The remarkable Maserati Mexico celebrates its 55th anniversary

Introduced in 1966, the Maserati Mexico was one of the best GTs in the world at the time, a model that laid the foundations for some of the brand's most powerful models and with a sensational Italian V8 at its core.

The remarkable Maserati Mexico celebrates its 55th anniversary
Maserati Mexico. Image: Thomas Bersy via Flickr

The Maserati Mexico introduced in 1966 was one of the best GTs in the world at the time, a model that laid the foundations for some of the brand's most powerful models and with a sensational Italian V8 in its bowels.

Taking the Maserati Quattroporte as a starting point, Maserati and Vignale shortened its wheelbase by 11 centimeters and redesigned the profile of the sedan to turn it into an elegant 2-door, 4-seater coupe. The Maserati Mexico was born in 1966 and thanks to its style, quality, and performance it immediately became one of the best GTs in the world at the time. Unfortunately, Maserati's finances were stretched to the limit, to the point of being bought by Citroën just two years later, which influenced the low sales of the Maserati Mexico, of which only 485 examples were produced, highly prized today.

With a very classic style, the Maserati Mexico offered a first-class level of performance thanks to its exceptional V8 engine with a very modern design and excellent performance. Suitably adapted for civilian use, this engine came from the 450 S racing car and was available in Maserati Mexico with two displacements. Most examples were sold with the 4.2-liter 260 hp 4.2-liter engine with which the Maserati Mexico reached 240 km/h (150 mph). Only 175 Maserati Mexico were fitted with the 4.7-liter 290 hp V8 engine, with which the top speed reached a spectacular 255 km/h, making it one of the fastest road cars of its time, also with a high level of comfort.

As for its dynamics, the Maserati Mexico received good reviews at the time and the power of its brakes was highlighted, with large self-ventilated and servo-assisted brake discs. The reduction in the wheelbase achieved greater agility in twisty areas compared to the Quattroporte, from which it largely inherited its comfort and ride quality. Although its acceleration and top speed were quite high, the Maserati Mexico was not intended to be an extreme sports car but a true GT.

Maserati Mexico: the fruit of coincidences

Equipped with luxuries for the time such as electric windows and air conditioning, the Maserati Mexico stood out for its excellent quality of manufacture, almost handcrafted, and materials, with an interior full of wood and leather of the highest quality. With the American market in mind, Maserati offered power steering and automatic transmission as options for drivers who wanted even greater comfort and ease of use.

The story behind why Maserati chose the name Maserati Mexico for its new model is unclear. It was quite surprising at the time as it did not follow any of the brand's logic. It neither defined its mechanics (like most of its predecessors) nor did it correspond to a wind (like the Mistral)... so why Maserati Mexico?

Well, the most plausible explanation has to do with a series of coincidences. The first is that the final model was born as a prototype handmade by coachbuilder Vignale based on a Maserati 5000 GT that had suffered an accident and was brought to the factory to be rebuilt. After being exhibited at the 1965 Turin Motor Show, this "one-off" with Vignale bodywork on the 5000 GT chassis was acquired by the president of Mexico, Adolfo Lopez Mateos for a small fortune that gave some oxygen to Maserati's finances. A few months later, John Surtess won the Mexican Grand Prix with a Cooper-Maserati, and the factory considered that Mexico brought them good luck, hence they chose this name for their new GT.

The Maserati Mexico remained in production until 1972, six years in which Citroën gave enough wings to the Italian brand and it designed and produced models of much more advanced and futuristic design that left a little outdated the elegant GT of Vignale, which looked somewhat anachronistic next to the Ghibli, Indy and already at the end of his days with the Merak and Bora. Today is a model of the most desirable and their prices, although high, are not crazy, in the vicinity of 100,000 euros.

Source: Autocasion