Equipment
Chrome spoke Boranni wire wheels, Jaeger clock, power windows, Maserati pattern Nardi steering wheel.
Condition
Good paint, weakly replated chrome trim. Good but lightly soiled seats. Underbody is clean and nearly like new. Originally numbered 103048, the first Frua-bodied 5000 GT, displayed at Geneva in 1962. Returned to the factory, fluffed up and sold with the present number as a new car. Later owned by King Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud living in Egypt and eventually confiscated by the Egyptian government. Restored for John Bookout in 2004, repainted in this color as it was for the King by the present owner, engine rebuilt this year.
Market commentary
Sold by Brooks at Monaco in 2000 for $330,617 as recovered from the Egyptian government's warehouse after years in neglected storage, a derelict. Bookout could see what the finished product might be, and that's what's offered here, as fast and prestigious as any Ferrari Superamerica, and even more rare, although the consignor might have been wise to take the money.