Vehicle Description
1963 Maserati Sebring Series 1 RHD
�This delightful Maserati is a very rare UK-delivered RHD first
series Sebring restored to factory original condition.
By the late 1950s Maserati was facing an uncertain future and, in
spite of some notable successes on the race track, had been forced
to retire from competition and focus on larger scale production of
more profitable road-going cars. The first foray into this market
was the 3500GT, produced from 1957 to 1964, and the success of this
model encouraged Maserati to broaden its focus and develop a 2+2
coupe, with the lucrative North American market specifically in
mind. The new model, subsequently christened the "Sebring" in
honour of Fangio and Behra's victory at the 1957 race of the same
name, was unveiled in prototype form at the 1962 Geneva Motor Show
and finally in its definitive form the following year at Turin.
Stylistically the Sebring was closely related to the 3500GT but its
lines were slightly more angular than its predecessor, which gave
it an appropriately aggressive and purposeful look to match its top
speed of 137 mph. The first Sebrings utilised the same 3.5 Litre
straight six engine of the 3500GT but later examples received an
enlarged 3.7 Litre engine and from 1965 onwards a Series 2 car was
introduced which featured some styling updates including different
headlights, redesigned wing vents and changes to the rear end
detailing. The Series 2 continued until 1967 when production of the
Sebring finally ceased. In all only 348 Series 1 cars were
produced, of which less than 10 were constructed in RHD and only 3
are currently known to Maserati UK.
The example offered here is one of these very rare RHD Series 1
cars, which was constructed in 1963 and delivered new to the UK
before eventually finding its way to the United States where it
formed part of a museum collection in the Mid-West. Having seen
little use it was repatriated to the UK in 1990 where it was
re-registered under its original number and by this time had been
painted blue. With few owners and relatively low mileage, the car
was an excellent candidate for restoration and in 2013 was
dispatched to Maserati specialists in Italy for a bare-metal
restoration to factory original condition, which included returning
the car to its original Rosso Cordoba paint with Bianca (white)
leather trim. Since completion of the restoration the car has been
carefully maintained by JD Classics who have recently undertaken
final detailing including a full rebuild and tuning of the Lucas
injection system and some cosmetic work. With full matching numbers
and presenting wonderfully in its original colour combination, the
car provides an exceptional opportunity to acquire one of the
rarest Grand Tourers from the 1960s in freshly restored
condition.
Please contact us for further details.
