Another leap of faith confronted Francesco Giardini as he once again rounded Tertre Rouge and plunged from the relative light of the complex into the mesmerising darkness of Mulsanne. The shadows of trees that lined the route formed his only reference and while deep into the distance, glinted the hue of red tail lights, he knew that he could not give chase. The little 1,500 cc engine sang with all the brilliance of it’s Bolognese creators yet, as always, he would have to restrain it’s willingness to reach an ultimate crescendo that could lead to its destruction. Continue Reading »

Universally acclaimed as the most beautiful and best handling Grand Prix car of the fifties, the 250F Maserati has an immense reputation. Today at Donington, an historic reunion of the three 1957 works team cars is taking place, yet one car stands above its siblings as being the best of the best. Instantly recognisable by its yellow nose band, chassis 2529 will forever be associated with Juan Manuel Fangio, with that drivers fifth and Maseratis only Formula One World Championships and above all, with the race of the decade – the 1957 German Grand Prix. Continue Reading »

AM101.993

Originally the property of the King of Morocco, this 3500GT Spyder underwent a total restoration by Bill McGrath Maserati in the mid-nineties. Continue Reading »

It had begun a few weeks earlier. The phone call out of blue, asking me to go to Belgium to look at a car. Now I stood in the early morning fog at Zaventum airport, waiting for my lift to Ghent and a very special appointment. Continue Reading »

The ‘discovered’ column of a popular classic car magazine once carried an amazing story about an early Maserati. It went something like this: A group of Italian car enthusiasts in a restaurant in California were noisily discussing their favourite topic when the waitress serving them piped up that she too owned an Italian car. Assuming this to be some mundane Fiat or other, the group were astounded to find on enquiring that the car in question was a Maserati A6G Frua Spyder. After dinner, she took them to the garage by her house and there in all its faded glory was indeed the rare early Maserati. Continue Reading »

Paradoxically, the years of the Second World War were kind to the Maserati brothers. Granted, they were no longer at liberty to ply their stock in trade of manufacturing racing cars, the pre-war collection of grand prix and voiturette machines having been hidden far away from Modena for the duration, but having recently signed over the family company to the Orsi organisation, they were able to comfortably hide in the bosom of that conglomerate and idle away the bulk of their enforced ten year sentence as consultants to the old family firm by undertaking design projects for the future. After all, they had fought their own battle only a few years before. Continue Reading »

Along with pin striped suits and red Porsches, the late eighties will be remembered for the classic car boom. The popular view is of a time when anything on four wheels that could remotely support a ‘classic’ tag became stocks and shares to hungry investors, eager to move their money into the next big bubble and so ousting lowly enthusiasts from their own hobby. Continue Reading »

Like La Dolce Vita, it captured the moment. Fellinis film could have featured the Maserati 3500GT Spyder as it too gathered the mood and emotion of a period of time with its cultivated decadence, simultaneously displaying immense style and beauty but also attitude. And even after all that the name Maserati has been through in recent years, it is enough just to look again at the perfection of line and hear the voice of this thoroughbred to know that they were once great and proud leaders in automotive artistry. It was born however, at a time when the company was going through one of its darkest periods. Continue Reading »

AM115/49*1956

As had become common in the late eighties, this Ghibli was actually on its way to the guillotine to be chopped into a Spyder when committed Maserati collector Alexander Fyshe saved it. Continue Reading »

One would have thought, given the number of 5000GTs I have covered over the last few years for Auto Italia, that by now the famously mighty performance generated by 325 horsepower of quad cam V8 would have become just another notch on this motoring writer’s dipstick. Yet the truth was that I had never driven one more than the few yards from cosseting garage to photogenic location, and even though I credit myself with a little imagination, it remains tricky to expound the virtues of a 170mph supercar when one has never been out of first gear. Continue Reading »

It is a fine line between genius and madness. For Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Maserati Boomerang represented a rare crossing of that line, a meeting of the two states. When questioned today about the motivation that led to its creation, Giugiaro is coy responding that ‘when seeking new roads, one runs the risk of taking wrong turns’. So was the Boomerang mere folly? With the benefit of hindsight probably the answer is yes – he now calls it ‘simply an attractive museum piece’. In 1972 however, he thought it was a ‘provocation’. Continue Reading »

While every restoration carried out by the team at Bill McGrath Maserati is special, a 3500GTI that was completed in August held particular significance. For this was Bill McGrath’s own car, the first Maserati that he bought way back in 1973, so linking his name with the Modenese marque for the next quarter century. Continue Reading »

There are some things in life that transcend mere taste. Art is a very personal thing and most objets create opinion both positive and negative. Perfection for all is an unobtainable dream. Those that come close do so with almost divine inspiration. Who could fail to be captivated by Michelangelos frescos on the Sistine chapel ceilings? Continue Reading »

AM101.1120.

It was as long ago as 1988 that this early, carburetted, right hand drive 3500GT arrived in Kimpton. For years before, it had stood in the grounds of Sorn Castle in Ayr, part of the eclectic collection of the late Bobby Macintyre. Continue Reading »

Before the era of the supercar, the title given to the high and mighty of a car company’s range was GT. Gran Turismo in Italian, Grand Touring in French. This evocative abbreviation conjured romantic scenes of late nineteenth century aristocrats embarking on Grand Tours, in order to embrace all things European. Continue Reading »