The A6 marks the transition point between Maserati's strict, racing-focused past and its road car future. The A6GCS is still pure racing car, while the balance of the A6 series tilts toward luxury sports. All are powered by a 2-litre inline 6-cylinder motor that was developed for Formula 2 competition. In this respect, the A6 is counterpoint to the Ferrari 500—also powered by a motor developed for Formula 2 racing, built into a series of berlinetta and spyder-bodied sports cars.
Guglielmo Dei and the Pinin Farina Maserati Cars
Strictly speaking, there was no Maserati-Pinin Farina connection; that liaison was locked down by Enzo Ferrari through contract, and quickly became a matter of legend. So the satisfaction of placing a Pinin Farina berlinetta body on the able A6 chassis came only through private commission. Six chassis were sequestered for Pinin Farina treatment by Guglielmo Dei, the Maserati agent of Rome, but in the end the firm managed to finish only four of them. The four chassis to receive original coachwork were, #2056, #2057, #2059, and #2060.
Our chassis, #2089, was originally a spyder with coachwork finished by Fantuzzi. The mount of Francesco Giardina, #2089 campaigned the Mille Miglia of 1955 and 1956, winning its class in 1955 while placing an admirable fourth overall. The car was shortly out of Giardina's hands when it returned to the factory in 1959, where it was rebodied with the Pinin Farina coachwork of #2060, the last of the four original cars. Thus, #2089 is a race-proven A6GCS with a beautiful, exceptionally rare body fitted to the car in period by the factory.
Body and chassis shuffling has led to six present-day Pinin Farina berlinetta cars. We know #2089 took the coachwork of #2060; also, #2070 took the coachwork of #2057. Both of these chassis that originally wore Pinin Farina alloy have since been rebodied. Pleasantly, Guglielmo Dei's intentions seem to have been satisfied in time, with six special A6GCS berlinetta cars complete, albeit two by means of evocation.
Note that even among these rare cars, Pinin Farina crafted two variants. Chassis #2057 featured a mean-looking, low-hood body style. That body has since been moved to #2070, and #2057 rebodied in the same style. Meanwhile, #2060, platform for the coachwork used here on #2089, has also been rebodied in the low-hood style. And so today, three slighly different examples of both Pinin Farina variants exist.
Motor: 1,986 cc straight 6-cylinder, cast iron block and aluminum alloy head
Valvetrain: DOHC, 2 valves per cylinder, gear driven
Aspiration: triple Weber 40 DCO3 carburetors
Power: 168 bhp at 7,300 rpm
Drivetrain: 4-speed gearbox, rear-wheel drive
Front Suspension: independent wishbones with coil springs, Houdaille dampers, and anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: live axle with coil springs, Houdaille dampers, and anti-roll bar
Architecture: steel tubular frame with aluminum body by Pinin Farina
Kerb Weight: 900 kg (1,984 lbs)
Wheelbase: 2,310 mm (91 inches)
0-60: about 7.2 seconds
Top Speed: 210 km/h (130 mph)
Etymology:
The 'A' designation memorializes Alfieri Maserati, the firm's principal founder, a talented engineer and racing driver who died in 1932 following an accident. The firm itself was originally named Officine Alfieri Maserati when it began in Bologna in 1914. The '6' refers to the number of cylinders. The 'G' stands for 'ghisa,' or iron in Italian, denoting the cast iron block. 'CS' stands for 'corsa sport,' which states that the car is built for racing. The '/53' designation signals the penultimate development of the Formula 2 racing motor that powers the A6, introduced for 1953. The word 'berlinetta' refers to the closed coupé bodywork, a diminutive form of 'berline' derived from the French carriage trade. The body was built by Pinin Farina, often interchanged with 'Pininfarina,' though the name officially changed to one word in 1966. And we note that this is chassis #2089, an original A6GCS with strong racing history, fitted in-period with the original body from chassis #2060.
Figures:
A6 development began in the late 1940s. The firm experimented with a 1.5-litre racing motor fitted to one-off spyder and berlinetta cars, creating numerous gems of lightweight sports car fantasy. Eventually the A6 moniker was attached to a dedicated production run, and the car became Maserati's first mass-market product. The Barchetta registry online lists 214 cars produced among all of the A6 models, beginning in 1946 and ending in 1957. Of these, 52 are listed as the A6GCS/53, or as the 2000 Sport version. Of this particular iteration, four cars received original Pinin Farina berlinetta coachwork, and through the girations explained elsewhere in our feature that number has grown to six cars with some claim to originality.
