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Maserati A6G/54 2000 Berlinetta, Zagato, #2108, 1955

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Significance
Technology
Production
Aesthetics

Location:
Radnor Hunt Concours d'Elegance, 2015

Owner: Keith Duly | Bethlehem, Connecticut

Prologue:

Many sources suggest that the coachwork on chassis #2108 is that of #2102, a Zagato berlinetta raced in the 1956 Mille Miglia, but this is not the case. Chassis #2102 remains in complete, original condition, and the anecdotes offered to bolster the story of #2108 are neither accurate nor necessary.

In this respect, I am happy to have photographed #2108 with its clean, ivory finish—no further embellishment required. So, while I enjoy a spot of color, in this case simplicity is best.

Please note that chassis #2108 has since passed to a new owner. Also note that 'Bethlehem, Connecticut' is not a typo (whereas some might think of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania).

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► Image Source: Nikon D750 (24.3 MP)

References:

Cancellieri, Gianni; Dal Monte, Luca; De Agostini, Cesare; Ramaciotti, Lorenzo. (English translation by Neil Davenport and Robert Newman.) "Maserati, A Century of History: The Official Book" Giorgio Nada Editore, Vimodrone, Milano, Italia. 2013, page 117-120
Crump, Richard; de la Rive Box, Rob. "Maserati Sports, Racing and GT Cars from 1926" Third Edition, G.T. Foulis & Company for Haynes Publishing Group PLC, Somerset, England. 1992, page 134-135
Carrozzieri Italiani: A short piece on #2108 as the car appeared with Allemano coachwork.
Dream Garage: "Maserati A6G/2000 Berlinetta (Allemano/Zagato) - 1955" October 22, 2024: While this piece references the false #2102 connection, we can see in the 1956 Mille Miglia photograph the clear differences between chassis #2102 in period and chassis #2108's coachwork today.
RM Sotheby's: I include here RM's entry for chassis #2102 simply to show that #2108 does not use the coachwork from that car, which is complete and original. And of course the coachwork matches that of the 1956 photograph cited above.

Chassis #2108, the Allemano Prototype

Early A6G/54 production opens with Frua and Zagato bodies until the ninth chassis, #2108, receives a 2+2 prototype exercise by Allemano. This rather nicely proportioned coupe proves just as successful as the lightweight Zagato belinetta and, as the official history notes, puts forth a grand touring concept that Maserati will build upon through the subsequent 3500 GT series.

So, while the A6 series is great fun for all its beautiful variety, the Allemano design by Giovanni Michelotti most closely signals the marque's GT trajectory.

Of course we can no longer see that original Allemano design in the flesh, (apart from those 20 examples that followed in the production line), as today chassis #2108 wears Zagato coachwork. And yet, to explain the body swap I must deviate from the yarn others have reported.

Chassis #2108 appears with its Allemano body at the Paris Motor Show in 1955 before hopping across the ocean to New York. En route to its first owner, a short circuit beneath the dashboard lights a fire that destroys the coachwork, but leaves the rolling chassis intact. The chassis then survives 40 years in its preserved, denuded state.

In 1995, Mr. Keith Duly purchases #2108, followed by a separate berlinetta Zagato purchase. Many sources suggest that this second component car (or at least its coachwork) is chassis #2102, touting its use as a practice ride for Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson ahead of the 1956 Mille Miglia. However, chassis #2102 remains in complete, original condition. So this connection cannot be true.

In any event, Mr. Duly commissions Carrozzeria Quality Cars s.r.l. of Pianiga, Italy to marry rolling chassis and body, restoring both in the process.

Following restoration, #2108 appears in the United States for a few years before leaving Mr. Duly's stewardship and returning to Europe. Either toward the end of Duly's ownership or early in its European return, the car receives minor updates to its livery—a turquoise stripe and 318 numbering on the doors. While these additions recall the 1956 Mille Miglia, they are somewhat misguided, if disingenuous.

Citing Walter Bäumer, RM Sotheby's provides a history of #2102 on the occasion of its offering at Villa Erba in 2019. In the first place, chassis #2102 appears to have been red with white lettering at the time of the Mille Miglia, as it remains today (with a white stripe but without numbering). And we can see from period images that the coachwork on #2102 was always quite different than the coachwork seen here on #2108. RM's account also notes that the Mille Miglia entrant number 318 is that of Arnaldo Bellini and journalist co-driver Nicolo Carosio, who actually competed #2102 in the race, whereas Moss and Jenkinson were two of many to test the car beforehand without an entrant number.

So the Moss-Jenkinson connection appears tantalizing, but untrue. And yet a stroke of legerdemain shouldn't detract from the package Duly created—a beautiful berlinetta representative of Zagato style.

Zagato and the A6G/54 2000

Where Zagato are concerned, the A6G series tends to reflect the coachbuilder's direction more than the platform itself. The A6G is in this sense a vehicle for lightweight aluminum expression, quite different from counterparts clothed by Allemano and Frua. The pattern is similar to that of period Alfa Romeo berlinetta cars, reminiscent of the 1900 C Super Sprint and Giulietta SZ, which take a more spartan form when wearing a Zed insignia.

Coachwork on #2108 presents the A6G/54 as pleasing counterpoint to those 4-cylinder Milanese coupes. The formula is roughly the same, even if Maserati lean into a softer GT experience with subsequent road car development.

