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With a sad look - the Maserati Mexico prototype by Pietro Frua

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Created on January 9, 2017

Text:

Stefan Dierkes

Photos:

Robin Adams - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

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Pietro Frua, Turin (I)

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Robin Adams - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

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Pietro Frua, Turin (I)

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - the front is reminiscent of the later Mistral, but with a lower radiator

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - wide rear end

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - large glass surfaces characterize the bodywork

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - elegant silhouette

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - Tail lights from the Fiat 130?

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - classic and sporty cockpit

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - complete instruments

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - Instruments from the British manufacturer Smiths

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - Wooden handle for the gearshift

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - leather-covered seats for four people

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - comfortable looking rear seat

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - elegant door panels

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - the Maserati eight-cylinder

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - the V8 just fits in the nose

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - Chassis badge

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - were the Borranis chrome-plated from the start?

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - the Maserati sign on the nose

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - the coachbuilder left behind his trademark

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - Trident on the C-pillar

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - the lettering at the rear

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Maserati 5 Litre Vignale Coupé (1965) - at the Turin Motor Show in 1965

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - recorded by Pietro Frua

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - rear view

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Maserati Mexico Prototipo Frua (1966) - Back seat

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Maserati Mexico (1966) - early photo of the production version

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Maserati Mexico (1967) - simply designed coupé

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Maserati Mexico (1972) - after five years of construction

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Summary

The Maserati Mexico is known to have been designed by Viginio Vairo, who was responsible for Vignale cars. The prototype was built in Turin in 1965, but Pietro Frua also designed a proposal that could certainly compete in elegance with the Vignale design that was later chosen. However, it did not convince the Maserati decision-makers at the time and so began an eventful history that has seen the car driven more at auctions than on the road in recent decades. This vehicle report summarizes the eventful life of the Frua prototype and shows the car in historical and current pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

An Allemano Coupé becomes an organ donor for the successor
Frua also tries his luck
In series production from September 1966
Changeable fate of the Frua prototype in the USA
Further information

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The history of the Maserati Mexico began in the early 1960s with the most expensive and, with a top speed of over 260 km/h, the fastest production sports car of the time, the Maserati 5000 GT. It was delivered to selected, crowned and uncrowned customers of high society, including the Mexican President Adolfo López Mateos, who owned two of the only 34 examples built: chassis number AM 103.022, delivered on November 1, 1961 and chassis number AM 103.042, delivered on March 29, 1962; both in Grigio (grey), both with Allemano bodywork, the first with white, the second with blue leather interior.

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