And Then There Was One

RM Sotheby’s, Amelia Island, USA 10 March

WHO COULD POSSIBLY know how many important cars were lost back in the days when no one seemed to care? The fact that this Maserati was very nearly among them suggests that the number of similar rarities consigned to the scrapyard must have been too large to contemplate.

At first glance, it’s easy to imagine you’ve seen a car like this before. But it’s highly unlikely, because it’s thought to be the sole survivor of just two Maserati 3500GT Speciales bodied by Pietro Frua, the Italian coach builder most readily linked with the Trident marque as designer of the Quattroporte and Mistral.