Maserati Sebring

Maserati Sebring was a 2-door coupé and convertible made by Maserati of Italy, based on the Maserati 3500, aimed at the American Gran Turismo market. The car was named 3500 GTiS, &laquo;S&raquo; named after the 12 Hours of Sebring racing victory (1957).

The Series I (Tipo 101.01, 348 made 1962-65) was shown at Salon International de l'Auto 1962 and Salone dell'automobile di Torino 1963. Contemporary tests revealed 137 mph and 8.5 seconds 0-60 mph. Except a different body (not Superleggera from Carrozzeria Touring), the Maserati 3500 technical setup was used. A notable feature was the availability as an option of automatic transmission by Borg-Warner. Although automatic transmissions were by this time par for the course in America and well-established in Britain, the Sebring was the first Italian car offered with an automatic gearbox.

In 1965, a lengthened stroke gave the Tipo 101.S10 (or 3700 GTiS) featuring a 3694.4 ccm (245 mph) engine. The same year also offered the Series II (Tipo 101.10, 243 made 1965-69), which had minor visual changes resemblant of the Quattroporte. It increased the 185x15 to 205x15 Pirelli tyres.

In 1966 started the Tipo 101.A10 series (called 4000 GTiS) using a 4012.2 ccm engine that gave 255 bhp@5200 rpm. This model continued in production until the end of the decade, when Maserati were forced by financial constraints to rationalise their range and dropped their older models from production.