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. The '/54' designation signals the ultimate development of the Formula Two racing motor that powers the A6, introduced for 1954.

Maserati also refer to the model as the 2000 A6G/54, (with or without the solidus), and '54' is itself Maserati's means of distinguishing the updated A6G car. The '2000' nomenclature underscores the motor's 2-litre capacity, and dates back to the A6 1500 of 1946. Throughout A6 development, the displacement figure may precede or follow the model designation, though Maserati appear to have reversed the position from the A6 1500 of 1946 to the 2000 GT of 1950, thus confounding two separate nomenclatures within the same lineage.

Chassis #2108, like most of the A6G 2000 series, is a berlinetta, Italian for a lightweight coupe based on the French, 'berline.'

Figures:

A6 development begins in the late 1940s. The firm experiment with a 1.5-litre racing motor fitted to one-off spider and berlinetta cars, creating numerous gems of lightweight sports car fantasy. By 1946, Maserati attach the A6 moniker to a dedicated production run, which becomes their first road-going product.

The Barchetta registry lists 214 cars produced among all A6 models, beginning in 1946 and ending in 1957. A6G/54 production totals roughly 60 cars.

Allemano body 21 of these A6G/54 cars, and interestingly, Zagato body the same number themselves. Chassis #2108 is the first of these Allemano-bodied A6G/54 cars, the coachwork subsequently lost and replaced with a Zagato body.

Value:

A French site reports an October 2024 list price of €2,600,000, or $2,829,320 at the exchange rate as of October 31, 2024.

Ivory Escape: Debunking the A6G/54 Chassis #2102 Connection

My encounter with chassis #2108 captures the car with ivory coachwork, whereas a few years later we see a single turquoise stripe and black 318 numbering. These additions seem to insist on the coachwork's veracity as #2102. However, chassis #2102 was originally red with white (as it remains today), and the entrant number '318' is that of Bellini and Carosio, (not Moss and Jenkinson).

Compared to period photos, #2108 is more linear, without the gentle bow along the shoulders—front to rear—of #2102. Chassis #2108 aligns well with the broad scope of Zagato berlinetta designs, but of a later variety. The front arches seem a bit pronounced and the tail a bit squared, whereas the expression portrayed by #2102 suggests the gentle contours of Frua's lithe designs.

The grille is also vastly different. An early-numbered car, #2102 uses a wide, stylized grille. This design is largely the same as originally fitted to #2101, the lone Zagato spider, which Juan Domingo Perón (he of Argentina's revolutionary history) requested be changed in favor of a later configuration.

But historical qualms aside, it is rather unfair to speak only of what #2108 is not, as opposed to everything that it is.

Zagato Types: A6G/54 2000 Berlinetta Variations

Within a modest set of 21 examples—one of which is the unique spider, #2101—Zagato use no fewer than eight different grille designs matched with no fewer than six bonnet designs. These variations sometimes pair with a flat roof and sometimes the famed double-bubble.

On #2108, we see a clean bonnet with lateral louvres fitted close to the windscreen. The grille is a binate horizontal configuration, squared as opposed to elliptical. A large trident sits within a roundel flanked by three ailerons on either side. The roundel, ailerons, and grille frame all use body-matched inserts to enhance the depth, backed by an intricate mesh comprised of beautifully tessellated fans.

There is no contiguous guard below, but instead two split pieces at either corner, each stylized with conical stanchions toward the center and curved around the lower edges of the fenders.

While the bonnet is relatively clean (and will become less so on subsequent cars), the fascia is the most complex of all variations. Chassis that share these attributes are #2106, #2107, #2123, and #2124.

Bäumer notes that all A6G/54 Zagato cars are unique, and changing shoulder lines, flanks, chrome, and tail treatments support the claim. In this case, #2108 keeps its lines clean, if somewhat square, and I think the subtle launch of the front quarters is particular to only a few cars.

Spartan Elegance: A Contradiction in GT Style

In the official history, Lorenzo Ramaciotti writes, "The interiors of the cars bodied by Zagato have never made any concession to luxury or comfort. Their essential functionality render them much more up-to-date than other contemporary designs."

But this sentiment offers a contradiction, because from our perspective these materials seem quite luxurious and the composition nothing like our concept of a racing automobile. We find the style too pretty to fixate on functionality. The door panels, for instance, are very nicely thought-out. And the aura of a car such as the A6G/54 is so glamorous that its utilitarian form becomes all the more alluring.

In this respect, the second part of Ramaciotti's comment is true, that the design appeals to our modern sensibility more than, say, a wooden dashboard or chrome ornament in the Modernist style. But at the very least, our eyes consume some degree of luxury, even if the thing itself is rather harsh in practice.

I will note that the cabin of #2108 looks very similar to the period image shown in the official history, so we are not embellishing the basic form too much. The strong turquoise gauges appear comparable to those used on the A6GCS/53 sports-racing cars, the steel panel nicely balanced either side of the three-spoke wheel, the upholstery elegantly piped, and the shift lever mounted high on the transmission tunnel.

And if there are in fact concessions to luxury, these would be the drilled steel throttle pedal and turned aluminum plate along the rocker panel. The upholstered hand brake cover no less. The smart steel-cap finish where the edges of the dashboard cover meet the ends of the window sills. In short, good design is luxurious, no matter its intent.

Last Updated: May 29, 2025

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