1961 Maserati 5000 GT Coupe

This Maserati 5000 GT Coupe by Ghia was completed in July of 1961 and was the ninth example built. Sergio Sartorelli, head of the style prototyping department at Ghia, created its one-off design. Many of the unique design elements were later seen on other Ghia designs.

The car was built for Ferdinando Innocenti, an Italian businessman whose factories were destroyed in World War II. In 1947, he created the Lambretta scooter which offered affordable transportation. This led to him becoming one of the wealthiest people in the country.

This Maserati was displayed on the Ghia stand in 1961 at the Turin Auto Show. It was shown in its original color combination of silver over black. Prior to being delivered to Innocenti, Maserati loaned the car to Sports Car Graphic editor Bernard Cahier for a high-speed road test featured in their January 1962 issue.

Innocenti later sold the car, and it eventually found its way to Saudi Arabia, where it was long thought to have been lost. Rubayan Alrubayan later found and acquired the car in the 1970s. He parked the car and it sat unmoved for decades. After he passed away, his heirs brought the car inside to prevent further decay.

The car sat outside for nearly 50 years and is in complete, unrestored condition. It has never been disassembled, or stripped of parts. Currently there are 15,561 kilometers on the odometer.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2019