The A6G54 was Maserati’s only dual-purpose road/race car made in series production. After the A6GCS became a success on the racetrack, Maserati redesigned the model as a road-going sports car that was more suitable for increased production. Maserati expert Luigi Orsini called the model by its full name: the A6G54 2000 Sport. It was a high performance 2-litre sports chassis that was crafted into either sports tourer or racing car by the many Italian design houses.

Maserati invested little time and capital on A6G54 development by relying on existing designs and choosing to outsource all the bodywork. Thus, no two cars were alike and each reflected the first customer’s design preference. What they did have in common was a sporting pedigree from Maserati’s past.

Right before the all the Maserati brothers had pulled out of the company in 1947, leaving it to Commandatore Adolfo Orsi, they designed a bulletproof inline-6 engine which would eventually power the A6G54 in its definitive form. Initially, Maserati’s six was placed on a simple ladder-type tube frame with a 1.5-liter, inline-six engine producing 65 horsepower that was a low point for Maserati performance. By 1951, a two litre version of the A6 was released and featured some fancy custom bodies, but it took until 1954 to get the design right.

At that time Vittorio Bellentani was brought in to detune the A6GCS racing engine and make it suitable for GT driving. He tuned to the engine to provide a better power curve and fitted a normal wet-sump lubrication system specifically for the A6G54 2000. The twin-spark cylinder head with its 12 wire distributor was offered only as an option. It raised the ante to 190 horsepower in top form.

The chassis was built by Gilco and resembled the simple twin parallel tube design used on he first A6. Suspension upfront consisted of double wishbones with a rigid axle in rear. Steering and braking came from the A6GCS.

Second series A6G 2000 Sports were produced from 1954 until 1957. During that period sixty examples were created despite competition from Ferrari and Fiat with their 8V. As the specification of the A6G54 resembled a sporting nature, especially the Zagato-bodied models, some examples used a special competition cylinder heads. At the time, Maserati was campaigning their A6GCS leaving the A6G54 for the most part to private entrants.

Bodywork

All the cars were sold as bare chassis to be fitted with bodies from some of the best Italian design houses. The most celebrated of these was Zagato’s purposeful coupe. Zagato’s treatment of the Maserati chassis was similar to the Fiat 8V coachwork from 1954 which was sculpted out of aluminum into a flowing shape. A total of nineteen Zagato Coupes were built and the first, chassis, #2013, was built as a one-of spider. These 20 or so Zagato coupes formed the first concrete relationship between the companies.

Of all the A6G2000s, the Zagato model was the most fit for racing. The methods used by Zagato ensured a lightweight construction. The body was formed, by hand, in aluminum with the Perspex windows all around. Total weight of the Zagato Berlinetta was 840kg (1852lbs). Each car had remarkable differences both inside and out. As an example chassis #2121 was the only A6 to receive the trademark Zagato double bubble roof.

Vignale and Frua made some wonderful examples on the A6G54 chassis the former making a series of striking two-tone spyders. But these lavish bodies and interiors took very long to complete, so Maserati turned to Allemano who made a series of pedestrian coupes that Maserati were listed in the official catalogue.

Eventually the Maserati took the responsibility of building their own bodies and series production of their first ‘in house’ grand tourer started with the 3500GT in 1957.

Chassis & Sales

2137-1956 Maserati A6G54 2000 Zagato Berlinetta. Delivered in racing red with a beige (Nocciola) leather interior to Conte Giuseppe Dettaiuti Leopardi on May 29th 1956. It was later purchased by Ulisse Pizzi who entered in in the 1956 Mille Miglia with starting number 312, then the Coppa Intereuropa at Monza with number 61 and finally later that year in the Targa Florio. Later 2137 was donated to the Maserati Museum in 1970 and it was restored. Eventually it was passed to the Panini collection based in Modena where it resided until 2005. At that time it was privately sold and a large restoration was performed with a new body by Franco Ferrari. It was offered at Coys’ 2010 Legende et Passion Auction but did not sell with an estimate of €860000 – €950000.

Auction Sales History

1956 Maserati A6G/2000 Coupe 2147 –

Auction Source: The Pebble Beach Auctions 2015 by Gooding and Company