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The Maserati
3500 GT was presented in the year 1958. The 3500 GT was the first
Maserati to be built in "large numbers".
The predecessor was the Maserati A6, the first sportscar for street use
ever built by this famous racing car manufacturer.
The Maserati 3500 GT was a very advanced sportscar and it was going to
be the base for all six cylinder Maserati sportscars until 1970.
The 3500 GT was designed and the body was built by carrosseria Touring.
This firm was world famous for their "Superleggera" bodywork
constructions. The 3500 GT featured a Touring "Superleggera"
body: the tubular steel base chassis on which all mechanics were mounted
was completed with a body which consisted of a light tubular spaceframe
on which the outer aluminium bodypanels were fitted. Thanks to this
construction the car was relatively light; only 1150 kgs.
The low weight was combined with a powerful engine. All mechanics where
derived from the Maserati racing cars and re- engineered for street use
in a top class sports car. The engine was an in-line six cylinder engine
with an engine capacity of 3485 cc. The engine featured double overhead
camshafts, two sparking plugs per cylinder, a double ignition system and
three 42 mm. twin choke Weber carburettors. The capacity was a solid 220
DIN bhp. at 5500 rpm. giving the car a top-speed of 220 km/h. (138 mph.)
with the standard 4-speed gearbox.
The year 1959 saw the introduction of the Maserati 3500 GT Spider model.
The 3500 GT Spider was designed and the bodywork was built by
carrosseria Vignale. In contradiction with the 3500 GT coupe the 3500 GT
Spider featured a bodywork entirely manufactured from steel, also the
wheelbase was shortened with ten centimetres to 250 cm.
In 1961 both the 3500 GT coupe and Spider were equipped with a Lucas
petrol injection system. This system was responsible for an increase of
engine capacity by 15 DIN bhp. Another change was the standard fitment
of a 5-speed gearbox. These changes increased the maximum speed up to an
astonishing 235 km/h. (146 mph.) making the Maserati 3500 GTI one of the
fastest sportscars of it's days. The petrol injected cars were named GTI
with the additional capital "I" which stood for injection.
The Maserati 3500 coupe and Spider were built until 1964.
(1.981 GT & GTI coupe models 242 Spider models).
Technical data
Six cylinder
in-line engine
carburettors: 3x twin choked Weber 42 mm.
cylinder capacity: 3485 cc.
capacity: 240 bhp. at 5500 tpm.
torque: 305 Nm. at 4500 tpm.
top-speed: 233 km/h. - 146 mph.
gearbox: ZF 5-speed, manual
brakes: disc brakes all round
weight: 998 kg.
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