Maserati
The company is now part of the Fiat Group. Maserati racing cars enjoyed a good deal of success, particularly in the fifties, winning the Formula 1 World Championship in 1957 with Juan Manuel Fangio at the wheel of a 250 F.
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Maserati 3500 GT
Maserati 3500 GT
The Maserati 3500 GT was a premium-range sports car produced from 1957 to 1966. Launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 1957 as a successor to the A 6 G 54, the 3500 GT was powered by a 3.5-liter six-cylinder inline engine with twin overhead camshafts. The coupé bodies were mostly built by Carrozzeria Touring, but other coachbuilders, including Allemano, Frua, Bertone and Moretti, also supplied a small number of bodies. The cabriolet version was called the Maserati Spider. It had a shorter wheelbase (10 cm) and was produced by Vignale based on a Michelotti design.
Front disk brakes were added to the 3500 GT in 1960. This was followed in 1961 by a ZF 5-speed transmission and initially an optional Lucas injection system. These features boosted the engine power to 235 bhp, and the model designation was changed to 3500 GTI.
Integrated ZF products:
Maserati used the 1962 Turin Motor Show as the launch pad for its 3500 GTIS or Sebring, a 2+2-seater coupé using the shorter wheelbase of the 3500 GT Cabriolet. Technically, this was the same vehicle as the 3500 GTI (Touring). From 1965, the Sebring with revamped bodywork, was optionally available with powerful 3.7 or 4-liter six-cylinder inline engines, developing 245 and 255 bhp respectively. There are basically three different models of the Maserati 3500 GT/I: the 3500 “Superleggera” with an aluminum body by Touring built between 1957 and 1964, the 3500 Spider by Vignale and the 3500 GTIS (Sebring), also with a body by Vignale. A total of 1,972 of the 3500 GT and GTI models were produced up to 1964, and an additional 596 units of the Sebring 1 and 2 by 1968.
