Information
- Exceptional preservation of engine and velvet interiors.
- Eligible for Mille Miglia, an excellent opportunity to compete with a prestigious Italian sports brand.
- Matching numbers.
- 23rd of 61 units built.
- One of only ten cars built with three Weber carburettor option; one of only three cars supposedly survived.
- The first Maserati road car in history.
- Former car of the Peter Kaus’s “Rosso Bianco” museum.
Fiva,ASI
Documents
Registration and Italian license plates in order.
Eligibility
- Mille Miglia. Eligible.
- Giro di Sicilia. Eligible.
- Targa Florio. Eligible.
- Goodwood Revival. Eligible
- Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti. Eligible.
- Vernasca Silver Flag. Eligible.
- California Mille: Eligible.
- Nürburgring Classic. Eligible.
- Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Eligible.
- Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. Eligible.
- Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille. Eligible.
- Concorso d’eleganza Villa D’Este. Eligible.
Provenance
The Maserati A6 were a series of grand tourers, racing sports cars and single seaters made by Maserati in Italy between 1947 and 1956. They were named “A” for Alfieri Maserati (one of the Maserati brothers, founders of Maserati) and “6” for their straight six-cylinders engine.The A6 1500 grand tourer was Maserati's first road car. Its development started in 1941, but it was halted as priorities shifted to wartime production. It was commissioned by Adolfo Orsi, owner of Tridente firms since 1937 when it was taken over by the Maserati brothers. Also, this car is the last project developed by Tridente, which at the time of the sale had signed a ten years pact to provide their technical consultancy. The decision to start building the “Gran Turismo” road car was taken in 1945, and the first two prototypes began testing already in the summer of 1946. The car was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1947, with a Pinin Farina coupé bodywork, named Turismo Coupé with retractable headlights – a solution then abandoned. Subsequently, the coachbuilder modified the exposed car, chassis No. 053, to make it more comfortable. That same car, bought by a Milanese industrialist with business relationships in Argentina, was sold to Evita Perón, a circumstance that gave A6 the popular nickname of "Maserita," the Evita’s Maserati. The price at the time was 4.5 million LIT. After a difficult start, orders began to grow thanks to the brilliant victories achieved on the tracks.The A6 1500 was powered by a 1.5 litre (1.488 ccs) aluminium and magnesium engine, that was the basis for any racing and street cars produced by Maserati in the following years. The straight six-cylinders engine was named A6 TR (“Testa Riportata” for its detachable cylinder head), was based on the pre-war Maserati 6CM unit and is similar to the A6GCS sports car's 2.0-litre unit. It had a single overhead shaft and a single Weber carburettor, producing 65 hp at 4,700 rpm. From 1949 some cars were fitted with triple carburettors. The chassis frame featured double-wishbone front suspension, derived from racing practice, while at the rear there was a coil-sprung live axle. Top speed, depending on coachwork, was in the region of 146 to 154 km/h. These cars had a lovely combination of performance and luxury that set the pattern for Maserati road cars of later years.The Maserati A6 1500 was produced in 61 units, with chassis numbers from 051 to 0112: two were built in 1946, three in 1947, nine in 1948, twenty-five in 1949 and twenty-two in 1950. They were, for the most part, body-coupé bodied by Pinin Farina, as well as some cabriolets, again by Pinin Farina and some examples were Panoramica by Zagato.
The car
The Maserati A6 1500 Gran Turismo, chassis no. 073, is one of the few fitted with triple Weber carburettors - particularly noteworthy as this is the first production Maserati to be fitted with this feature. This desirable enhancement significantly raised power from the single-carbureted base version and signalled the marque’s refocusing on performance instead of accommodating post-war low-octane fuel constraints. Just fourteen A6 1500s were similarly equipped, and only two others are known to survive.The chassis no. 073 is the 23rd specimen out of 58; it was built in March 1949, the ninth car of that year. After leaving the factory, likely after the rigorous tests of the great Maserati chief tester, Guerino Bertocchi, it was delivered to theto his first owner, the earl Guazzoni in Turin. The sale was completed by Guglielmo Carraroli, from Modena, a Scuderia Ferrari racing driver and a Maserati dealer in Turin. It was he who ordered the car on behalf of earl Guazzoni.Subsequently, the car was sold and transferred to Switzerland, from 1955 Albert Wydes in Zurich owned it and from 1960 by Mr Ischi in Lausanne. In 1970, the car was sold to Peter Kaus in Germany. Repainted by him in amaranth colour, the car has long been exposed from 1970 to 1997/1998 in the museum "Rosso Bianco" owned by the same Kaus, one of the largest collections and displays of vintage cars in the world until its closure, over 10 years ago. By the end of the 1990s, it was bought by Mr Strobl from Nürnberg in Germany through the Dutch dealer Rudy Pas. He commissioned the first restoration but in a non-original colour.In 2002, the car was bought by Franco Giuffrida, followed by a couple of following owners, again in Italy. Nowadays the is presented in a rare “state of the art”, with the original velvet parts of the interiors preserved and the engine that still shows a series of details now quite exceptional to see.The car is judged as exceptional also by experts, including Giuseppe Candini. The chassis number stamping was re-stamped. The quality of the general preservation and the history of the car made it possible for Ermanno Cozza, Maserati's "historical memory", to conclude that the re-stamping took place following an accident. In his notes also the information that the car had been produced in blue colour with blue leather interior. The car was bought by the last owner on the advice of Marcello and Giuseppe Candini. In 2006, the car with chassis no. 073 was restored to its original blue livery. In 2010 it was restored, in the mechanical and chassis parts, by the Candini workshop in Modena. These works highlight the exceptional state that the car has maintained until today.State of the ArtComprehensive restoration of bodywork (2006) and mechanical parts (2010). In perfect condition and functioning.
State of the Art: Comprehensive restoration of bodywork (2006) and mechanical parts (2010). In perfect condition and functioning
Literature
- Luigi Orsini, Franco Zagari, Maserati, Una storia nella storia, dal 1945 ad oggi, Libreria dell’Automobile, Milano 1980.
- Gianni Cancellieri, Bruno Alfieri, Maserati, Catalogue Raisonné 1926-2003, Automobilia, Milano 2003.