1963 Maserati 3500 GTi Convertible

During the mid-1950s, Maserati had focused much of their attention on producing racing cars. From those came highly developed sports-racing and grand prix automobiles that were based on racing car chassis and drivelines. They were expensive, rare, and each was individually built to order. The result was automobiles that were among the best of their era.

The production cars proved to be successful, both in terms of popularity and in sales. When the factory team tragically failed to capture the constructor's world championship in 1957, the Orsi family decided it was time for a new direction. At the 1957 Geneva Show, Maserati introduced the 3500GT. Touring had been chosen to craft the elegant coachwork and would provide the standard coachwork for the production vehicles. In 1960, Maserati selected Alfredo Vignale to build a Spyder on a 100mm shorter wheelbase 3500GT chassis. It was an immediate success and had subtle, yet distinct, differences from the Touring coupe. The list of similarities included the head and auxiliary light placement in the front fenders and windshields. Differences included the grille emblem, hood scoop, and the fender top line which was straight on the 3500GT, but had a distinctive drop in the front of the rear fender in the Vignale Spyder. The Spyder had a sloped rear fascia and taillight housings.

There were nearly 2,000 coupes and 242 Vignale convertibles constructed. This example was sold new on February 14th of 1963, to Antonio Turati of Milano, Italy. It was originally painted Nero (black) with champagne leather upholstery. It is equipped with disc brakes, a five-speed manual transmission and Borrani wire wheels. In the mid-1960s, it was sold to Carlo Cavallini of Milano, and then to Ital Bil, the Swedish Maserati importer. From there, the car passed to Uno Lingmark, Vallentuna, Sweden, in 1967. It is believed that the car stayed in his care for the next 17 years, where it wore registrations 'AA 8442' and later 'FXH 362.' The next owner was a Ferrari Specialist named Terry Hoyle of London. While in his care, the car was painted in period correct silver grey metallic and fitted with a new red leather interior. It was sold at auction in 1988 and then registered in 1990 to Jack Levy from Devon, United Kingdom. Mr. Levy commissioned a Maserati expert to perform a restoration before selling it in 1995. In 1996, it was again registered and later sold in 2004 to a private collector.

In 2009, this Vignale Spyder was offered for sale at the Houston Classic Auction in Seabrook, Texas, presented by Worldwide Auctioneers. The car was estimated to sell for $240,000 - $280,000. As bidding came to a close, the lot had not been sold. Bidding had reached $190,000, but was not enough to satisfy reserve.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2009