Please contact the owner, John, by clicking his email address here.
We are pleased to present this 1961 Maserati 3500 GT Spyder with Coachwork by Vignale as a reader classified. Sold originally in white paint by a Roman Maserati distributor, the Spyder was repainted to its current Rosso Rubino by its second owner, a Napolitana. The interior remains original to the car as delivered from the factory. At some point in the car's history, it was fitted with a factory replacement 3.5L engine, which it retains to this day.
Restoration work commenced in 2006, starting with a full-body repaint, which included stripping the body to bare metal. The chrome was restored at D&S Plating, whose reputation has led them to work on multiple Pebble Beach award-winning automobiles. Following the restoration of the Spyder, it was presented at the 2014 Amelia Island Concours, where it was the only Vignale Spyder present at the Maserati 100th anniversary celebration.
Click below for slideshow
Year: 1961
Make: Maserati
Model: 3500 GT Vignale Spyder
Engine: 3,485cc DOHC Twin-Plug Inline 6-Cylinder
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: fewer than 40,000 km
Price: $665,000
Chassis number: AM101.1039
EMAIL FOR DETAILS: John
Description from a recent Bonham's auction:
This beautifully preserved example of the legendary Maserati 3500 GT was originally delivered with its splendid Vignale Spider coachwork in white paint with black leather interior and sold new by the Maserati distributor Cornacchia Automobili of Rome, Italy, to Vasco Migliacci—renowned Italian songwriter and composer, also from Rome. It was later purchased by a lady in Naples who, it seems, had the car color changed from white to Rosso Rubino, the beautiful Ruby Red it presents in today. The interior was not touched and remains as it was when delivered from the factory in Modena. The Napolitana kept the car until 1980, when it was acquired by Pierre Honegger, a race car driver and entrepreneur in Princeton, New Jersey. Honegger maintained the 3500 GT in his collection. Correspondence with the race driver confirmed that when he received the Maserati, other than the paint, the car was totally original, without any evidence of accident or modification. He sold the Maserati in March 1997, to noted collector Peter Starr, with 29,037 kms on the odometer, believed to be the original reading. The current consignor states that when Starr took possession of the car it had already been fitted with another Maserati 3500 GT factory replacement engine - a correct 3.5-liter 6-cylinder motor exactly as the original one. It is unclear whether the engine change was at the request of a previous owner or whether it was Honegger who switched out the motor, which seems most likely.
In 2006, Starr commissioned Ayer European Auto Restorations in Gardiner, Maine, to perform a respray, taking the body back to bare metal to ensure a first-class result. At the same time the chrome was sent to D&S Plating Co., the Pebble Beach award winning specialist based in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Following many years careful maintenance and meticulous service, the Maserati was presented at the Amelia Island Concours in 2014 as the only Vignale Spyder at the 100th Anniversary celebration of the marque. After two decades of ownership, Starr sold the car to the current steward, a long-time enthusiast with a large and eclectic collection, including numerous Maseratis.
This gorgeous 3500 GT Spyder is believed to be dressed with the original top and interior, and other than a small tear in the top canvas and some insignificant paint flaking on the dash, the overall condition of the car is amazingly well-preserved with a patina of careful wear over its fifty-seven years. It has three Weber carburetors and disc brakes in the front with drum in the rear and a lovely set of Borrani steel wheels, as well as the desirable 5-speed manual transmission.
This fabulous Ruby Red Maserati is one of fewer than 250 of the 3500 GT Spyder's built, with less than 40,000 kilometers on the clock, it is a highly desirable and drivable marque icon.
We do not have the skills to assess the concours-readiness of such an exquisite example. That said, we can easily place this vehicle at the absolute acme of desirable Italian automobiles. Now, we have to wonder - what will the owner replace this with? We think that a Lamborghini 350GT is the only way up from here.
Have an Italian car that you'd like to share with the readers? Email us graham@blythbros.com to arrange your reader classified posting!
-Graham