Maserati Mexico: perhaps the most beautiful Italian ever
Posted on 07-04-2016 at 18:02 by Dizono – 45 Comments”
Anyway, the most beautiful classic that never her own article on Autoblog.
Italy is known for Pizza/Pasta, corrupt politicians, a leaning tower, the Romans and, of course, exotic sports cars. However, it is not that full-blooded sports cars that I have in my own droomgarage would be parking, but understand the GT’s. The sports coupé’s that allows you to comfortable, smooth and extremely stylish can move forward. Cars like the Lamborghini Jarama, Ferrari 400 GT and above all, this Maserati Mexico. To my sorrow, he came not even in your top 10 of the most beautiful Maserati’s from the one hundred year history. Time for some much needed bijspijkerwerk so!
The story of the Mexico starts like that only in Italy could begin. A 5000 GT is crashed and the bodywork is damaged beyond repair. The chassis and powertrain are, however, still quite ok, and so it should Vignale to work on a nice new body to draw and build. The result is shown in 1965 at the Turin auto show, and is eventually sold to the Mexican president Adolfo López Mateos. Do I need to tell you how the car to his name?
The Mexico-showcar of Vignale in 1965
Originally, the Mexico thus not a product of Maserati itself, but a showtrekker of Vignale. The one-off, however, was so enthusiastically received that Maserati decided to put the car into production. Much to the delight of Vignale, of course, that some extra pizza on the shelf. The car experienced its debut in 1966, during a contest in Rimini.
Shortened Quattroporte-base
Where Vignale’s showcar on the stand was the 5000 GT, the most beautiful thing Maserati in the late ’50s, early ’60s had to offer, there was the production model built on a shortened chassis of the first generation Quattroporte. The technique was largely consistent with this chic four-door, which is under the beautiful carriage in the first instance, a 4.7 V8 with four dual Webers lay. Good for 290 horsepower and a peak of 240 to 250 kilometers per hour. It were the days that Italy was greatly boasted about the speed limits, so the factory-specified 255 km/h took you anyway. Switch could do with a vijfbak, but optional was also a drietrapsautomaat of Borg Warner available. In that case, it was the fun at 225 km/h on by the way, but also as a drietrapsautomaat well with the character of such a koppelrijke V8.
A few years after its introduction, is expanding Maserati range downwards. The 4.7 V8 will get the company of a copy with 4136cc. A smart move, because of the 485 built in Mexico, are preferably 305 copies equipped with a 4.2, despite the much shorter production run. With 256 hp was the entry-level model still not a thing, though it was the factory specified top of 210 km/h for 4.2 Automatic transmission but a little thin.
Frua thought it better to be able to
While Vignale with the Mexico an absolute masterpiece has been delivered, thought Pietro Frua yet, a couple of Mexico’s need to build with a different body. He is obviously inspired by two other Maserati’s out of the former range: the Mistral and the Quattroporte. Not coincidentally, both of the hand of Frua, so I suspect that it is the old Pietro not quite good was that not he the Mexico could draw. Something that is most likely the case if Property not that juicy showcar in 1965 in Turin had shown…
Well, two special Mexico’s, in which the first is primarily a Mexico in the name. The cover seems to be of a Mistral to come, while the car on the chassis of a 3500 GT. The engine is a six-in-line from the Mistral. Frua calls his mixed bag the Mexico Special, but a real one Mexico is the fact there is not. A year later, in 1968, does Frua have a Mexico, this time however with a V8 in the cabin. You would the car can best describe as a one-Quattroporte, which itself is a beautiful contradiction. Anyway, the car is both less beautiful as Frua’s Quattroporte as the Mexico, so quickly.
The GranTurismo of welleer
In 1972, it is over and out for Mexico and a direct successor didn’t. You might have the Khamsin (1974), could say, was that car originally intended to be the Ghibli forget to do. In vain, moreover, the combination of Citroën technology and the striking coach of Marcello Gandini -not such a classic beauty as well as the Ghibli– were here. In 1977 saw the Maserati Kyalami light, but that was really just a Detomaso Lonchamps with a different faceplate and a 4.2 or a 4.9 V8 from Maserati under the hood. Perhaps the most worthy successor of the Mexico is the current GranTurismo. Also that GT shares its base with the Quattroporte and it’s definitely less of a sports car lover, than, for example, a Ferrari 488 GTB or Lamborghini Huracan.
