Maserati Mistral
Named for the famous Mediterranean wind, Mistral was the second of Maserati’s new six-cylinder 1960s models. Previewed at the ’63 Turin show, it aped the Sebring in using an improved version of the Maserati 3500GTI chassis but with an even shorter wheelbase. This aided torsional stiffness, as did new folded members along the rocker panels, reinforcements over the rear wheelarches, and more sheetmetal around the tail.
 Styled by Pietro Frua, the Mistral was the last of the front-engine six-cylinder cars on which Maserati had built its postwar success as a producer of roadgoing GTs. |
The Maserati Mistral was offered in coupe and convertible models, the latter introduced at Geneva in 1964. Both were two-seaters, unlike the 2 + 2 Sebring. Styling, by Pietro Frua, was different too, more rounded and flowing, with a lower beltline and an airier greenhouse with more markedly curved glass.
The coupe featured a large lift-up hatch window
somewhat reminiscent of the later Porsche 924/944 treatment. In
retrospect, overall appearance forecast the Frua-designed AC 428 of
1968 (even some panels were apparently shared). Doors, hood, and rear
deck (hatch on the coupe, trunklid on the convertible) were aluminum;
the rest of the shell was steel. Maggiora of Turin supplied both bodies
under contract.
While a few early models carried the familiar
3.5-liter Maserati twincam six, most Mistrals had the more potent 3.7-
or 4.0-liter versions. Peak power outputs were the same as the
Sebring’s and allowed Maserati to boast about beating the “1 hp per cu
in.” figure so magical to Americans in those heady days.
 Porsche may have been inspired by the Mistral’s lift-up rear window when designing its later 924. Open Spider version was arguably prettier, definitely rarer. |
The
Maserati Mistral proved quite popular. Most of the total 948 units were
built in 1964-68 (though the last example, a 4.0-liter spider, wasn’t
completed until 1970). As ever, coupes way outsold the convertibles,
which accounted for just 120 units.
Nevertheless, Maserati was
moving on to bigger and better things, so the Mistral would be the last
of the traditional front-engine straight-six Masers on which the
company had built its great postwar success. Beginning in 1967, the
future belonged to the new V-8 Mexico and Ghibli.
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