Maserati Mexico

The Maserati Mexico was originally a prototype of a commission for a 5000 GT one-off. It made an appearance at the Vignale stand at the Salon di Torino in 1965 and was so well received that Maserati immediately made plans to put a version into limited production. A year later the production model debuted at the Paris Motor Show. It was named for the Cooper-Maserati win at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Originally powered by a 4.7 Litre V8 that produced 290 bhp, the car managed to turn out a top speed between 240-250 kph (150-156 mph). In 1969, however, contrary to Maserati tradition, the Mexico was also made available with a 'smaller' engine. This time the 4.2-litre V8 engine that powered the original Quattroporte.

Apart from the smaller engine option the Mexico underwent few changes during its lifetime. Its luxurious interior included a rich leather seating for four adults, electric windows, wooden dashboard and air conditioniong as standard. Automatic transmission, power steering and a radio were available as optional extras. The 4.7-litre version was fitted with 650 x 15" Boranni chrome wire wheels and the 4.2-litre version with 'disc' wheels.

The Mexico was the first production Maserati to be fitted with servo assisted ventilated disc brakes on all four wheels.

In May 1965, under commission from the German concessionaire Auto Koenig for their client, Herr Rupertzhoven, Maserati built a 'Mexico' similar to Vignale's original prototype design but was the work of Frua. Appearing like a 4-seat Mistral and built on the same tubular chassis as the 3500GT (2600 mm wheelbase), this prototype 'Mexico' was fitted with the Mistral's six cylinder 3.7-litre Lucas fuel injected engine. It was finished in Oro Longchamps with a black leather interior. Its dashboard came from the Quattroporte.