12 August 2022
In the early 1970s, Maserati’s financial situation was at stake, and they badly needed a car to change their fortunes. Maserati had a 4,900 cc displacement and 320 horsepower engine, and the Maserati Indy chassis had previously been successful.
Maserati commissioned Italdesign Giugiaro (formerly Studi Italiani Realizzazione Prototipi S.p.A), to design the new car under the direction of Italdesign’s founders Giorgetto Giugiaro (widely known for the DMC DeLorean ) and Aldo Mantovani.
To be built on the chassis and mechanics of the Maserati Indy sports coupé with a 4,900cc front longitudinal engine.
The Maserati Coupé 2+2 (Typo124), 1974, was born. The plan was that it would replace the Indy and sit above the Bertone-designed Khasmin in Maserati’s range.
Maserati was very optimistic about the production of this model. Maserati first showed the prototype in the autumn of 1974 at the annual Turin Motor Show.
At the show, the Typo 124 was placed next to another prototype, the Maserati Medici, a design study for a luxury sports sedan, four-door fastback. Both versions had the longitudinally mounted 4.9 Litre V8 engine.
Inopportunely, the Typo 124 arrived when Citroën (who owned Maserati at the time) was facing bankruptcy, was being taken over by Peugeot, and Maserati was being sold to De Tomaso.
The energy crisis of 1973 generally depressed demand for high-powered cars, so the Italdesign saviour concept didn’t stand a chance.
There is only one prototype, Typo 124, in existence.
