One to Buy: ex-Valencia Motor Show 1966 Maserati Mistral 3700 Spyder
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Unveiled at the Turin Motor Show in November 1963, the Mistral was the last new Maserati to feature the firm’s iconic twin spark dual overhead cam straight six and the first named after a desert wind. Ostensibly a replacement for the 3500 GT, the Mistral was actually a pure two-seater built on a much shorter wheelbase.
Customers could order their Mistral with either Coupe or Spyder bodywork. As was the case for most high end Italian sports cars of the time, the Fixed version proved considerably more popular, outselling the open-bodied variant by more than six to one.
Of the 124 Mistral Spyders completed between 1963 and ‘70, 27 came with a 3.5-litre engine, 46 were fitted with the 3.7-litre unit and 51 received Maserati’s 4-litre motor.
On November 7th, among the most significant of those 46 examples that emerged from Maserati’s factory with the 245bhp 3.7-litre fuel-injected straight six will be going under the hammer during Broad Arrow Auctions’ sale in Zurich: chassis AM109/S1*615*.
Ordered with the desirable manual gearbox by Maserati’s Spanish distributor, Auto-Paris of Barcelona, chassis ‘615’ was configured in the rarely seen combination of Oro Longchamps with Rosso upholstery. Completed on April 23rd 1966, the following month it was displayed at the Valencia Motor Show. The car also appeared on the show flyer alongside a silver Mistral Coupe.
Later, chassis ‘615’ returned to Italy where it was reputedly acquired by footballer, Antonio Cabrini, who spent the bulk of his career playing at left-back for Juventus. In addition to winning the 1982 World Cup with the Italian national squad, Cabrini claimed the award for Best Young Player at the 1978 World Cup.
According to Broad Arrow Auctions: “A new owner acquired the car in 2015 and brought it across the Atlantic to the United States. There, it was shown at the 2017 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, where it placed second in class. Following this showing, the Mistral was brought to Switzerland, where it was acquired by the current owner.”
Today, chassis ‘615’ looks to be in beautiful restored condition. The matching numbers car is accompanied by a Maserati Certificate of Origin along with a copy of its original build sheet.
