Description
Details:
Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for sale this beautifully restored 1965 Maserati Mistral coupe.
The Maserati Classiche documentation on file confirms that this particular car was completed on the 12th June 1965 and despatched to Pietrasanta in the Lucca province in Italy. It was fitted with Maserati’s 3692cc engine (with fuel injection) and a 5 speed manual gearbox. The car was finished in ‘grigio florida’ (silver) – paint code Salchi 106E14 with a ‘senape’ (tan) interior – Connolly trim code PAC. 1775.
The car’s subsequent early history is not known. It found its way to Australia, most likely in the 1970’s, and like all imported cars of that period had to be converted to right hand drive. The car has a thick history file with documentation dating back to the early 1980’s. At that time this Maserati Mistral was owned by a Mr David Johnson from Caulfield (Melbourne), Victoria. The car then carried the Victorian registration LYA 800 and it was a dark red or maroon in colour. There are lots of period photos on file, including one showing the car in its original colour.
The car was sold to Mr Graham Bland from Narrabeen (Sydney), NSW in 1981. Bland totally stripped the car, which included removing the aluminium body from the frame as shown in the photos on file. As evidenced by the copious receipts and photographs on file, Bland did a substantial amount of work to the car. Unfortunately, he never finished the restoration and the car was sold in a disassembled state to the current owner in 2015.
With a spring in their step, the new owner’s immediately picked up the baton to continue the journey to restore this Maserati Mistral to its former glory. The body was delivered to Bruce Hopper, an experienced coach builder in the ACT renowned for his work on hot rods. The car was to be returned to original specification and it was finished as close as possible to its original colour of ‘grigio florida’ using high quality Glasurit paint. The mechanical side of the project was handled by Victorian marque specialist Mario Lombardi, who rebuilt the engine and suspension. Sydney based classic car generalist, Geoff Wheeler, was entrusted to rebuild the five-speed ZF gearbox. The Borrani wire wheels were rebuilt with stainless steel spokes and the interior completely retrimmed using supple Austrian hides in the correct ‘senape’ (tan) colour. Finally, the troublesome Lucas mechanical fuel injection system, so often replaced with Weber carburettors, was completely rebuilt by a specialist from Sydney Maserati agent McCarrolls and the car tuned by specialist Michael Caruso.
The restoration was completed in early 2019 and the car was shown at a function held at Maserati Sydney on the 4th April 2019, where marque enthusiast and historian Adolfo Orsi was a special guest. The event and photographs of this car were featured in the in the Maserati Australia & New Zealand publication ‘il tridente’. In October 2019 the car was exhibited at Motorclassica, Australia’s leading concours d’elegance and classic car show.
More recently, the current owners made the decision to have the front coil springs and rear leaf springs replaced. This was originally not done as part of the restoration, but it was found the springs had aged and were just too soft. As a result, the car now drives superbly.
Given the cars limited use, it is not surprising that today it presents as a fresh restoration. The silver exterior with a tan interior is the most perfect colour combination for the car. The paintwork is still in excellent condition with a few very minor imperfections here and there and it is contrasted perfectly by the delicate chrome trim and badges on the car. All of the exterior trim, including the wire wheels are also in exceptional condition. The glass is in good condition, with a few minor marks here and there. The car has a large glass area and as a result the interior is totally visible as you approach the car, which just invites you to open the door and get in! This is quite a small car and given the aluminium panels the car tips the scales at only a tick over 1, 400 kg. The door is incredibly light, which you kind of expect given the delicate door handles. The quality of the finish of the interior of the car totally matches the exterior of the car . . . it is beautiful and difficult to fault. The timber steering wheel and instruments are a real feature in all classic Maseratis, but they stand out on this particular car. The engine bay is beautifully presented and quite frankly a work of art!
