It’s really difficult to rank ‘60s coupés. There are so many to choose from, and so many are achingly beautiful. Even if you narrow it down to the Italian ones, the candy store is vast. Would the Maserati Mistral make your top five or your top ten? It’s up there, for sure. Aristocracy achieved.
It’s not just about the car’s marque or looks, though those do of course count for something. This was also the final vessel for the legendary Maserati DOHC hemi-headed straight-6. Caristocrats care about bloodlines and breeding, after all.
That 6-cyl. had powered the 3500 GT (1957-64, Maserati’s first true “production” road car) and the 350S racer before that. It’s not quite the same block as the one used in the 250F that Fangio drove to his last F1 World Champion title in 1957, but there is a strong family resemblance.
Which makes sense, as both the 2.5 litre six used in the 250F and the 3.5 litre that followed were designed by Giulio Alfieri. The very first dozen or so Mistals back in 1963 also had the 3.5, but the engine’s displacement was soon augmented to 3694cc, bringing the output to 245hp.
Aside from its twin overhead cams, the Maserati straight-6 also boasted two spark plugs per cylinder and, since 1961, fuel injection. This was clearly something to boast about: there’s no mention of the model’s name anywhere; the only script on the car, aside from the tiny Maserati badge on the hood, is this trident with the word “Iniezione.”
In 1966, Maserati added a 4010cc variant to the options list, providing an extra 10hp over the 3.7 and available with a 3-speed Borg-Warner automatic. The 4-litre was in great demand, but 95% of clients ordered their Mistrals with the ZF 5-speed manual.
Our Tokyo Mistral has the 3.7 litre engine, albeit with a major (and rather obvious) modification: the fuel injection was replaced here by three Webers. It’s not an uncommon sight on these engines, as the fuel injection system, made by Lucas, is reputed to be temperamental and very difficult to adjust correctly. You can see the small spidery-looking intake for the injection system sitting on the cam cover, blocked off by a metal plate. The Prince of Darkness strikes again. Not sure what this does to the engine’s power, but I bet it hasn’t helped with fuel economy.
The box section chassis was a shortened variation of the 3500 GT’s – not the most innovative setup, but then Maserati were clearly trying to freshen up leftovers. Then again, the Mistral still hails from an era when a leaf-sprung live axle was the norm, even for high-end sports cars. Just look at early ‘60s Ferraris, Jensens or Facel-Vegas.
Where Maserati did not work with leftovers was the styling. There were several extremely talented designers and coachbuilders to choose from, and they picked the man, the myth, the legend that was Pietro Frua.
Actually, they got a twofer: Frua designed both the Mistral and the V8-powered Quattroporte for Maserati’s 1963 range.
And the Mistral came in two flavours, lest we forget: almost from the jump, i.e. from early 1964, a convertible version was available. Quite lovely it was, too. It was outsold by the coupé 8 to 1, but still merits a passing mention.
Said range also included the Sebring (top picture), which shared the Mistral’s drivetrain but had rear seats and a rather different Michelotti-designed body, as well as the super-exclusive chassis-only 5000 GT (seen here with a Touring body, bottom picture). Best-looking range in the world for MY 1964?
Pietro Frua outdid himself with the Mistral. Some of his designs could come off a tad finicky or gawky, especially in this era, but there is none of that here. The simplicity and dynamism of that front end is particularly well executed, in my opinion.
This angle is trademark Frua, with those squinting rectangular taillights on a flat, almost Kamm-like rear end. Just look at the Quattroporte, or the AC 428, the Glas V8, the Monteverdi 375S – or even some of his one-offs, like the gargantuan early ‘70s Rolls-Royce Phantom VI cabriolets.
Classy interior, but then you’d expect that, wouldn’t you? The handbrake looks a little obtrusive, if one might be allowed to hazard a criticism.
Little T87, who figured dials in cars told you how fast they could go, would have been amazed by the speedo, located at the very left of the instrument binnacle: it goes all the way to 300kph. Fancy that!
This fantastic number well beyond the car’s capabilities: in the real world, Italian car magazine Quattroruote only managed a max speed of 227kph with a 3.7 litre Mistral in 1967. They also measured the car’s 0-100kph time at 6.8 seconds. Pretty much level-pegging with the E-Type coupé, but the Jag cost much less than the Mistral.
Perhaps it wasn’t the quickest Italian exotic by the late ‘60s – the Lamborghini Miura, the Ferrari 265 GTB/4 or the Iso Grifo could all outrun it – but the Mistral still sold decently well. When production was stopped in 1970, Maserati’s last straight-6 sports car had managed about 950 units, including 123 drop-tops. That’s less than the 3500 GT, but those benefited from being Maserati’s sole road car for many years, whereas the Mistral had to compete with the rest of the trident’s range.
Was it the best-looking car Maserati made in the ‘60s? A case can be made, but I’d like to see all the other entrants in the metal before voicing an opinion.
What is true is that the deep growl emanating from this sculptural Maserati when on the move makes for a combo of sight and sound that is hard to top. A true caristocrat, for sure.
Related post:
Vintage R&T Driving Impressions: 1968 Maserati Mistral; And A Feature On How It’s Built, by PN
While not as pur-sang with it’s Ford V8, I actually think the DeTomaso Mangusta is a prettier car. Still, I wouldn’t kick a Mistral out of my garage, and this one is certainly a beautiful example.
Stunning italiano…!!!
A lovely example, but IMHO not the greatest Maserati design. It starts with a nice front end, but the proportions are a bit off and it doesen’t hang together all that well. there, said it…beauty is in the eye of the beholder, YMMV. I prefer the Touring bodied 3500 and 5000 GTs – simpler, more understated and beautifully proportioned.
Still, this is one of the nicest I have seen – the color is lovely. And I’m sure it sounds lovely!
