1961 Maserati 5000GT Indianapolis Coupe on BaT auction

I knew it would land there! Fantasy junction have been pushing a lot of clients to BaT

 

It was for sale various times dring the last years. The owner needs to be careful not to "burn" his car....

 

What would one do with this car now? I can't imagine driving it any amount because I would think the value might drop. It's already won two very nice awards.

 

I would drive it on long trips as does the owner of the third Frua 5000GT who just drove his from Portugal to Holland...and kindly lent me his Khamsin 096 for KHAMSIN CINQUANTA.
Never mind value drop considerations, you only live once!

 

I'm imagining what you'd do if either the FI or the Magneto or even the distributor began acting up?
Rent an enclosed trailer with tow vehicle and tow it back to your favorite shop I guess?

I already have enough of those stories so no thanks.

 

If that was to happen I imagine the owner's driver would pick him up in his new Bentley while his handlers take care of the 5000GT. Or he could call Marc to pick him up in the Khamsin

Ivan

 

It takes a healthy dose of optimism to run any classics over long distances and we can forgive Bob for having run out of it since he did many miles some decades ago. Time stands still for no one.

Of the 900+kms I did in Khamsin 096 I can confirm it loosened up and ran better and better. On the Monday heading home from Geneva as I reached the hills of Burgundy, alone (with no responsibility as event organizer to choose a quick but reasonable speed for participants following me) in the twisty hill roads I was relishing the moment, pushing a bit more and the car was running perfectly....but then I had to meet the Dutch trucker and in it went...what a perfect time though!

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Since a couple have asked... photo 1 Chateau de Champvent near Yverdon, Switzerland. Can't be visited the lady owner also owns a huge pharmaceutical company and does not need tourist income. If you dig there is a beautiful drone video of it online.
Photo 3 shows chateau de Berze le Chatel, the biggest surviving medieval fortress here in Burgundy, owned by Countess de Milly friend of my late parents and she got a rather nice not to say huge check when Ridley Scott chose it as the main castle for the last duel, 2021, with Matt Damon and Adam Driver.

 

So when I undertook my first extended adventure in a then not so old Maserati, under 10 years old, it was 1987 I think? I had previously traveled to an enormous Kruse auction in Oklahoma City with a fellow enthusiast and now friend who lived in Kansas City Kansas out to that auction with he and his son. He had several cars but the one he decided to take was a specially (?) MIE prepared QP3 he refered to as the White Whale. It had been given the white out treatment with an upgraded (stiffened) suspension and for some reason that appealed to him. It rode like a coal truck. We went there to observe the auction with it's enormous collection of the former Portland Oregon area Bahgwan cult Rolls Royces and hundreds of American vintage and muscle cars PLUS ... one Maserati Bora with 3,000 miles I had seen in Hemmings for a long time. The Bora was not a part of the auction but we met in the parking lot. The owner threw myself and the erstwhile Captain Ahab of white whate fame the keys and we both had a ride for about 1/2 hour. This was late March and it was still cool out so the car ran terrifically and I was hooked.

About a month and a half later I showed up to purchase the car. Things moved much more slowly back then ... Nobody was very interested in Maserati Boras and they still haven't really caught on ...
I have a ton of funny stories from the trip to pick the car up, another time ... But what I decided to do with the help of my friend Capt. Ahab and all the resources of MIE at the time was to try and plan a route back to SF with a route that had strategic, known vintage Maserati service centers well identified. We ended up getting flatbeded in Denver into one of them for what turned out to be an altitude + heat + winter forumlated gas induced heavy case of vapor lock.

You had yu plan ahead.

 

Is there something new in your collection?

 

https://www.goodingco.com/lot/1961-maserati-5000-gt-indianapolis-coupe/

 

Well, not good for the seller who had lost money! And- another indicator, that the market for classic Maserati GT-cars are going south...

 

I disagree, the Maserati GT market is actually holding up quite well to the current market conditions. The market is soft overall for all makes with a current correction to normal levels, Monterey next month will reveal a lot of clarity on this topic. Notice the drop in sell through rates at auction and online. It has only been a year or so since the massive increase in prices during covid and buyers are looking for discount deals.
I think the Indianapolis 5000 coupe was sold too high in 2016 and a bit on the low side today. To state that the market is going south is an exaggeration...

 

congrats to you, very well bought. Fascinating cars, all of them. This particular car is just about the top of the food chain for these.

Maserati road cars appear to be fickle breed in terms of value. Race cars with provenance are always in vogue but the road cars seems to be all over the map lately. Some very nice restored Ghibli’s have done well some while the drivers have maintained station.

 

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When the market in 2016 decided to value the car "too high" as you said and now in 2023 it just came for a litte over 1 MIllion - then it went south! I remember the 5000GT around 1.3-1.5m in the glory days of the general market 2013-16!
All Maserati GT-cars went south: I brokered a Ghibli-Spyder 4.9 for 1.1mEuro and now they come for significantly less money. Not to mention the 4.7-version.
From 3500 to Khamsin, all types went south, and as the saying goes - exceptions prove the rule...
All Maserati GTs that sold for good money today are either exeptional restored and/or in attractive color combinations.

 

I saw in one of the photos of #014 that the VIN was stamped on one of the heads. Were both heads stamped with the VIN? I assume the block was also stamped ..... where? Since the 5000GT has a modified 3500GT frame, is the VIN stamped on the left front of the chassis like a 3500GT?

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Should only one engine-no.-stamping on the head(s). Not sure about with the block. The original 5000GT-engine I brokered many moons ago had no number on the block, but an internal number. This internal number can be found on different parts of the block.
Chassis-no. should be on the same location as with the 3500. But I also know of one 5000GT that had no official VIN-stamping on the chassis.

Maserati and numbers.....

 

According to Fabio some 5000GT had the VIN stamped on the left head. The block would have the internal number but many times not the VIN.

Ivan
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Ahhh...my old friend #066! Where is the car now?

 

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Ivan