This 1958 Maserati 3500 GT is one of five Tipo 101 chassis transformed into prototypes by Pietro Frua and is the lone example among those five designed with an open-roof configuration.
Chassis 268 was completed in December 1958, after which it is said to have been test-driven on the Autodromo di Modena and then exported to France, where it was first registered under a private company in November 1959. In 1960 the car appeared in the French film La Francaise et l’Amour before being sold to French film-score composer Francis Lopez.
It then spent several years with its next owner before being purchased in 1981 by an Évreux owner who commissioned a refurbishment that included the installation of a replacement 3.5-liter DOHC inline-six and a five-speed manual transmission. After passing through two European collections, the car made its way to the US, where it spent time in the Alfredo Brener collection before remaining with its subsequent owner for 14 years.
A refresh approximately seven years ago included overhauls of the powertrain components and a re-trim of the interior in red leather. The car was purchased in 2022 by the seller, who commissioned further refurbishment work at a cost of over $416k by Fast Cars Ltd. of Redondo Beach, California, that returned the interior to its factory color scheme of turquoise and cream before an appearance at the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Finished in pale yellow, the car features triple Weber carburetors, twin-plug ignition, servo-assisted brakes with front discs, 15” Borrani wire wheels, and a white convertible top. This one-off Tipo 101 is now offered in Redondo Beach, California, with a binder documenting its history and recent refurbishment, manuals, a tool kit, a scale model, and a clean Montana title in the name of the seller’s LLC.
The 3500 GT entered production in 1957 with fixed-roof coachwork by Touring and was joined in 1959 by a Vignale-bodied spyder, although approximately a dozen chassis were outfitted by other coachbuilders. Design concepts for Frua’s convertible variant were initiated in Summer 1958, and are believed to have originated in pursuit of the contract eventually awarded by Maserati to Vignale. Styling includes inset fender vents crosscut by quadruple chrome spears, a split front bumper with vertical bumperettes, a hood scoop, and tailfins housing pointed chrome light bezels.
The body was repainted during the 1980s refurbishment and again between the late 1990s and early 2000s in pale yellow, which is said to be its original color. The car was again refinished during the refurbishment that was completed by Fast Cars Ltd. in 2024, which also included repairs to and re-plating of the bumpers and other chrome trim pieces. Replacement “Creazione P. Frua” badges were fabricated for placement within each of the fender embellishments. The convertible top was also refreshed with replacement white fabric.
Borrani wire wheels are secured by two-eared knock-offs and are wrapped in 185VR15 Pirelli Cinturato CA67 tires, as is a matching spare housed in the trunk. Servo-assisted brakes were updated with front discs during the 1980s refurbishment, while drums remain at the rear.
The cabin was re-trimmed during the Fast Cars Ltd. refurbishment to reinstate the original turquoise and cream leather scheme in place of a red leather interior that had been installed under previous ownership. Additional features include gray carpeting, black dashboard trim, roll-up windows, a lockable glovebox, and emerald-color pull knobs.
The wood-rimmed Nardi steering wheel sits ahead of a body-color dashboard housing Jaeger instrumentation including a 250-kilometer speedometer, an 8k-rpm tachometer, and gauges monitoring coolant temperature, fuel level, and oil pressure. The five-digit odometer shows 3,600 kilometers (~2,200 miles), approximately 200 of which have been added under current ownership.
The 3,485cc Tipo 101 inline-six features an aluminum block and cylinder head, with the latter featuring hemispherical combustion chambers and dual overhead camshafts. Induction is through triple Weber 42 DCOE carburetors, while ignition is handled by two spark plugs per cylinder. The engine is a replacement that is said to have been sourced from the factory during the 1980s refurbishment, and the block has been stamped with the car’s chassis number. An overhaul is said to have been performed between 2017 and 2018, and the engine and valve covers were cosmetically refurbished during the Fast Cars Ltd. project.
The five-speed manual transmission is said to have been installed in the 1980s and rebuilt between 2017 and 2018, and the clutch system was serviced during the 2024 project. Suspension incorporates double wishbones and coil springs up front and a leaf-sprung solid axle at the rear. Read More
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