1968 Maserati Mistral Convertible

The Mistral was the first Maserati to be named after a wind, a strong cold northerly wind of southern France that immediately conjured up the illusion of speed, and the last to sport the race-bred inline 6-cylinder engine. A total of 830 coupes and 120 spyders (convertibles) were made. This is one of only 36 Mistral spyders with the larger 4-liter engine.

The car is about 60% aluminum and 40% steel. The doors, front clip and trunk lid are made of aluminum, with the rear clip in steel to add to the rigidity of the car.

The inline 6-cylinder engine uses two spark plugs per cylinder that provided for better fuel burn in the days when electronic ignition was not available.

Maserati was very innovative in being one of the first to use fuel injection on production vehicles; this car has a Lucas fuel-injection system, the same one that Jaguar used on a few D-Type race cars.

The current owner found this Maserati Mistral Spyder near Seattle in non-running condition. At the time, it was an unattractive root beer color with equally unattractive interior. Upon research, it was discovered to be one of a handful of Mistral Spyders built with the larger 4.0-liter engine and that its first owner was a Maserati factory race driver. Luckily, the car was complete, including its original engine with its unique Lucas fuel injection.

The current owner set about to personally restore the car back to its original silver color and mechanically maintain the fuel injection system.