I’m with you on this. Frua was good, but not as good as the best. There’s just always certain elements and proportions that are a bit less than ideal.
But having said that, I certainly wouldn’t kick one out of my garage.
+2
I always preferred the Mistral Spyder, but my favorite ’60s Maserati is the Ghibli, in open or closed form. It was a contemporary of the Ferrari 365 GTB/4, but had a much lighter appearance and balanced design, to my eyes.
Just so.
Beautiful car. My only small critique would be the side rear windows that seem to be too large on the bottom edge. I’d have liked it to have more body panel there.
Hard to find many nicer designs than this one.
I can often spot Frua’s work by his penchant for distinctive rear quarter-window shapes, often large with a rear-canted trailing edge and proportions closer to squarish than other designers tend to favor, as seen here.
Another interesting detail here is how the bodyside character line transitions from very slightly undercut along the rear flanks, to a simpler crease through the doors, to a more significantly overcut lip along the front fenders and extending across the nose.
Possibly that’s a feature of Frua using the same bloody doors on every coupe he designed!
But that was fairly common – see FIAT Samantha/Jensen Interceptor.
Most of Frua’s coupes seem to have far too much rear overhang – I don’t know if that’s related to the doors, or just the proportions of the time.
The Mistral is probably one of his most beautiful – though the Opel Diplomat proposal and the 2002 GT4s were stunning too.
He really seemed to lose the plot in the 1970s with overworked edges and detailing – the window detailing on some makes the XJ40 look tidy. Far too baroque for me.
So probably the tiny Mistral over the AC428, I think…for now.
Yes. it’s right up there with the 330 GT 2+2, Iso Grifo, Muira, E-Type and the Ghia L6.4
One can see the design continuity on several aspects of a more current design in this side by side. I shot the Maserati on the right about 10 years ago. Exact model is unknown to me.
The placement of the emblem on the sail panel. The gas tank access door placement. The upsweep of the rear side window. The twin tailpipes. However the wrap around of the rear bumper is absent, along with chrome wire wheels, and chrome trim around the rear window.
You have opened my eyes to the Mistral design cues present on modern Maseratis – even our Levante echoes that DLO shape!
You can see the small spidery-looking intake for the injection system sitting on the cam cover, blocked off by a metal plate.
That blocked off opening was where the FI metering unit was driven by the camshaft at one quarter speed by a shaft. The actual intake is the same as it is with the carb intake.
Like most mechanical FI, it just requires a certain amount of familiarity and experience to keep it running just fine. Lots of folks threw away the mechanical FI units on Corvettes back in the day and replaced it with carbs, Some people just don’t do well learning a new system; others do.
As the performance, those Webers will allow the engine to make essentially the same power. With only some very limited/narrow exceptions, FI itself doesn’t inherently increase power in an engine. Which explains why Weber like these were used on so many top performing sports/sports racing, and all-out racing cars.
Paul, you are right about the power being similar between Webers (or similar) and fuel injection. If one has one choke per cylinder (in this case 3 twin chokes), fuel can be fed pretty accurately. Where F.I. gives an advantage is in consistency – most systems adjust for altitude and temperature (although my old Lucas system on a Triumph TR6 had an enrichment control!), and should give better efficiency. The improved accuracy will also allow more radical cam profiles to be used whilst maintaining drivability.
I note your comment about the Rochester units on Corvettes being discarded – these are great, giving much better throttle response than a carb and having no over rich running at high altitudes, along with surprising fuel economy.
However, I can imagimne that for a fairly obscure F.I. system like the one on this Maserati, Webers may be the more pragmatic way to go. I bet they give it a lovely induction note, too.
I’m nailing Webers to my old VW motor for the benefits of 1 choke per cylinder, shorter induction routes (less fuel drop out in cold weather) and sme nice induction warble too…
Another FI vs. carb advantage is that in a port injection system, the intake manifold is “dry,” so you don’t need manifold heat. Some carbureted performance engines don’t have or don’t use heat risers (for instance, the Royal Pontiac tuning package blocked them off), and throttle-body injection typically does, so that’s in the “It depends” category, I guess.
Triumphs ran Lucas injection which baffled mechanics but set up properly it worked fine, Beautiful looking car faults or not I like it.
@Moparlee
That’s a Granturismo. Beautiful cars!
Thanks. It seemed so out of place at the grocery store parking lot where it was found.
Nice looking exotic, before exotic cars started to look like spaceships, see Lambo Countach for one. I’m of course very familiar with the Maserati name, but less so the cars themselves. The first picture I see an Aston Martin. The third pic I see Porsche 911 in the hood and headlights. Performance makes me think of Jag E type, a big inline 6 with 250ish HP. None of those are really bad things, and Paul’s comment of “I wouldn’t kick one out of my garage” was in my mind before I even read his comment.
Yeah, it’s not a V12 Ferrari, but it was a high performance exotic in the 60s, nicely styled and it’s held it’s looks.
I’m not at all convinced that a Triumph Spitfire front (which persistently looks at if it is looking upwards) combined with a most-awkward and too-high (and too short) Jensen Interceptor glasshouse, all of which is perched upon the wheelbase of, what, a Morrie 1100, is one of Maserati’s best. Besides, Frua also sold the design to AC who made the (larger?) 327 out of it with slightly more success.
The ’67 Ghibli would win over this in a look-off (if such a thing existed).
I wonder if the owner of this one is famous and makes animations?
Beautiful car, and fun to drive so long as you are only a little taller than the average Italian. Otherwise, your head is going to be pressed against the roof. (Direct experience talking)
Stunning. Does anyone else see some Avanti in the rear quarter window and deck?
The vibes are more British than Italian to me. Somehow like it. Especially the paintwork of the feature car.