Photo: Silverstone Auctions
Not all car collectors would consider a classic for its celebrity provenance first and foremost, but this one is a standout even without the celebrity association. Or despite of it, if you will.
This is a very rare and impeccable 1964 Maserati 3700 Mistral Spyder, just one of the 14 build for the UK market. It is also fully restored and holds the Maserati Classiche certification, and as luck would have it, it’s on the market: it will cross the auction block with Silverstone Auctions on May 28. The estimate is £475,000 - £550,000 before fees, so roughly $586,000 - $679,000 at the current exchange rate.
That’s a lot of money, but that’s also a very special car. Maserati produced the Pietro Frua-designed Mistral between 1964 and 1970, with the Spyder version, featuring additional styling by Giovanni Michelotti, introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1964. Both versions were based on the Tipo 109 chassis and became Maserati’s last cars with a straight six-cylinder engine.
Three options for the engine were offered, 3.5, 3.7 and 4.0-liter, paired to a ZF five-speed manual transmission. This one is a 3.7-liter car, boasting a top speed of 160 mph (257.5 kph) and 0-60 time of 6.2 seconds out of the factory. Finished in Argento Auteuil (silver) over a black leather interior, it was delivered to the UK to be put on display at Earls Courts, before a planned tour of the country.
It never went on tour, because actress and singer Diana Dors, dubbed at the time the “English Marilyn Monroe,” saw it on display and had to have it. Dors was also the youngest person in the UK to own a Rolls-Royce, so it’s safe to say she had an eye for automotive beauty, even though she was bankrupt at the time. The listing doesn’t say for how long she enjoyed the Mistral but, by 1976, it was owned by an Australian collector that lived in London. The car would then relocate and travel through Australia for a while, before returning to the UK in 2015, in still-decent but comparatively worse condition.
Between 2017 and 2017, McGrath Maserati restored it from the ground up, keeping the original chassis and engine, under instructions from the current owner – and seller. Now back to its former glory, this Mistral with such a fascinating story is ready to move on to new adventures. For a lot of money.
That’s a lot of money, but that’s also a very special car. Maserati produced the Pietro Frua-designed Mistral between 1964 and 1970, with the Spyder version, featuring additional styling by Giovanni Michelotti, introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1964. Both versions were based on the Tipo 109 chassis and became Maserati’s last cars with a straight six-cylinder engine.
Three options for the engine were offered, 3.5, 3.7 and 4.0-liter, paired to a ZF five-speed manual transmission. This one is a 3.7-liter car, boasting a top speed of 160 mph (257.5 kph) and 0-60 time of 6.2 seconds out of the factory. Finished in Argento Auteuil (silver) over a black leather interior, it was delivered to the UK to be put on display at Earls Courts, before a planned tour of the country.
It never went on tour, because actress and singer Diana Dors, dubbed at the time the “English Marilyn Monroe,” saw it on display and had to have it. Dors was also the youngest person in the UK to own a Rolls-Royce, so it’s safe to say she had an eye for automotive beauty, even though she was bankrupt at the time. The listing doesn’t say for how long she enjoyed the Mistral but, by 1976, it was owned by an Australian collector that lived in London. The car would then relocate and travel through Australia for a while, before returning to the UK in 2015, in still-decent but comparatively worse condition.
Between 2017 and 2017, McGrath Maserati restored it from the ground up, keeping the original chassis and engine, under instructions from the current owner – and seller. Now back to its former glory, this Mistral with such a fascinating story is ready to move on to new adventures. For a lot of money.
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