Maserati Mistral

At a glance: Maserati Mistral

The Mistral followed the Maserati 3500 GT and is part of the classic range in the Maserati catalogue.

History of the Maserati Mistral

Maserati showed the new car at the Turin motor show in November 1963. Internally it was the Tipo AM109, and it was also known as the "Maserati 2 Posti" (two-seater) or "Maserati 4000 GT". As the successor to the 3500 GT it kept a six-cylinder engine.

The name Mistral refers to the cold northerly wind of southern France. It was the first of the classic Maseratis to be named after a wind. The Mistral stayed in production until 1970, overlapping from 1967 with its successor, the V8-powered Ghibli.

Design by Frua

The body was styled by the Turin designer Pietro Frua and built by the coachbuilder Maggiora, also in Turin. The coupé is a compact fastback two-seater, 4,500 mm long on a short 2,400 mm wheelbase. Bodies were made in aluminium and, from 1967, also in steel; nobody knows exactly how many of each were built.

The Mistral is often confused with the AC 428, another Frua design of the same period. The AC looks very similar but is larger and more powerful.

The twin-spark straight-six

The engine is a straight-six with two overhead camshafts, two spark plugs per cylinder, hemispherical combustion chambers and Lucas indirect fuel injection. Its design was derived from the Maserati 250F racing car, which won eight Grands Prix between 1954 and 1960 and the 1957 Formula 1 World Championship with Juan Manuel Fangio. The Mistral was the last Maserati with this engine; later road cars used V8s.

Power goes to the rear wheels through a five-speed ZF manual gearbox. Wikipedia gives a top speed of about 225–233 km/h, depending on the engine.

Chassis

The Mistral has independent front suspension and a solid rear axle, with solid disc brakes at all four wheels. The dry weight is given as about 1,430 kg. The original tyres were Pirelli Cinturato 185VR16, later 205VR15, mounted on Borrani wire wheels.

Coupé and Spyder

Most buyers chose the coupé: 844 were built against 124 Spyders. The open car was offered with all three engine sizes, and 20 Spyders were built with right-hand drive. Over the production run the 3.7-litre and 4.0-litre engines accounted for almost all cars; only 30 were built with the original 3.5-litre engine.

The 3500 GT heritage

The Mistral took over from one of Maserati's most important road cars. The 3500 GT (Tipo 101) of 1957–1964 was the company's first large-series grand tourer: 2,226 coupés and convertibles were built in Modena, with a best year of 500 cars in 1961. Its 3,485 cc twin-cam straight-six, derived from the 350S racing engine, produced 162 kW (220 PS) with three Weber carburettors or 173 kW (235 PS) with Lucas mechanical fuel injection; the fuel-injected GTi of 1961 was the first Italian production car with fuel injection.

The Mistral kept this engine family and its Lucas injection, enlarged it to 3.7 and 4.0 litres, and placed it in a compact two-seat body styled by Frua. Alongside it, the four-seat Sebring used the same mechanical base until 1968.

Legacy

The Mistral closed the chapter of six-cylinder Maserati grand tourers that had started with the 3500 GT. Its successor, the Ghibli, moved to a V8 and to the wind names that later Maseratis also used. For the background of the company, read our history of Maserati.

Photo gallery