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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder - open and sporty luxury for two

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Created on August 26, 2017

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

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Bonhams

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - the Spyder and Coupé differed above all in their rear design

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - Dolce Vita at its finest

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - a masterful design by Giovanni Michelotti

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - compared to the Coupé, the wheelbase was shortened by 10 centimeters

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - classic Spyder silhouette

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - fully retractable soft top

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - Front disc brakes, rear drums

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - also cuts a fine figure when closed

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - elegant and timeless

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - immediately recognizable as a Maserati

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - for open-top fun for two

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - beautifully drawn instruments

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - Interior with Nardi steering wheel

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - delivered from the factory with Borrani wheels

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - large headlights

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - the Maserati trident

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - Headlights by Cibie

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - spacious trunk

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Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder (1960) - upright rear lights

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Maserati 3500 GT (1957) - taken on the occasion of the AR short tests in Turin - the car corresponds to the prototype on display

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Maserati 3500 GT Spider (1959) - the Vignale Spider is based on a design by Michelotti, presented in Turin in 1959, sketch by Michelotti

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Maserati 3500 GT (1962) - open carburetor model with fabric roof

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Maserati 3500 GTI Cabriolet Vignale (1963) - the shapely open version

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Maserati 3500 GT (1962) - open carburetor model with hardtop

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Maserati 3500 GT Convertible (1961) - the open version with hardtop at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show

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Maserati 3500 GT Spyder (1962) - the open Vignale version, here with hardtop

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Maserati 3500 GT Spyder Vignale (1959) - shown at the Turin Motor Show in 1959

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Maserati 3500 GT Spyder Vignale (1962) - Steering wheel and dashboard

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Maserati 3500 GT (1958) - the six-cylinder with dual ignition and three carburetors

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Summary

Only around 250 3500 GT Spyders were built by Maserati and Vignale between 1959 and 1964, meaning that the open-top version remained significantly rarer than the coupé, which was built over 1900 times. No wonder the Vignale Spyder is today one of the most expensive Maserati sports cars of the sixties. This report tells the brief history of the Vignale Spyder and portrays an early and special example, supplemented by historical photographs.

This article contains the following chapters

Racing technology for the road
Interesting for coachbuilders
Shortened and spiced up
Movie star
Rarity
The 14th Spyder
Traceable history

Estimated reading time: 3min

Preview (beginning of the article)

With the Maserati 3500 GT , the designers and carmakers around Giulio Alfieri had hit the bull's eye. The luxurious Granturismo was shown for the first time in Geneva in 1957 and series production began in the same year. At the front was an in-line six-cylinder engine with two overhead camshafts and three twin carburetors, producing around 240 hp from a displacement of 3.5 liters. This made a top speed of 230 km/h possible, which made the Maserati as attractive as the Ferrari sports cars with twice the number of cylinders. The 3.5-liter car was based on a tubular frame, as used in the racing cars of the time. At the front, the wheels were individually mounted on trapezoidal wishbones, while a rigid axle had to suffice at the rear.

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