Happy Birthday Maserati

Mazel Tov,Mazzer!!!

 

Frankly I thought the Maserati museum at Enzo's old house was more impressive than the official Ferrari museum.

Was never a fan of Maseratis, but after having a good look around there I changed my mind. Some of those old cars are absolute works of art.

And they are beautifully presented. Wonderful.
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He did indeed.

But that's nothing compared to the enormous horse they've erected out the front.
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Righto
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....
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Thank you,Thank you,Thank you...Carl.

I didn't realise how many Massers were around(I'm sure what turned up is only the tip...),I was really interested in a Sebring when looking for an early '60's classic.

There were none around,and I didn't know you then(phew!!!!!)

 

I get all Ghibli when I look at some of these pics but others just Bora me

 

Greetings Carl

I'm pretty sure the yellow Mistral convertible looked like this in 2001. Was in Melbourne and for sale I seriously looked at it ... one of the best of the mid - late '60s cars.

Scuttle shake was a problem in one I drove in Belgium this year ... but the convertible certainly makes the right noises.
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sorry Phil, the Mistral is a long way from being one of the best mid-late '60's cars.

Unless you happen to think that a live axle on cart springs and Lucas injection are a good combination.

 

OK
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Great pics thanks Carl; the anniversary poster appeals to me
Interestingly, there are lots of current Maserati on the roads in HK (several in my building) and I really came to appreciate their lines, and sound, over the past few years.
Can't help but think they're a very underestimated marque these days.

 

Just a Ghibli 2. Has served me well over the last 10 years
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Ian I agree the suspension setup technically sounds lousy .. but consider the cars of the era .. we have owned a '65 corvette with a transverse leaf spring suspension!!!

When driven at normal speeds on good roads, especially around southern Belgium and Northern France where even the D roads make a mockery of Australian roads, the suspension setup is perfectly fine. I found vision out of a spyder astounding.

I wonder what happened to the 3500GT Spyder that lived in Canberra about 20 years ago?

The owner of this car has owned it for near 30 years and converted it back from Webers to Lucas and because there are SO MANY knowledgable 'old car' mechanics in Europe has no problem in maintaining it.

 

These Maseratis weren't much more than upmarket MGB's. Consider that a '62 e-type had sophisticated suspension design, more power and speed and cost roughly half as much.

The 65 Vette may be a leaf spring, but it was on IRS. Again a car available from 63 with up to 360hp and about 1/3rd the price of the Sebring.

And then there's the Merc SL range...

 

Ian ... I agree with the 'factual' claims, however I have never bought a 'fun' car because of this. My years when in cars interested me started in 1963 at 15. My uncle bought an early E-type and I managed to have a drive in 1965, and even then I was about 6' tall - my feet could not fit in the wheel well comfortably for more than 5kms ... ever since I have never considered an E-type, despite being the prettiest of cars.

In the mid '60s to very early '70s many of the 'better classes' (shall we say!!!) regarded Maseratis as being for discerning gentlemen and Ferraris being for lairs/extroverts.

Rather the way Ferrari owners regarded Lamborghinis in the early days. I'll never forget a magazine article ... which I can't lay my hands on atm ... describing driving a Ferrari, then stepping into a Lambo. The writer felt he should put on a clown suit together with a red pom-pom on his nose

The Maserati Mistrale spider I drove this year was a lovely drive at sensible speeds (up to 140kph) on typical good northern European roads ... I certainly couldn't tell if it had IRS or Lucas V Webers or whatever ...

A VERY similar looking car designed by Frua was the AC 428 which I only saw in the flesh in England in 1975 ... they could hardly give them away then. I wonder what the weight of the motor did to the steering, BUT they did have all independent suspension.

By the way Ian with your interest in mid-year Corvettes could I suggest VERY strongly the book 'Corvette Restoration and Technical Guide. Volume 2' if you don't already have it.
Cheers

 

thanks for the tip. I have a similar Mustang book, the yanks do these things really well. To this day I can decode a Mustang VIN by heart. (file this under "pointless obsessive behaviour")

An SWC is still on my bucket list, I'll probably start the hunt again next year, as I'm in the states for a month in May.