Touring Superleggera Tells a Tale of Two Maserati 3500 GTs at Retromobile

Milan-based coachbuilder Touring Superleggera displayed two Maserati 3500 GT coupes at Retromobile. The 3500 GT is an absolutely gorgeous car with elegant proportions, numerous subtle design details, and just the right amount of chrome. But floor space is expensive in Paris, so why show off two nearly identical cars?

Each one tells a different story.

Launched in 1957, the 3500 GT stands out as Maserati’s first series-produced road car. Production figures vary depending on who you ask, but most historians agree that between 2,000 and 2,200 had been built by the time production ended in 1964. Like many high-end Italian cars, they tended to lead colorful lives.

The model that Touring Superleggera restored in-house was finished on March 18, 1959, and sold new by Allinger Motors in Palo Alto, California. Its first owner was Horace Elgin Dodge III, a member of the Dodge family who likely never imagined that Dodge and Maserati would end up under the same corporate umbrella.

Dodge’s relatives cherished the 3500 GT as a family treasure, passing it down from one generation to the next. The coupe ultimately lost its “one-family-owned” label and started a new life in Europe, where it went through the hands of several private collectors before ending up in Touring Superleggera’s restoration shop.

What shape it was in when it showed up isn’t clear, but the end result is astonishing. Every part of the car is new, including the paint, the leather, the carpet, the seals, the chrome, and even the lining in the trunk. And while a restoration of this magnitude is never easy, this one was particularly difficult; you can’t walk into an AutoZone and walk out with a valve cover gasket for a 3500 GT under your arm. Touring Superleggera went to significant lengths to source the correct parts, and it used period-correct materials for the parts it had to reproduce.

The attention to detail is illustrated by what you don’t see. Touring Superleggera told me that using the wrong type of metal for the various exterior trim pieces wouldn’t have given the car the same shine that it had in 1959, for example. It would have shined bright nonetheless, but it wouldn’t have been correct.

Built in 1961, the second 3500 GT looks like it was recently pulled out of a barn — and it was. It’s not fake patina. This big coupe was last registered in 1973, according to the sticker on the California-issued plate.

It’s a car with an interesting story. One year, at The Quail in Pebble Beach, Touring Superleggera got a call from someone who claimed to have an old Maserati with its name on it to sell. As luck would have it, the 3500 GT in question was stored just north of Monterey, in a garage surrounded by fields. That was close enough to Pebble Beach for Touring Superleggera to say “Hold that thought; we’ll be there in 30 minutes!” The company sent a team to check it out and they couldn’t believe what they found. They bought it on the spot and shipped it home.

The 3500 GT didn’t drive to Paris under its own power, though.

When I asked whether I could take a look inside, a Touring Superleggera representative replied “sure, but don’t smell it.” It’s that kind of project. For what it’s worth, it wasn’t that bad. I’ve owned more pungent project cars, but we’re not going to turn this into a smelling contest. The point is, it needs a thorough restoration. Parts are missing and wires are hanging, though at least it looks like it’s relatively complete. It’s more than complete, actually: it’s fitted with a tiny Sony television that looks like a primitive infotainment system.

If it’s your kind of project, you’re in luck: the car is for sale, including the corresponding restoration by Touring Superleggera. Pricing hasn’t been announced. In-house restorations are never cheap, and nothing suggests this one would be, but at least you know what the finished car will look like.