Model history
The Maserati Mistral was a wonderful Gran Turismo produced between 1963 and 1970. It was the successor to the 3500 GT, the styling was done by Frua, while the car was bodied by Maggiora in Turin. Limited in its production the coupés saw a total number of 828 examples, while the Spyder just had 125 examples made. The name of the car derives from the cold northerly wind of southern France.
The Mistral is the last model from Maserati to have the company’s renowned twin-spark, double overhead cam straight six engine. Fitted to the Maserati 250F Grand Prix cars, it won 8 Grand Prix races between 1954 and 1960 and one F1 World Championship in 1957, being driven by Juan Manuel Fangio. The engine featured hemispherical combustion chambers fed by a Lucas indirect fuel injection system, a new development for Italian car manufacturers. Maserati subsequently moved on to V8 engines for their later production cars to keep up with the demand for ever more powerful machines. Three engines were fitted to the Mistral, displacing 3500, 3700 and 4000 cc and developing respectively 235 bhp at 5500 rpm, 245 bhp at 5500 rpm and 255 bhp at 5200 rpm. The car came standard with a five speed ZF transmission and four wheel solid disc brakes. Per Maserati practice, the front suspension was independent and the rear solid axle. Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h for both the 3.7 liter and 4.0 liter engines was around or just under 7 seconds, with a top speed of approximately 225 km/h to 233 km/h.
The Maserati Mistral is generally considered one of the most beautiful Maseratis of all time.
This example
This particular Maserati Mistral 4000 Coupe was manufactured in March 1968 and sold direct to Mr. Alberto Aleotti in Lerici, La Spezia, Italy. The car lateron ended up in the USA and was bought by the Dutch current long term owner 22 years ago and ever since the car has been in Holland. Initially intended to be a parts car for another project but fortunately all kept intact.
The car comes with records of service history and lots of documentation including pictures of the impressive restoration in Holland. The Maserati S.P.A papers including the important Certificato d’Origine are included which confirm that this is a matching numbers Maserati Gran Turismo Mistral 4000 Carrozzata Berlinetta from 1968. Presented as ordered new in Argento Auteuil with a Pelle Rossa interior and with optional rear seats and Borrani wire wheels. The restoration was from the chassis up. Look at the pictures and see the whole body taken off.
The mechanical side of the restoration was done at a Dutch Maserati specialist and is beautifully done. The restoration took 10 years and was finished in 2021. This is one of the 4 litre cars with all alloy bodywork. With the car are 180.000 Euro invoices from work done.