To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' Monterey
event, 15 - 17 August 2019.
Estimate:
$500,000 - $700,000
- Displayed by Ghia at the 1961 Turin Motor Show
- One of only 34 5000 GTs built, and the only example bodied by
Ghia
- Originally built for Ferdinando Innocenti, creator of the
Lambretta scooter
- Whereabouts unknown until recently discovered after 50-plus
years
- Offered from single-family ownership for the last several
decades
- Stunning one-off example of Maserati's ultimate road car
Intrigued by the Maserati 3500 GT but looking for something more
exclusive, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, approached
Maserati to build him a road car with the powerful five-liter V-8
that was developed for the mighty 450S sports racing car. Maserati,
keen to field expensive specialty orders from wealthy clients, set
about the task, with engineer Giulio Alfieri reinforcing a 3500 GT
chassis and dropping in one of the unused 450S motors.
The new model was named the 5000 GT and was publicly introduced at
the Turin Motor Show in November 1959, and two additional cars were
soon built to the same mechanical configuration. The V-8 was soon
re-engineered for better manners around town, and in this form, 31
more cars were built for a total of 34 examples.
At almost twice the price of the 3500 GT, and bodied by no less
than eight different coachbuilders to varying designs, the 5000 GT
was a top-shelf automobile on par with the Ferrari Superamericas
being produced in Maranello. They justifiably attracted the
attention of an elite ownership that included Gianni Agnelli,
Briggs Cunningham, and the Aga Khan, among other influential
buyers.
This 5000 GT, chassis no. AM103 018, was completed in July 1961 and
was the ninth example built. Most 5000 GTs were built with
understated bodies by Allemano, but 018 was the only example
coachbuilt by Ghia. Sergio Sartorelli, head of the style
prototyping department at Ghia, created its stunning one-off design
incorporating cutting-edge styling elements of the time, many of
which were later seen on other Ghia designs. Sartorelli was best
known for designing the Karmann Ghia Type 34, Fiat 126, Fiat 2300
coupe, and Chrysler Ghia Crown Imperial limousine, along with his
work as the director of design at OSI.
In addition to his work with Ghia and OSI, Sartorelli also designed
a few prototype Lambretta scooters, meeting Ferdinando Innocenti in
the process. An Italian businessman whose factories were destroyed
in World War II, Innocenti envisioned a future of affordable
transportation and created the Lambretta scooter in 1947, making
him one of the wealthiest people in the country. Innocenti
recognized Sartorelli's talent and had him design his personal 5000
GT.
Ghia displayed 018 on their stand at the 1961 Turin Auto Show,
finished in its original color combination of silver over black. A
high-quality period color photo of the car at Turin shows its
beautiful design and color combination. Before delivery to
Innocenti, Maserati loaned the car to Sports Car Graphic editor
Bernard Cahier for a high-speed road test featured in their January
1962 issue. Cahier wrote, "We found ourselves glued to our seats by
the tremendous acceleration such as is found only in racing
cars...I have driven many fast cars before, but never did I feel
such power coming on so fast, so fast indeed that when I shifted
from 3rd into top gear on the first little straight, I found that
the car was already doing 135 mph!" The Maserati covered a standing
kilometer in 26.6 seconds at 135 mph, the fastest sprint Cahier had
ever recorded at that time.
Innocenti later sold the car, and after being owned by a few people
in Italy, it found its way to Saudi Arabia, where it was long
thought to have been lost. Rubayan Alrubayan, a Saudi Arabian car
enthusiast, acquired the Maserati in the 1970s and, unaware of its
significance, parked the car, where it sat unmoved for decades.
After Alrubayan's death several years ago, his heirs decided to
bring the car inside to prevent further decay and are now offering
it for sale. Arabic spray paint on the side of the door marked it
as abandoned and due to be scrapped, but thankfully it was saved
just in time.
After sitting outside for nearly 50 years, AM103 018 is in
remarkably complete condition and would be an ideal example to
restore to its former show-car glory. Although weathered, it has
never been vandalized, disassembled, or stripped of parts. Remnants
of its original silver paint and subsequent blue paint (from the
mid-1960s) are visible. Even the unused spare tire is still in the
trunk! Original pencil drawings from Ghia can be seen on the inside
of the driver's-side door panel where the leather has peeled back,
and the original glass remains in excellent condition. Although
difficult to read, the odometer shows 15,561 kilometers, which very
likely is its original mileage. As a one-off coachbuilt example of
Maserati's ultimate road car, it would be celebrated at virtually
every concours event and is eagerly awaiting its return to the
limelight.To view this car and others currently consigned to this
auction, please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mo19.
