1965 Maserati Sebring II

The Maserati Sebring was introduced in 1962, but its lineage stretched much farther back, beginning with Juan Manuel Fangio's fifth World Champion at the wheel of a 250F and the 450S clinching the runner-up spot in the World Sport Car Championship, both in 1957. Although this was the company's most successful season, they were facing a bleak future as financial difficulties forced them to withdraw from racing. Their revitalization plan centered on switching production from competition to road models, incorporating racing technology that had brought them success on the track into production vehicles.

The Modena marque's first road car built in significant numbers was the Touring-bodied 3500 GT launched in 1957. It was a luxury 2+2 that benefited from Maserati's experience, employing a tubular chassis frame and an engine derived from the 350S sports car unit of 1956. The front used an independent suspension setup with wishbones and coil springs, while the back used a conventional live axle with semi-elliptic springs. The twin-overhead-camshaft, six-cylinder engine was closely related to that used in the 250F, understandably so as both had been designed by Giulio Alfieri, creator of the immortal Tipo 60/61 'Birdcage' sports-racer. The 3500 GT's engine initially developed around 220 bhp, while later examples produced 235 bhp on Lucas mechanical fuel injection. the 3500 GT was progressively updated throughout its lifespan, with the drum brakes and four-speed transmission eventually replaced by a five-speed unit, front disc brakes and, finally, all-disc braking.

The 3500 GT chassis Italy's finest carrozerias, including Allemano, Bertone, and Frua. Most Coupes were bodied by Touring, while all but one (a Frua-bodied example) of the much less common Spider version were the work of Carrozzeria Vignale.

The Sebring arrived in 1962 and was one of the final manifestations of the 3500 GT. Maserati's newest Grand Turismo car was named after the company's victory at the 12 hour race in 1957. It rested upon a shortened-wheelbase chassis of the Spider and was styled by Giovanni Michelotti of Vignale. Standard equipment included a five-speed ZF gearbox, four-wheel disc brakes, and fuel injection. The options list included a limited-slip differential and air conditioning. Its hefty price tag ensured its exclusivity, with the new Maserati being approximately 22% more expensive than the contemporary Aston Martin DB5, its closest rival.

The Maserati Sebring Series I was introduced at the Salon International de I'Auto in 1962, with performance to back up its attractive appearance. It could race from zero-to-sixty mph in 8.5 seconds and had a top speed of 137 mph. Although impressive, Maserati raised the bar further in 1965 with the introduction of the new Series II Sebring. It wore slightly modified styling with redesigned headlamps, new bumpers, and new side grille indents. A 3.7-liter engine brought horsepower to 245 horsepower. A few cars left the factory with 4.0-liter units towards the end of production in 1966, by which time 591 (as many as 593 examples) Sebring had been built, 242 of which were in the second series, and 348 with the 3.5-liter engine.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2021