Model history: In 1941 work started on Maserati's first road car, which eventually resulted in the 1500 Gran Turismo, known internally as the Tipo A6. This change in strategy was instigated by the company's new owners, the Orsi family, who realised there was no viable future for Maserati as a specialist racing car manufacturer. Launched in 1946, the 1500 Gran Turismo was a reasonable success with 61 examples built over a five year period. It was replaced by a two-litre version (Tipo A6G), which failed to attract the same level of interest for a variety of reasons.
After a three year hiatus, Maserati returned to the road car market with a heavily revised version of the 2000 Gran Turismo built in small numbers in 1950 and 1951. Known internally as the Tipo A6G54, the new road car retained its official type-name 2000 Gran Turismo. The prototype of the grand tourer was launched at the Paris Motor Show in the fall of 1954. Clothed by Frua with a spectacular coupe body, finished in white, the show car combined an earlier competition chassis with the all-new Tipo A6G54 engine developed specifically for the new road car.
The Tipo A6G54 two-litre straight six was constructed entirely from aluminium and featured wet-sump lubrication. The single biggest improvement compared to the earlier road car engines was the use of a twin-cam head. This resulted in a very welcome hike in power to 150 bhp from the Tipo A6G's modest 100 bhp. The two camshafts were driven by chains, which was a much simpler solution than the gears used on the competition version of the engine. Like most Maserati engines of the day, the Tipo A6G54 was available with, optional and later standard, twin-spark ignition.
Built by specialists Gilco, the chassis was of a very conventional tubular design almost identical to the earlier Tipo A6G. The front suspension consisted of double wishbones and coil springs, while at the rear-end consisted of a live axle and leaf springs. Houdaille shock absorbers were used on all four corners. Aluminium drum brakes provided the stopping power. The rolling chassis was completed with a four-speed gearbox.
Maserati's original coach-builder of choice, Pinin Farina, was now working almost exclusively for rival Ferrari but Allemano, Frua and Zagato all proved to be great alternatives. Allemano was responsible for an understated 2+2 coupe, Frua predominantly supplied spider bodies and Zagato offered competition inspired coupe bodies. The drastic changes greatly improved the Maserati A6's appeal and no fewer than sixty examples rolled off the 'production' line between 1955 and 1957.
The third evolution also turned out to be the final for the Tipo A6; in 1957 it was replaced by the all-new 3500 GT. Whereas the A6 was built in relatively small numbers, the 3500 GT marked Maserati's switch to mass production. As a result the A6G54 remains as the last of the hand-built sports cars built by the Italian manufacturer. Particularly the Zagato bodied examples are highly sought after today.
Chassis: 2147
Originally delivered new with chassis number 2144 in August of 1956, this A6G/54 was crashed soon after by its first owner. Following the repairs, it was re-stamped 2147 by Maserati and sold as a new car. It was clothed by Allemano, finished with a unique two-tone finish and fitted with specific rallying equipment like a larger fuel filler cap, a Jaeger chronograph and a passenger side-light for reading maps. Passing through various Italian and American hands, it eventually joined the vast Rosso Bianco collection.
In 2006 the current owner acquired the car and had it beautifully restored in Italy. Since the work was completed in 2009, chassis 2147 has been shown at a variety of events, winning 'Best of Show' at the Maserati Club Elegance and a class trophy in the Schloss Dyck concours d'elegance. At one of its most recent outings, it is seen here during the 2012 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. Still sporting the unique two-tone livery, it will be offered in Artcurial's February 8th Retromobile auction with a pre-sale estimate of EUR 425,000 - 500,000.
Article by Wouter Melissen, last updated on February 05, 2013
I've seen some of the efforts of some of the coach builders that Maserati used in the '50's for the A6G. Personally, I like the bodies by Frua and Zagato, on the Maserati A6G/54 2000. For me it's a toss up between these builders. The Allemano version is a distant 3rd (or maybe 4th when one considers bodies by Pinin Farina). That said, all of these coach makers did wonders with their blank canvas.
Maserati Allemono Coupe
C-4 guy 02-05-2013
Rare, Beautiful, Vintage, Exclusive,.................Perfect. Worth every penny.
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A6G/54 2000 Allemano Coupe Speciale
In 1941 work started on Maserati's first road car, which eventually resulted in the 1500 Gran Turismo, known internally as the Tipo A6. This change in strategy was instigated by the company's new owners, the Orsi family, who realised there was no viable future for Maserati as a specialist racing car manufacturer. Launched in 1946, the 1500 Gran Turismo was a reasonable success with 61 examples built over a five year period. It was replaced by a two-litre version (Tipo A6G), which failed to attract the same level of interest for a variety of reasons.