On our recent test drive the engine started easily and idled smoothly. These fuel injected Maseratis run much better once the engine has operating temperature. This car is no exception and the further you drove it the better it got. It was happy to be stretched through the rev range and it really starts to sing above 4, 000 rpm. Maserati’s race bred straight six engine in a ‘jewel’ and it must be said that the car has a fabulous exhaust note. The ZF gearbox operates well and all the synchros do their job effectively. The car handles, steers and stops as one would expect. The new springs made a marked difference to how the car handles. The heater and ventilation system is currently not connected.
This stunning Maserati Mistral has been used sparingly since its restoration and its owners have made the difficult decision that it should be sold.
The car is confirmed as ‘matching numbers’.
Accompanying this car is a spare wheel, jack, tool kit, car cover, exceptional history file as well as various books and manuals.
Highlights:
- beautifully restored Maserati Mistral coupe.
- comprehensive restoration by marque specialists.
- matching numbers chassis and engine.
- stunning and original colour combination.
- rare car in Australia.
- exceptional history file with Maserati Classiche documentation.
Price AUD $289, 950.
Background:
The Maserati story is a fascinating one. The Maserati brothers were all involved in the automotive industry in some way or another, however, it was on the 1st of December 1914 that Alfieri, Ettore and Ernesto Maserati officially opened Alfieri Maserati Workshop in Bologna, Italy. The business was focussed on repairing, servicing and preparing cars, however, the World War cut business short and it wasn’t until 1926 that Maserati built its first car, the Tipo 26.
Maserati chose the trident logo to adorn its cars. Its design was based on the Fountain of Neptune in Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore.
It was all about motorsport back then and in 1937 the Orsi family acquired ownership of Maserati which was in desperate need of financial backing to be able to survive. During the Orsi years Maserati grew from a boutique but very successful race car builder to one of the world’s leading manufacturers of hand built sports and GT cars. Orsi sold to Citroen in 1969 and subsequent owners of Maserati included the Italian state, De Tomaso, Fiat, Ferrari, Fiat Chrysler and Stellantis.
Maserati’s first road car, the A6/ 1500 was shown at the 1947 Geneva Motor Show.
Subsequent models included the A6G/ 2000, 3500 series cars, 5000GT, Mistral, Quattroporte, Mexico, Sebring and Ghibli. Maserati also continued to build very successful race cars that dominated tracks around the world including the 250F, 300S, 150S, 450S and the Birdcage.
Perhaps the most important Maserati ‘GT car’ was the 3500 GT, which was first shown at the 1957 Geneva Motor Show in March of that year. The first production 3500GT’s left the factory in late 1957. Designed by Carrozzeria Touring, the Maserati 3500 GT featured ‘superleggera’ construction with an all aluminium body. The car was powered by a detuned version of Maserati’s V6 engine found in the race cars, with wet sump lubrication. The engines were initially fitted with triple Weber carburettors and later fuel injection, though many customers ordered their later cars with carburettors. Maserati got the formula right and the car was a great success. From 1957 through until 1964 almost 2, 000 cars were built, the majority of which were the ‘standard’ cars bodied by Touring. A small number were bodied by specialist coachbuilders such as Allemano, Boneschi, Frua and Bertone.
The Maserati 3500 was always going to be a tough act to follow. Its successor was technically the Sebring, however, the Mistral which was first shown at the 1963 Turin Motor Show, also followed in the 3500’s footsteps. Designed by Pietro Frua, the stunning Mistral was named after a cold northerly wind from the South of France and it was very well received in period.
The Tipo 109 Mistral was another success story for Maserati and a total of 827 coupes and 123 spyders were produced between 1964 and 1970. The Mistral was the last Maserati road car to employ the company’s race bred straight six engine that powered the legendary 250F driven by Juan Manuel Fangio to victory in the 1957 World Championship. The Quattroporte, Mexico, Indy and Ghibli were all powered by Maserati’s V8 engine.
Like its predecessors, the Maserati Mistral featured an all aluminium body built over a steel frame to minimise weight. Maserati offered three engine displacements, being 3. 5 litres, 3. 7 litres and 4. 0 litres. The twin spark double overhead cam engine employed Lucas’ direct mechanical fuel injection with power outputs between 235 hp and 265 hp.
