One to Buy: 1 of 1 ex-Geneva Motor Show 1955 Maserati A6G/54 Zagato Spyder
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Since the Wedge era, Carozzeria Zagato has embraced a largely unconventional design language that frequently divides opinion. However, although the Milan coachbuilder has always demonstrated a penchant for avantgarde design born largely from a desire to optimise airflow and reduce weight, prior to the mid-late 1960s, Zagato created some of the 20th century’s most beautiful and widely appreciated bodies.
A perfect demonstration was the line of racey Berlinettas that Zagato fashioned for Maserati’s low volume A6G/54 between 1955 and ‘56. Lesser known though was a unique A6G/54 Spyder that preceded this esteemed run and was displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1955.
According to factory records, chassis 2101 was dispatched to Zagato for coachwork on November 18th 1954. The car then made its public debut in Geneva wearing a stunning coat of Blu Algido Scuro paint while the cockpit was trimmed in a mix of Grigio Nubuck upholstery with matching carpet piped in body corresponding leather.
A note near the customer field on Maserati’s factory record for chassis 2101 read “Argentina” which has led to speculation the car’s original destination was to be Juan Peron, a well known lover of open top sports cars.
At the time, Peron was President of Argentina, but following the latest in a series of uprisings, by mid September of 1955 he had been deposed in a military coup and forced into Venezuelan exile. Rumour has it that a series of modifications carried out to chassis 2101 after its Geneva appearance had been requested by Peron. They included a smaller windscreen, a new hood complete with intake scoop, vented front fenders and a new front grille assembly.
With Peron’s ousting having ruled him out of the picture, Maserati went on to display the reconfigured chassis 2101 at the Paris Motor Show in October 1956 where it appeared on the stand of the firm’s French distributor, Jean Thepenier.
Having failed to find a buyer, the car subsequently returned to Maserati where it was stored until April 1959.
At this point chassis 2101 was sold to Louis Schroeder, an American diplomat based at the US embassy in Paris. One year later, Schroeder in turn sold the Maserati to Sherrod Santos, a US Air Force lieutenant-colonel who, by late 1963, had returned home accompanied by his handsome Maserati.
More recently, in 2024 the current custodian of chassis 2101 completed a cost-no-object ground up restoration that resulted in Best in Class and the Jules Heumann Most Elegant Open Car award at that year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Today, this most significant matching numbers Maserati is being offered by RM Sotheby’s Private Sales department. It is accompanied by a well documented history that includes factory build records, period photographs, former owner’s correspondence, the original owner’s manual, original tool roll and a highly detailed history report by marque authority, Adolfo Orsi.
