1965 Maserati Sebring II Coupe

The Maserati Sebring was introduced in 1962 and was the final manifestations of the 3500 GT. The Touring-bodied 3500 GT had begun in 1957, and the luxury 2+2 drew heavily from the company's competition experience. It had a tubular chassis frame and an engine derived from the 350S sports car unit of 1956. In the front was an independent suspension with wishbones and coil springs. In the back was a conventional live axle and semi-elliptic arrangement. It wore a design courtesy of Giulio Alfieri, whose resume also included the Tipo 60/61 'Birdcage' sports-racer and the 250F World Championship racer. The six-cylinder engine with twin-overhead-camshaft was a close relative of the 250F; it offered around 250 horsepower initially while later examples with Lucas mechanical fuel injection produced 235 horsepower. The 3500 GT was initially built with drum brakes and a four-speed transmission. It was progressively updated, later earning a five speed gearbox, front disc brakes, and later all-disc braking.

The 3500 GT chassis received coachwork by Italy's finest Carrozzeria, including Frua, Bertone, and Allemano. Most of the coupes were bodied by Touring, while all but one (a Frua-bodied example) received Spider coachwork by Carrozzeria Vignale.

Maserati introduced the Series II in 1965. It came with a revised front end and side vents, larger tires, a modified Tipo AM 101/10 motor, and horizontal tail lights. When production came to a close in 1966, a total of 591 Sebrings had been built. 247 examples were Sebring Series II models.

This particular example is a Sebring II that was ordered on December 6th of 1965. It was finished in Celeste Chiaro (light blue) over Rossa (red) leather with matching carpets. The car was equipped with air conditioning, oval exhaust tips, tool roll, and wire wheels. The car was completed on March 23rd of 1966 and shipped to Spain and put on display at the Barcelona Motor Show from April 14th - 24th.

This car was the 113th of the 247 Sebring Series IIs built. 130 Series II were fitted with the more powerful 3.7-liter motor, of which this is the 44th.

After the car was shown at Barcelona, it remained in Europe, eventually finding its way to the United Kingdom in 1998 and into the collection of Peter Martin. In 2005, it came to the United States. The current caretaker acquired the car in 2008. It is believed that the car received a rotisserie restoration in Europe, at which time it was finished in its current period correct livery of Burgundy Red over Beige hides.

This car has been shown at both the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance and The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2018