1965 Maserati Mistral

The Maserati name is the oldest and most respected in motoring history the world over. Established in 1926 by racing driver Alfieri Maserati and his brothers, it began as a racing marque and developed into a sporting one. The production of road cars started in 1958 with the glamorous 3500GT, a Touring bodied coupe powered by a detuned version of Maserati’s famed 350S competition engine of 1956.

The 3500 series proved to be a great success and represented the pinnacle of Grand Touring cars until it was superseded by a new model in 1963. The new car was romantically named the Mistral, after the wind which blows over the French Mediterranean coastline, conjuring up images of speed and beautiful scenery. The Mistral enjoyed a relatively long production life, from 1963 until 1970, during which time a total of 948 cars were built, of which a mere 120 were spyders, with only 20 of those being right-hand drive.

The Mistral continued to use the race-proven...