1963 Maserati 5000 GT by Frua

1963 Maserati 5000 GT by Frua
High Bid Of $1,800,000
RM Auction, Monterey, CA. 2014
Chassis no. AM103.064
Engine no. AM103.064
340 bhp, 4,941 cc DOHC 90-degree V-8 engine with Lucas mechanical fuel injection, five-speed manual transmission, independent front suspension with coil springs and tubular shock absorbers, live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs and tubular shock absorbers, and four-wheel Girling disc brakes. Wheelbase: 104 in.
•One of 34 Maserati 5000 GTs produced
•The first of only two Frua-bodied examples built
•The 1962 Geneva and Paris show car
•Promotional car used by team owner John Simone and the Aga Khan
•Factory refurbished in period for use by King Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
•One of the most important and glamorous Maseratis extant
By the twilight of the 1950s, Maserati’s somewhat dire financial conditions had substantially improved, thanks largely to the cancellation of their storied but expensive racing program after 1957 and the successful introduction of the road going 3500 GT the same year. As the company’s first true mass-production grand touring car, the 3500 challenged the day’s Ferrari 250 GT models for elegance and power, and they soon curried favor with the era’s most well-heeled automotive connoisseurs.
One such suitor of the model was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, a long-time auto enthusiast who once roared around in Hispano-Suizas during his school days in Switzerland. Before his notorious 1979 exile, he filled his garage with a panoply of Rolls-Royces, Mercedes, and Lamborghinis. Intrigued by the 3500 GT’s potential, but ever keen on acquiring only bespoke, limited-production models worthy of the Peacock Throne, the Shah inquired if Maserati might create for him such a car, but one that was also equipped with the powerful five-liter V-8 that was developed for the mighty 450S sports racing car.
Maserati, always keen to field expensive specialty orders from wealthy clients, quickly set about the task, with engineer Giulio Alfieri reinforcing a 3500 GT chassis and dropping in one of the unused 450S motors. The 2,600-milimeter tubular chassis was equipped with disc brakes up front, and Touring of Milan was selected by the Shah to clothe the car with rakish high-waisted coachwork that suggested both subtle power and masculine elegance. The new car was publicly introduced at the Turin Motor Show in November 1959, and two additional cars were soon built to the same mechanical configuration.
Following the build of these three “first-series” cars, Alfieri modified the design to make the 5000 GT more agreeable in everyday road going conditions, as the 450S engine was famously unruly. After adjusting the bore and stroke to a slightly larger displacement, exchanging the Weber carburetors for Lucas fuel injectors, and replacing the noisy gear-driven camshafts with a triple-strand chain-cam, Alfieri produced a powerplant that was smoother, more responsive, and more appropriately refined for the elite clientele for whom the car was intended.
At almost twice the price of the 3500 GT, and bodied by no less than eight different coachbuilders to different exterior designs, the 5000 GT was a top-shelf automobile on par with the Ferrari Superamericas being produced in Maranello, and they justifiably attracted the attention of an elite ownership base that included Gianni Agnelli, Briggs Cunningham, and the Aga Khan, among other influential buyers. By the time the final car was constructed in November 1961, just 36 examples had been built, but as two of these were essentially re-manufactured, the total number is more accurately stated as 34 chassis.
This Maserati, originally built as chassis number AM103.048, was finished in gold metallic paint and appointed with a sumptuous interior of deerskin upholstery, creating a stunning livery that made for a strong impact when the car was initially exhibited at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1962. As the first Frua-bodied 5000 GT, the car displayed a number of interesting physical differences from the Touring and Allemano bodies that were produced in greater number. Its increased use of glass in the canopy was immediately noticeable. This was provided by a lower waistline that dipped through the door, and rose at the rear haunch to a higher rear glass piece. The cue has the effect of endowing the car with a muscularly curved shoulder line reminiscent of Pininfarina’s 250 GT designs. Individual sculpting details in the body lines and brightwork, highlighted by a concave trident badge mounted over the grille, epitomize the car’s stunning elegance.
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Robert Myrick Photography