AUTOCULT - MASERATI - 124 COUPE 2+2 ITALDESIGN ITALY 1974

The Green Arrow In the first half of the 1970s the financial situation at Maserati was such precarious that their next model had to be a success at all costs. Under this pressure the engineers draw on the chassis of the successful type Indy and equipped it with the strongest engine of the range, a V8 with 4,900cc displacement and a performance of 320 hp. Also with the design Maserati took no risks and commissioned the renowned design office Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A. or short Italdesign, The designers under the lead of the company founders Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani created a v-shaped car body with a very flat nose fitted with pop-up headlamps. The angular shape of the car body was also applied at the windows and the rear wheel houses. Even the sharply dropping rear end fitted harmoniously into the overall appearance of the car. This and also the filigree aluminum casted wheel rims were definitely zeitgeisty back then. Overall the design of the car was extremely sporty and very appealing. In short, the designers of Italdesign did an excellent job. Also the responsible persons at Maserati were apparently pleased with the commissioned work. One, varnished in green metallic, prototype in running condition was set on its wheels. At the beginning of 1974 Maserati was quite optimistic to produce the car in series. In autumn 1974 the prototype was exhibited and open to the public for the first time at the annual Turin Auto Show. But it became apparent that the debt mountain of 5 Million US $ is going to rule out a series production. The prototype remained the only copy and so it can only be guessed whether the green Maserati would have been a success or not.