One to Buy: ex-Rudi Klein Grigio Fumo 1964 Maserati 3500 GTi Sebring Series 1
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Although the Touring-bodied 3500 GT and GTi ranked as arguably the most handsome 2+2 Grand Tourers on offer during the late 1950s and early 1960s, Maserati elected to commission Carrozzeria Vignale to clothe a slightly shorter wheelbase model that would be sold alongside for the 3500’s last couple of years in production.
The resultant 3500 GTi Sebring first broke cover at the Paris Motor Show in October 1962. Named in honour of Maserati’s famous 1-2 victory at the 1957 Sebring 12 Hours with the 450 S, it used the aforementioned short wheelbase chassis (reduced by 100mm) but otherwise imported the rest of its essential components from the existing 3500 GTi.
A cosmetically tweaked Series 2 followed in 1965, by which time Maserati had replaced the original 3.5-litre dual overhead cam straight six with a 3.7-litre version. Soon afterwards, a 4-litre engine was also offered.
Sebring production continued until 1968, by which time a little under 600 examples had been completed.
Set to go under the hammer as part of RM Sotheby’s Rudi Klein Junkyard sale in Los Angeles on October 26th is a remarkable example of the Sebring theme: chassis ‘02035’.
Completed in 1964 to the prettier Series 1 specification (one of approximately 350 built), chassis ‘02035’ was completed on December 13th 1963 and configured in the gorgeous colour scheme of Grigio Fumo with Rosso leather upholstery.
The car was dispatched shortly afterwards to its first owner in Garda, Northern Italy, and later exported to the US.
Chassis ‘02035’, which is accompanied by its original matching numbers engine, found its was to Rudi Klein’s Foreign Auto Wrecking in March 1978 where it has resided ever since.
