1954 Maserati A6GCS/53

The Maserati Tipo A6GCS Series II included six specially bodied cars. Four were coupes created by Pininfarina. One was a spyder created by Vignale and the other was also a spyder, created by Frua.

Chassis number 2049 was a Vignale Spyder and constructed in 1953. It was reboided by Scaglietti in 1955, also in Spyder configuration.

Chassis number 2054 was a Frua Spyder built in 1953. There is little information on this vehicle, other than the where-abouts of the chassis is unknown. The body, however, was transplanted on a Triumph chassis. It was offered for sale in 1999.

Chassis numbers 2056, 2057, 2059, and 2060 are all Pininfarina Coupes. #2056 was build in 1953 but crashed by Garvina during the Giro di Sicilia race in 1954. The co-driver was killed. It was sent back to the factory but work was never completed on the car. In 1991, De Tomaso commissioned the car to be repaired. It was sold to Panini in 1996.

Chassis number 2057 was constructed in 1954 and was on display at the Turin show, finished in two-tone blue colors. It was rebodied as a spyder in 1955 and was issued a new chassis number at the time, #2086. The body was acquired by Franco Lombardi in 1977 who had the car restored on chassis number 2070.

Chassis number 2059 was shown at the Paris Salon in 1954 where it was finished in red with white stripes. It was later painted white shortly after the show and given an A6GCM engine. It passed through a few owners and was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours in 1999 in unrestored condition. Since that time, it has undergone a complete restoration and is in the possession of Erich Traber.

The final vehicle, chassis number 2060 was constructed in 1954 and was painted red with a blue stripe. Fiandri later converted the car to a spyder configuration. The original body was used for chassis number 2089 and is currently owned by Boris Subbotin.

by Dan Vaughan

Berlinetta
Chassis number: 2089
Engine number: 2060

The Maserati brothers - Aflieri, Bindo, Carloe, Ettore, Ernesto and Mario - began by building race cars in Italy in the 1920s. They won early and often, including the Targa Florio in 1926 in their first race with a new car. In 1937, Omer Orsi took control of Maserati, though the brothers stayed on until 1947 when they left to found OSCA.

Maserati introduced the A6GCS in 1953. Overseeing its design and development was Gioachino Columbo who joined the firm in 1952. Primarily intended to be a sports racer, it was powered by a potent 1995cc twin-cam six-cylinder engine, tubular chassis, independent front suspension and rigid rear axle. While most were delivered as a Fantuzzi Barchetta, a handful had Frua, Vignale, and Pinin Farina coachwork.

Guglielmo Dei was the Maserati distributor in Rome, Italy. In addition, he operated the Centro Sud racing school. He was known for having many special cars built for his Rome distributorship. He ordered four of Maserati's successful A6GCS racing chassis and sent them to coachbuilder Pinin Farina to design and build competition Berlinettas.

This car is the fourth built in-series, all of which were different. It is believed to have been the 1955 Paris Auto Salon show car. It sports many unique features including a canted elliptical grille opening with concave grille bars and 'Frenched' headlights typical of Pinin farina competition cars of the time.

Pininfarina crafted this true race-bred Berlinetta. Some of its more interesting design features are its canted elliptical grille opening and the concave grille bars. It has 'Frenched' style headlight treatment that Pininfarina was known for in their designs for competition cars based in Maranello.

This Berlinetta example, 2060, was the fourth car built in the series. All four cars had styling differences. The first in the series was 2056, completed in December 18, 1953, and 2057 was the second. The 2059 was the third car built and was the 1954 Paris Show Car. It is believed that this car, 2060, was the 1955 Paris Show Car.

Berlinetta
Chassis number: 2089
Engine number: 2060

With a spyder body by Fantuzzi, number 2089 was a private entry in both the 1955 and 1956 Mille Miglia races, finishing 1st in Class (4th overall) and 2nd in Class (56th overall) respectively. Owned and driven by Francesco Giardini, it also competed at other venues in period, such as LeMans, Monza, and the Targa Florio. It is powered by a 2-liter twin cam 6-cylinder engine. In 1959 the car was rebuilt at the Maserati factory in a GT configuration with its present Pininfarina coupe body. It won the Art Center College of Design Award at Pebble Beach in 2005.

