Featured Auction - 1951 Maserati A6G/2000 Spider

Featured Auction - 1951 Maserati A6G/2000 Spider

Maserati A6G/2000 Chassis number 2017 is one of just three short-wheel base Frua Spiders built, so it's exceedingly rare, plus it comes with a well-documented and quite remarkable history.

Estimate (US$): 2,800,000 - 3,400,000.

1,954cc SOHC All-Alloy 6-Cylinder Engine
Single Weber Carburetor
Approximately 110bhp at 5500rpm 
4-Speed Manual Transmission
Front Independent Coil Spring Suspension 
4-Wheel Aluminum Drum Brakes

*One of just three examples built with bespoke coachwork and features
*Shown at Pebble Beach, Villa d'Este and Quail Concours
*Researched and Documented by Adolfo Orsi and Walter Bäumer
*Sensational concours restoration by renowned Italian artisans

THE MASERATI A6G

Based upon the success of the 6MC race car, the Maserati brothers launched their first road-going vehicle, the A6 1500 at the Geneva Motor Show in 1947. The A6 was named for Alfieri Maserati and its six cylinder configuration, and set the bar exceedingly high with its tubular chassis, 1.5 liter Grand Prix derivative engine and highly stylized coachwork. Pininfarina crafted the svelte silhouette in lightweight aluminum featuring the distinctive Maserati grille and avant-garde door handles cached into the body. 

At the Paris Motor Show of 1951 Maserati unveiled its successor, the A6G/2000, sporting the enlarged 2.0-liter single overhead cam all-aluminum engine capable of producing 100 horsepower and peaking at 115 mph. Maserati produced a grand total of 16 of the A6G/2000 model – one Coupe bodied by Vignale, nine by Pininfarina, and five bespoke Spiders plus a Coupe styled by Frua. Primarily Frua was charged with building three automobiles – chassis #2015, #2017 (presented here) and #2018 - on the A6 1500 chassis shortened by 10 cm at the wheel base with semi-elliptical springs in the rear for accentuated agility and handling. All three cars featured a unique central headlight embedded into the front grille, plus a split windshield and many other bespoke details. The two subsequent Spiders by Frua were built on the longer wheel base with a different lamp and windshield structure. 

THE CAR OFFERED

Maserati A6G/2000 Chassis number 2017 is one of just three short-wheel base Frua Spiders built and as such is exceedingly rare, plus it comes with a well-documented and quite remarkable history. According to a thorough investigation by renowned Maserati historians Adolfo Orsi and Walter Bäumer, chassis 2017 was delivered to Carrozzeria Pietro Frua on January 24, 1950. Six months later it emerged with its new bespoke, hand-built Spider coachwork and was returned to the Maserati factory to receive its final fit and finishes. Dressed in dark blue or possibly black, the finished A6G/2000 was delivered to Maserati dealer Mimmo Dei of Rome on May 17, 1951 and immediately sold to its first caretaker, Luigi Trevisan. Almost exactly a year later 2017 was acquired by Franco di Stefano and resided in Rome for another two years. 

In October of 1954, the car was exported to the USA and records show that it was purchased by Gene Tice of Santa Monica, California in 1957. Mr. Tice retained the car for several years and at some point it was fitted with a Corvette V-8 engine, a common praxis in those years for rare, refined Italian sportscars. Then in the early 60's it appears the car was offered for sale and eventually sold to Robert P. Yorba of Cambria, California, and was registered on California black plate 'OAZ 434' in Newport Beach, California.

According to Yorba's daughters, Robert raced the car in SCCA events across the USA, until it was eventually stored in Yorba's garage and dropped off the radar for some time until serendipity played its hand. Fast forward to October, 1997 - a group of European collectors were lunching in a Californian diner, discussing their most recent automotive escapades. The waitress, Dee Dee, happened to overhear their conversation and announced that she was the owner of a rare Italian automobile. With predictable skepticism, the group enquired about the car and were told it was a Maserati. Amused and acutely skeptical still, the group asked to see the car and soon found themselves standing in the door of a one-car garage staring at the rear end of a Maserati A6G/2000 Frua Spider. Dee Dee Yorba explained that her father had purchased the car in the 60s and raced it until finally he retired and the car was stored in his single car garage and eventually inherited by his two daughters. Naturally the auto-enthusiasts attempted to purchase the Maserati but Dee Dee insisted she had to consult with her sister, who was somewhat unenthused to part with her father's legacy. 

The discovery of the A6G became the stuff of legends and was soon penned in Classic & Sports Carmagazine along with the contact information of the Yorba family. Inundated with enquiries, the sisters remained stalwart until, after three years of negotiation, the car was sold in the year 2000 to its current owner – a prestigious collector of some of the rarest and most significant Maserati motorcars. The A6G/2000 was immediately shipped to Modena where it was assigned to Dr. Adolfo Orsi, a venerable historian and expert on the Maserati brand, and renowned restorer Egidio Brandoli for a first class no expense spared restoration.

At the same time a second Maserati was purchased – chassis 2013, the first A6G/2000 built with the Pininfarina Coupe carrosserie – with the express intent of extracting the engine for the Frua Spyder. Engine no. 2013 was of noble roots, having raced in the 1948 Mille Miglia in an A6G CS Monofaro, piloted by the Amendola/Bai racing team. The Maserati was running fourth in the race when a tragic accident cost Bai his life. The car was dismantled and engine no. 2013 was reunited with its original chassis until the year 2000 when it was commandeered by the renowned Brandoli restoration team to be installed in the Frua Spider offered here, chassis 2017. It should be noted, that It is believed the original engine no. 2017 is currently installed in an A6 1500 Pininfarina Coupe in Italy. Meanwhile, the restoration atelier set about locating as many original parts as possible for the Frua Spider, including the housings for the original transmission and differential. Those parts which were impossible to source – such as the grille and bumpers which had been changed over the years, were remanufactured from molds of the original set. Every aspect of the A6G/2000 Frua Spider was addressed and completed factory correct and concours standards, the results of which are evident upon close and expert inspection. 

The car emerged six years later, graced with a correct true blue-blooded A6G/2000 motor. The Maserati immediately won the Trofeo Ruoteclassiche - the award for Best Restoration at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on the shores of Lake Como. In 2010 chassis 2017 was invited to the renowned Quail Concours – A motorsports Gathering, and, competing against 45 cars, won Best in Class for Post-War Sports Cars. More recently the Frua Spyder won third place in the Maserati Centennial Coachwork Class at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2014. 

This superb Maserati is accompanied by various documents in addition to the Bäumer report, including the original factory accessory sheet dated May 17, 1951, listing all the extras which came with the car such as the tool kit, six extra spark plugs and five 16x400 wheels with Pirelli tires. The exclusivity, extraordinary history, sublime condition and rarity of this 1951 Maserati A6G/2000 Frua Spider mark it as an international celebrity, and it would surely be welcomed again at the most prominent Concours d'Elegance or driving events around the globe. Thus, we are proud to present one of most beautiful and valuable jewels in the Italian automotive crown ever to be offered at auction.