Description
At the Paris Salon in 1971, Pietro Frua presented a new car that he hoped would be the replacement for the first series Maserati Quattroporte. One visitor to the show was the Aga Khan, who immediately commissioned Frua to build him a similar car. This is that second car, which has the chassis number AM121. 004.
Completed in 1974 and based on a lengthened Indy chassis with all the sophistication of those later cars such as 4. 9-litre V8 engine, Citroën LHM brakes, ZF power steering and 5-speed dog-leg manual gearbox, this was no prototype but a fully functioning machine capable of transporting its owner at high speed and in comfort between his homes in Paris and Geneva.
There is an extensive history file with this car documenting the commission and build (the car was ordered through the French concessionaire Jean Thepenier) as well as ownership history. From the Aga Khan, the car passed to jockey Yves St Martin, then to socialite Christine Coty. By the 1990s it had become a permanent exhibit in the Geneva Motor Museum, but then crossed the Atlantic to join the collection of Houston-based Alfredo Brener. It was here that it was reunited with the first car, the car from the Paris Salon, which had been sold to the King of Spain.
When the Brener collection was dissolved, it had one further US owner before coming back to Europe and was eventually purchased by a Maserati collector in 2016. He commissioned McGrath Maserati to carry out a thorough restoration of the car to concours condition, which took place over a five-year period. The restoration costs were approximately £300, 000 and are fully documented by invoices and photographs.
Since then, the car has been used for some long haul events including the International Maserati Rally in 2023 in Barcelona. It is completely ready for further use, but would be just as at home on the Concours field.
In the history of Maserati, this sits between the series 1 and the stillborn series 2 Quattroportes but is really one of the last bespoke special order coach built cars that even by 1974 were becoming less frequent. It has been thoroughly documented in numerous articles over the years and provides a guaranteed entry to all the best events on the planet.
It is now offered for sale at a fraction of the restoration costs and therefore represents a significant opportunity. Please enquire for further details, a thorough synopsis and more photographs.
