's parent companies financial difficulties forced Maserati to withdrawal from racing, despite having a successful racing program, which included Juan Manuel Fangio's fifth World Championship (driving a 250F) and runner-up spot in the World Sports Car Championship with the 450S - both in 1957. Despite their racing successes, the company was facing a bleak future and was forced to switch production from competition to road models.

The new era for Maserati began in 1957 with the introduction of the Touring-bodied 3500 GT, its first road-going car built in significant numbers. It was a 2+2 luxury model that drew heavily on the company's competition experience. It had a tubular chassis frame and an engine derived from the 350S sports car unit of 1956. An independent suspension setup featured wishbones and coil springs in the front and a conventional live axle/semi-elliptic arrangement at the rear. The design was courtesy of Giulio Alfieri, creator of the 60/61 'Birdcage' sports-racer and the 250F. The twin-overhead-camshaft, six-cylinder engine was a close relative of that used in the 250F and developed around 220bhp initially, later examples producing 235bhp on Lucas mechanical fuel injection. Initially, drum brakes and four-speed transmission were used. The 3500 GT was progressively updated, gaining five speeds, front disc brakes, and finally, four-wheel disc brakes.

Most of the coupes were the work of Touring. All but one (a Frua-bodied example) of the less common Spider version were the work of Carrozzeria Vignale. Other coachbuilders who supplied bodies for the 3500 GT included Allemano and Bertone.

The Sebring, introduced in 1962, was the final manifestations of the 3500 GT. It was built on the short-wheelbase chassis of the Spider and styled by Vignale. By now a five-speed ZF gearbox, four-wheel disc brakes and fuel injection were standard equipment, with automatic transmission, air conditioning and a limited-slip differential available as options.

The Sebring carried a hefty price tag and was around 22% more expensive than an Aston martin DB5.

The Sebring Series II was introduced in 1965 and came with a 3.7-liter, 245 horsepower engine. Some examples left the factory with 4.0-litre units toward the end of production in 1966, by which time 591 Sebrings had been built, 242 of which were in the second series.

This particular example is a Series II model powered by a 3.7-liter engine and mated to a five-speed ZF gearbox. It was ordered new at Maserati in December of 1965 by Auto Paris, a Barcelona, Spain based Maserati distributor. It left the factory finished in Rosso Cordoba and the interior in Pelle Bianca. The GT was completed in April of 1966, and soon after delivered to its first owner, a Sig. Claudio Vidal Corbera of Barcelona. Although an International Motor Insurance Card was issued for the Rosso Cordoba Sebring II to a Mr. Ernesto Sentis Roldan of Barcelona, Spain in June of 1968, the car is believed to have been owned by just one owner until 2014. It then entered a Southern California based collector.

Some of the paintwork has been touched up, but most of the surfaces are still in original condition. It has its original, matching numbers engine, and the odometer reading of less than 34,000 kilometers.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2017