Spyder by Frua
Chassis number: 2110

This Maserati A6GCS Frua Spyder is one of three built and two in existence. Guglielmo Dei, the official Maserati dealer in Rome, commissioned a small series of coachbuilder A6GCS/53s in 1954, including four Pinin Farina Berlinettas and a single Frua spyder. Delighted by the Frua upon receipt, Dei asked Maserati for two additional A6GCS/53 chassis, intended for Frua coachwork. The two chassis were equipped with special dry sump A6G/54 engines and then forwarded to the coachbuilder in Torino. The spyders commissioned by Dei are considered to be Frua masterpieces, and are identical except for color - one is finished in red with a cream central stripe, and this car is black with a yellow stripe. Both cars had Marchal driving lights and Veglia gauges. This Maserati was displayed by prior owners at Pebble Beach in 1964 and represents the symbiosis of the thoroughbred A6GCS/53 chassis with exquisite Frua coachwork.

Even though the company was not in financial difficulty, the Maserati brothers sold their shares of the company to the Orsi family from Modena in 1937. The headquarters were moved from Bologna to Modena. When they sold the company, the brothers had agreed to stay with Maserati for another ten years performing duties as chief engineers. In 1948, after their ten-year agreement was satisfied, they left the company and formed OSCA.

With the chief engineers gone, the company was positioned for failure, but the company did have a strong history and more importantly, they had a newly developed straight-six engine, courtesy of the Maserati brothers. The engine produced by Maserati brothers was nothing spectacular; the 1.5-liter power-plant produced 65 horsepower. It was, however, a good starting point and would prove to be very tunable in the years to come. The primary intention for the engine was competition, but Orsi understood that money needed to be made so that it could be spent. So Orsi commissioned a sports road car that could be produced for exclusive clientele.

In 1947 Maserati introduced the Maserati A6 with custom coachwork by Pinin Farina. Under the hood was the 1.5-liter single overhead camshaft engine matted to a four-speed gearbox. The steel tubular frame was suspended by a live rear axle and a front wishbone suspension. Even though Pinin Farina is noted for its elegant styling, its design of the A6 was not well received. Coupled with poor performance, the vehicle was not well received.

Modifications were performed on the engine resulting in an increase to 2 liters and 100 horsepower. Three updated versions of the A6 were displayed at the 1951 Paris Motorshow. The Berlina body styles were created by Pinin Farina and were the standard style; the Spider variants were created by Frua, and the Coupe was courtesy of Vignale. With all the mechanical improvements and body style options available, the two-liter A6 was poised for success. With only 16 examples created, the A6 proved it needed more work.

The famous Gioacchino Colombo, known for his work with Ferrari, joined Maserati in 1953. His first task was to modify the A6GCM to include a DOHC valve train, dual-spark ignition, and more. Horsepower rose to nearly 200. The success of Maserati in racing was heightened with the new engine and new drivers such as Fangio, Gonzalez, Marimon, Bonetto, and de Graffenried. Fangio had won the 1953 Italian Grand Prix driving a Ferrari.

The third iteration of the A6 occurred in 1954, dubbed the A6G/54. This was the same year for the introduction of the Maserati 250F, which, in the hands of the capable Fangio won the Argentine Grand Prix on its debut. The A6G/54 was outfitted with a competitive engine and wonderful styling from Frua and Zagato. Production lasted until 1954 with multiple types of body styles being created. One of the most memorable body styles was the 19 lightweight Zagato bodies which could often be seen at race tracks. All of the Zagato hand-formed body styles were unique, even the interior.

The Maserati A6GCS was produced from 1953 through 1955 with a total of 52 examples being constructed. Four where Berlinetta bodies by Pininfarina while 48 were in Spyder configuration and bodied by Fantuzi. The A6GCS was very important to Maserati and scored many victories for the marque. In 1953 the A6GCs won its class at the Mille Miglia in its inaugural debut.

The Maserati A6G/2000 was produced from 1954 through 1957 with 60 examples being created, all receiving custom bodywork from prestigious coachbuilders such as Zagato, Pinin Farina, Vignale, and others. Serafino Allemano constructed twenty-one examples of the A6G/2000. All of these cars were equipped with the DOHC engines. The A6G/2000 is sometimes referred to as the A6G/54. These second series cars used many mechanical components from its predecessor, such as its twin parallel tube design. The engine, however, had been modified which resulted in an increase in horsepower.

The A6G/54 was replaced by the 3500 GT. The A6 endured many growing pains but by the final iteration, the A6 variants were respectable and stylish machines. With the mechanical prowess of Colombo and the driving talent of Fangio and others, Maserati could continue to provide competition on the race track. While back at home, the A6 provided the bread-and-butter to continue racing and further development.

by Dan Vaughan