1959 Maserati 3500 GT Spyder (by Frua)
Maserati’s financial salvation arrived at the 1957 Geneva Motor Show in the form of the 3500 GT, the company’s first truly successful production gran turismo after years of racing had nearly bankrupted the operation.
Chief engineer Giulio Alfieri adapted the 213-cubic-inch (3.5-liter) inline-six from the 350S sports racer, producing about 220 horsepower through triple Weber carburetors (later increased to 235 horsepower with Lucas fuel injection in GTi models from 1961).
Carrozzeria Touring bodied most of the approximately 2,200 coupes built through 1964, but customer demand prompted Maserati to commission convertible prototypes from several coachbuilders.
Turin-based Pietro Frua received five chassis, producing four coupes and a single open Spyder that served as his submission for the production convertible contract. Frua’s one-off featured headlights nestled into subtly scooped fenders, chrome-accented side coves, and gently flared tailfins.
The production contract ultimately went to Carrozzeria Vignale, whose design by Giovanni Michelotti debuted at the 1959 Paris Motor Show.
Built on a wheelbase four inches shorter than the coupe, the Vignale Spyder employed steel construction with aluminum hood and trunk rather than Touring’s Superleggera method. Just 242 Vignale Spyders were completed through 1964.
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