Maserati Mistral

Maserati Mistral
1967 Maserati Mistral
Overview
Manufacturer	Maserati
Also called	Maserati 2 Posti Maserati 4000 GT
Production	1963-1970
Designer	Pietro Frua Giovanni Michelotti (Spyder)
Body and chassis
Class	Grand tourer
Body style	2-door, 2-seat coupé 2-door, 2-seat spyder
Layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Powertrain
Engine	3.5 L I6 (petrol) 3.7 L I6 (petrol) 4.0 L I6 (petrol)
Transmission	5-speed ZF manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,400 mm (94.5 in)
Length	4,500 mm (177.2 in)
Width	1,675 mm (65.9 in)
Height	1,300 mm (51.2 in)
Kerb weight	1,430 kg (3,153 lb) (dry)
Chronology
Predecessor	Maserati 3500 GT

The Maserati Mistral (Tipo AM109) is a 2-seat grand tourer produced by Italian car manufacturer Maserati between 1963 and 1970, in both coupé and Spyder roadster form; it was the successor to the iconic 3500 GT. Named after a cold northerly wind of southern France, it was also the first in a series of classic Maseratis to be given the name of a wind. A total of 828 coupés and 125 spyders were built. Maggiora of Turin supplied both bodies under contract.

History

The Mistral is the last model from the "Casa del Tridente" or “House of the Trident” to have the famous straight six cylinder, twin-spark, double overhead cam engine, as fitted to the Maserati 250F Grand Prix cars that won 8 Grand Prix between 1954 and 1960 and one F1 World Championship in 1957 driven by Juan Manuel Fangio. The engine also featured hemispherical combustion chambers and was fed by a Lucas indirect fuel injection system which was novelty at the time for Italian car manufacturers. Although the Lucas fuel injection system enhances performance, quite a few owners, especially in the U.S. have converted their cars to Weber carburettors due to difficulties in tuning the system properly, the cost being a loss of resale value due to non-originality. The Lucas fuel system is reliable, and needs little attention when rebuilt and initially adjusted by an expert machinist or master mechanic. Sometimes Bosch pumps are used; although not stock, they offer availability and parts, and are not visible due to their location.^[1] Regular use of the automobile prolongs the life of the many Lucas "rubber" seals, while also preventing blockages in the injectors. Several American owners have reported a significant performance increase when changing over from Weber carburettors to the correct (mechanical) Lucas fuel injection.^[2] Maserati subsequently moved on to V8 engines for their later production cars to keep up with the demand for ever more powerful machines. There were three engine variants fitted to the Mistral; 3500, 3700 and 4000 cc, developing respectively 235 bhp at 5500 rpm, 245 bhp at 5500 rpm and 255 bhp at 5200 rpm. The most sought after derivative is the 4000 cc model. Only the earliest of the Mistrals were equipped with the 3500 cc engine. Unusually, the body was offered in both aluminium and, from 1967, in steel but no one is quite sure as to how many of each were built. Use of the aluminium body panels had no effect on the performance of the Mistral. The mixture of the aluminium body on a steel substructure can lead to corrosion due to the dissimilar metals. The automobile was standard with a five speed transmission from ZF and also had four wheel solid disc brakes. As was Maserati's practice at the time the front suspension was independent while the rear made do with a solid axle. Speed for the 3.7 liter engine and the 4.0 liter engine was around 7 seconds or a little better and the top speed was around 140 mph (225 km/h) to 145 mph (233 km/h). When leaving the factory the Maserati Mistral originally fitted Pirelli Cinturato 205VR15 tyres (CN72) on Borrani wire wheels. The 3500 engine was mounted only in the spyder model, with just 12 made, along with 76 of Spyder 3.7 and 37 of Spyder 4.0 versions. Of all spyders 20 were right hand drive models.

The body which had been designed by Pietro Frua was first shown in a preview at the Salone Internazionale dell'Automobile di Torino in November 1963. The Maserati Mistral is generally considered as one of the most beautiful Maseratis of all time. It is also often confused to the very similar looking but larger and more powerful AC Frua, which was a Frua design as well.

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  Maserati Mistral 4000 Coupé

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  1967 Maserati Mistral Spyder

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  Maserati Mistral interior

In popular culture

Maserati Mistral Spyder features prominently in the 1967 movie The Bobo.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maserati Mistral.

• Enrico's Maserati Page - The Maserati Mistral