The Maserati Briggs Cunningham 5000 GT

Commissioned by American racing icon Briggs Cunningham and unveiled at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show, Maserati 5000 GT chassis 103.016 represents one of Giovanni Michelotti's finest achievements. Developed with extensive wind-tunnel testing and shaped by a relentless pursuit of performance, it is widely regarded as the most aerodynamic and possibly the fastest of all thirty-four Maserati 5000 GTs ever built. A unique blend of racing pedigree, scientific design and Italian elegance, it remains one of the most significant grand tourers of its era.

Words by Edgardo Michelotti

Photos and Drawings: Archivio Storico Michelotti www.archiviostoricomichelotti.it

Among the thirty-four Maserati 5000 GTs built between 1959 and 1965, one stands apart from all the others. Not because of its rarity alone, but because of the philosophy behind its creation. Commissioned by American racing legend Briggs Cunningham and designed by Giovanni Michelotti, chassis 103.016 remains one of the most remarkable grand touring Maseratis ever conceived.

The car was unveiled at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show on the Michelotti stand, a fitting stage for what was arguably the most advanced interpretation of Maserati's ultimate road-going flagship. It is often described as the fastest and most aerodynamic 5000 GT ever built. Whether measured by performance, innovation or exclusivity, few would dispute its place among the most significant Maseratis of the era.

The origins of the 5000 GT are now part of automotive folklore. In 1958, after exhausting the possibilities offered by Maserati's regular production models, the Shah of Persia approached the company with an unusual request: a 3500 GT powered by one of Maserati's formidable 450S racing engines. With the 450S programme already discontinued and several spare engines available, Maserati transformed the idea into a limited-production grand tourer of extraordinary performance.

The resulting 5000 GT combined the sophistication of a luxury road car with the heart of a racing machine. Only thirty-four examples would be produced, each individually tailored for its owner. The list of customers included some of the most influential figures of the period, among them Gianni Agnelli, the Aga Khan and Briggs Cunningham, whose passion for speed was matched only by his considerable resources. In many ways, Cunningham represented the ideal 5000 GT owner: a gentleman racer who demanded the very best engineering available.

For his personal car, Cunningham requested a design that would visually echo the Maserati 450S from which the concept had originated. As often happens in the creative process, the result evolved into something altogether different — and arguably even more compelling. Michelotti retained subtle references to the racing car through the rounded contours of the wheel arches, but the rest was an entirely original and strikingly modern creation.

The design was characterised by exceptionally clean surfaces, a remarkably low roofline and generous glass areas supported by ultra-thin pillars. Decorative chrome strakes concealed functional air outlets behind the front wheel arches, while the semi-tapered rear section anticipated styling themes later seen on the Ferrari 330 GTC. Hidden headlamps, concealed behind rotating covers, flanked a low oval grille, preserving the car's aerodynamic efficiency. A muscular side exhaust, discreetly emerging behind the front wheels, hinted at the power concealed beneath the elegant bodywork.

What truly distinguished Cunningham's 5000 GT, however, was the scientific approach taken during its development. Michelotti was among the very few designers of the period to employ wind-tunnel testing as an integral part of the design process. The body was refined at the wind tunnel of the University of Turin, resulting in what is widely considered the most aerodynamic 5000 GT ever produced. The exceptionally low nose, clean airflow management and concealed headlamps were all conceived with performance in mind rather than mere styling effect.

The mechanical package was equally impressive. Cunningham sought the fastest example possible, and Maserati delivered accordingly. Before accepting the car, he reportedly insisted on testing it personally at Monza to verify that its performance met his exacting standards. Satisfied with the results, he used the car extensively, travelling between the European circuits where his racing team competed throughout the early 1960s.

Beyond its exceptional performance, Cunningham particularly appreciated the outstanding visibility offered by Michelotti's design. The slim pillars and expansive glasshouse provided an almost uninterrupted 360-degree field of vision, an attribute he considered essential for high-speed driving.

Today, the Cunningham 5000 GT is regarded as one of Giovanni Michelotti's absolute masterpieces. Among all thirty-four examples built, it remains unique in having been conceived through such a distinctly functional and scientific approach. Rather than relying solely on aesthetics, Michelotti pursued efficiency, aerodynamics and visibility with unusual rigour, creating a grand tourer that perfectly reflected the character of its owner: bold, purposeful and uncompromising.

More than sixty years after its debut in Geneva, chassis 103.016 still stands as one of the purest expressions of the union between racing technology, aerodynamic research and Italian coachbuilding artistry.

-- About the Author Edgardo Michelotti was born in 1952. After obtaining a diploma as a surveyor, he pursued architectural studies in Turin before joining his father, the celebrated designer Giovanni Michelotti, in 1973. He worked alongside him until Michelotti’s illness and passing in early 1980, later continuing the activities of the studio until 1991, when he gradually moved away from the automotive sector. Over the following fifteen years, Edgardo Michelotti focused primarily on industrial design, while simultaneously cultivating a deep commitment to photography, historical preservation and archival research. Since 2003, he has dedicated himself extensively to the preservation, cataloguing and digitisation of the Giovanni Michelotti archive — an extraordinary body of material documenting more than three decades of automotive design history across the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The archive includes approximately 6,000 original design drawings, over 20,000 photographs, nearly 7,000 kilograms of full-scale body design plans, together with scale models, working tools, correspondence, technical documentation and period publications. Through this long-term preservation effort, Edgardo Michelotti continues to safeguard and promote one of the most significant creative legacies in post-war Italian automotive design.