1964 Maserati 5000 GT

The Maserati 5000 GT attributes its existence to The Shah of Persia (Reza Pahlavi), who requested something special. More specifically, the request was for a Maserati 3500 GT fitted with one of the 450 S racing engines. The 3500 GT had been introduced in 1957, and in similar fashion to the Ferrari 250 GT, transformed Maserati into a volume manufacturer, rather than just a building bespoke road and competition cars.

Giulio Alfieri, Maserati's chief engineer, was delighted with the Shah's request. The 3500 GT chassis was reinforced to cope with the increase in power. Bigger brakes were sourced in England, with discs at the front and drums at the rear. Later examples of the 5000 GT would be fitted with discs at all four corners.

As the 450S V8 engine was tuned for competition, Alfieri made considerable changes to make it suitable for the road. Several of the competition elements like the four Weber carburetors, and gear driven camshaft were retained. Initially, the engine produced 350 horsepower, but later examples received a detuned 325 horsepower version.

The example delivered to the Shah of Perzia wore coachwork by Touring of Milan. The impressive performance was matched by equally impressive styling, which featured gold fittings and fine woods.

The public got its first glimpse of the 5000 GT at the 1959 Turin Motor Show. Although only one additional example was built in 1960, Maserati and Alfieri persevered, with further refinements following in 1961. Most of their efforts were focused on the V8 engine, which gained a revised bore and stroke ratio resulting in a much squarer engine. It was given a Lucas fuel injection system, which helped bring horsepower into the 340 horsepower range.

A total of 34 Maserati 5000 GTs would be built, with Giovanni Michelotti for Allemano designing no fewer than 18 examples. Production would end in 1964, however a single example was built in 1965 using an existing chassis, and then another in 1966.

by Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2019