Two Variants: Discerning Two Styles among the Pinin Farina Maserati A6GCS/53 Berlinetta
Of the six cars circulating today, there are two distinct body styles. For simplicity, I'll dub these the sport, which appears on chassis #2057, #2060, and #2070, and the lusso, which appears on chassis #2056, #2059, and #2089. While subtle differences exist between all bodies, the main distinction between these two styles involves the extension of the hood and its conjuction with the tail. The sport carries a lower hoodline, making the car a lean, aggressive proposition—cat-like in its prowling stance. This low hoodline joins the wrap-around tail slightly above the rear wheel arches, creating a full fastback profile. On the lusso, the hood is taller, while its slope is also greater, descending slightly below the rear wheel arches. There, the rear arches form modest fins, creating a stylish look that will soon become standard for the Italian GT car.
GT Precedent: Early Pinin Farina Evidence of the GT Concept
By the early 1960s, sports car racing will see a flood of Ferrari 250 GT short wheelbase (SWB) berlinetta cars doing the business of front-line motor racing. That particular Pinin Farina design, now lauded for its simple athleticism, is foreshadowed by these special little berlinettas. And yet the proportions on the A6GCS appear tighter, prettier in all aspects with more dramatic dips between the nose and the headlamp pods, and a perfect balance of aggressive lines and elegant curves. In comparison, the 250 GT SWB Berlinetta clearly shows the girth required to cover a heavier chassis—a car grown-out for good purpose, but without the same delectable execution.
Ferrari Counterpoint: The Maserati A6GCS/53 in the Context of Contemporary Ferrari Cars
Mechanically, the A6GCS fits the mould of the Ferrari 500, a Formula 2 platform turned sports-racer. But stylistically, these rare Maserati cars offer sporting juxtaposition to the unique Ferrari 166 Mille Miglia Berlinetta of 1953. That particular gem bears a tidiness of line that even looks the diminutive of the A6GCS. The 166 MM Berlinetta is oval in perspective and in profile—cute before menacing, and undeniably pretty. From these small berlinetta cars to more formidable machinery, we should note that the elegant rounds of this forward-facing headlamp style carry directly to the Ferrari 375 MM, a 1954 design concurrent with the A6GCS. And the design carries farther into the future with early versions of the 250 Tour de France Berlinetta, some of which Scaglietti built, perhaps penned by Pinin Farina.
Aural Delight: Engine Note and the Italian Hot Rod Aesthetic
While its exclusivity factor is undeniable, the A6GCS is more than pretty lines and racing history. The visual aesthetics, which eclipse Pinin Farina's early attempts on Ferrari chassis, are even matched by the car's aural capacity. The sound of a classic Maserati is simultaneously luscious and ripping; it is mean but smooth, like a blues musician who plays with high distortion, but does so with impeccable virtuousity. I'll use the term Italian hot rod to underscore the point, and add that perhaps Ferrari's Dino V-6 possesses a similar contradiction of smooth grittiness in the soundtrack department. Side pipes help, of course, offering a shortcut for the motor's exhalation, while keeping the tail free of the clutter that protrudes from the undercarriage of later Italian hot rods. Notably, the Ferrari 250 SWB we've been razzing falls into this category.
Formula Nose: Similarity in Nose Design among Purpose-Built Race Cars
Another noteworthy feature of this Pinin Farina design is the nose, which protrudes between the headlamp pods rather like an open-wheeled monoposto. This effect is heightened on chassis #2056 and #2059, but still largely evident here. It stands to reason that even in the 1950s, designers looked for ways to match the efficiency of top-level race cars in sports car design. Think, for example, of the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa by Scaglietti, a sports-racer with dramatic use of outboard front pods, or the Grand Prix Lancia D50. These Maserati berlinetta headed in the same direction, giving clear intent to their racing purpose.
Moniker Homage: The Guglielmo Dei Cars
Note that the chrome script across the boot lid reads 'Guglielmo Dei Roma,' the 'G' looking conspicuously like an 'S.' In any case, Dei was the Maserati agent in Rome, and the man responsible for contracting this series of berlinetta cars with Pininfarina. A few, but not all of the other A6GCS Pininfarina Berlinetta cars wear this script.
Last Updated: Feb 9, 2024
