Maserati
5000 GT

Why it matters

The 5000 GT was Maserati's most exclusive post-war road car, created at the request of the Shah of Iran around the 450S racing V8. Only 34 chassis were built and bodied by eight different coachbuilders for buyers such as Gianni Agnelli, Briggs Cunningham and the Aga Khan.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Photos

Exterior, interior and detail photos with their licences.

• Maserati 5000 GT (Wikimedia Commons: Maserati 5000 GT)
  Photo: Charles from Port Chester, New York · CC0 1.0
• Maserati 5000 GT (Wikimedia Commons: Maserati 5000 GT)
  Photo: Charles from Port Chester, New York · CC0 1.0

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

After the Shah asked whether Maserati could build him a road car with the 450S engine, Giulio Alfieri reinforced a 3500 GT chassis and installed an unused 450S V8; the first car, bodied by Touring, was shown at Turin in November 1959. Alfieri then refined the engine with a larger bore and stroke, chain-driven camshafts and Lucas mechanical fuel injection in place of Weber carburettors. The car cost almost twice as much as a 3500 GT. RM counts 36 cars built, two of them essentially re-manufactured, for 34 chassis.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

The first three "first-series" cars (the Shah of Iran's car and two more) used the 450S-derived engine with Weber carburettors and gear-driven camshafts. Later cars have a slightly larger bore and stroke, Lucas fuel injection and a triple-strand chain camshaft drive. All sit on a reinforced tubular 3500 GT-type chassis of 2,600 mm with disc brakes, and the bodies came from eight coachbuilders (Touring, Allemano, Frua, Michelotti and others), so body style identifies the maker rather than a single design. Chassis numbers carry the AM103 prefix, for example AM103.048 and AM103 040.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   RM Sotheby's Monterey 2014, lot 192, 1963 Maserati 5000 GT by Frua Level B

   • 34 chassis (36 examples built, two re-manufactured)

   Accessed 2026-11-11
2. 2
   1963 Maserati 5000 GT by Frua (Monterey 2014) Level C RM Sotheby's

   • 90-degree V-8, DOHC
   • 4,941 cc
   • replacing the noisy gear-driven camshafts with a triple-strand chain-cam
   • DOHC 90-degree V-8 engine with Lucas mechanical fuel injection
   • 340 bhp
   • five-speed manual transmission
   • 2,600-milimeter tubular chassis
   • independent front suspension with coil springs and tubular shock absorbers
   • live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs
   • four-wheel Girling disc brakes
   • Wheelbase: 104 in.

   Accessed 2026-11-12