15 July 2022
The 1947 Geneva Motor Show saw the launch of the first Gran Turismo in Maserati history: the Tipo A6, better known as the A6 1500 Gran Turismo.
The A6 1500 Gran Turismo was the first road-going Maserati automobile—a profound sports car designed by Pininfarina. It was the first road-going Maserati, of which only 61 examples were ever built.
The history of the A6 1500 dates back to even earlier than 1947. It goes back to 1941 and the design of a sedan with a fixed head engine and twin camshafts, which was a close descendant of the 6CM, an Italian single-seater racing car made by Maserati from 1936 to 1940 for the Voiturette racing class.
The outcome was an outstanding engine with a maximum output of 65 hp, a single Weber 36DCR carburettor achieving a top speed of over 93mph.
Apart from the exceptional performance, some Pininfarina aesthetics fascinated the public; not only did the A6 1500 have retractable headlights, but it also had a plexiglass sunroof and a bonnet that could be raised from both sides or removed altogether.
Although Maserati, only produced 61 cars over its four-year production run from 1947, and a Pininfarina cosmetic update in 1948, the Maserati A6 1500 Gran Turismo was a significant milestone since it launched Maserati as the producer of elegant high-performance sports cars, aided by the Pininfarina design house.
‘Gran Turismo is a way of life: a type of high-performance car, suitable for long distances and comfortable journeys. It all began 75 years ago with the Maserati A6 1500. A model with a revolutionary spirit, the forerunner of a class of cars that had never been seen before. It would go on to influence the automotive landscape worldwide and successive generations of Maserati road cars.’
