Maserati 3500 GTI Sebring Carr.Vignale S1 (1 of 348) - 1964

€ 255.000

Description

One of the most fascinating and little known Maseratis built.

The Sebring with Lucas injection and double ignition. The car we offer is the first series built in only 348 units from 1962 to 1965. It has belonged to a single owner since new, then passed from father to son. Jealously guarded, it has reached the present day in almost entirely original condition. ASI gold plate approved. Metallic blue color with red leather interior.

Model history and curiosity

The mechanics derived from that of the 3500 GT (in the injection version), as did the chassis. The bodywork design was different (by Vignale rather than Touring). The official name was 3500 GTiS, or 3500 GT injection Sebring, to celebrate the victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1957.

The first series (internal code Tipo 101.01, produced in 348 units from 1962 to 1965)[3], was presented at the 1962 Geneva motor show. The installed engine was 3,485 cm³ (bore 86 mm, stroke 100 mm) , with a compression ratio of 8.5:1 that delivered 235 horsepower at 5,500 rpm. Road tests at the time verified a maximum speed of around 220 km/h (against the 235 declared by the company) and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in around 8.5 seconds.

Sebring second series
It had a five-speed manual gearbox as standard; as an option you could have an automatic gearbox (this was to meet the tastes of American and English customers): the Sebring was one of the first Italian cars to be able to fit it.

In 1965, a 3694 cm³ version was also made available (obtained by lengthening the stroke of the "3500"). In that same year the second series was presented (signed Tipo 101.10, 243 examples from 1965 to 1969), with few changes, the main of which were the new front position lights, the new rear lights, the different air vents at the rear the front wheel arches and wider tires (from 185x15" to 205x15").

In 1966 the 4000 GTiS was presented, with a 4-litre 6-cylinder and 255 HP. This model was produced until the end of the 1960s, when the Trident House was forced to rationalize the range, canceling the older models from production.