1948 – Maserati A6 GCS 2000 Monofaro Usine ex Fangio
Châssis n° 2007/2010 (voir texte)
Carte grise française
French registration title
Véhicule vendu sans Contrôle Technique
Sold without Contrôle Technique

« La plus authentique des Maserati A6 GCS Monofaro, jamais vue sur le marché, et pilotée en période par Juan-Manuel Fangio »
“The most authentic Maserati A6 GCS Monofaro ever seen on the market, and driven period by Juan-Manuel Fangio”

- Rare survivante de la série des 14 Monofaro construites, l’une des 4 voitures usine construites
- La dernière vraie Maserati avant l’ère Orsi, moteur 6-cylindres 2-litres très performant, châssis léger et incisif
- L’une des autos de course des années 1950 les plus polyvalentes, éligible aux plus grandes épreuves historiques, dont les Mille Miglia, Goodwood ou Monaco
- Voiture pilotée par Juan-Manuel Fangio au Grand Prix de Rome 1949
- Historique continu et documenté, histoire argentine très dense, jamais vue sur le marché

- A rare survivor from the series of 14 Monofaros built, one of only 4 works cars
- The last true Maserati before the Orsi era, with a high-performance 2-litre 6-cylinder engine and a light, incisive chassis
- One of the most versatile racing cars of the 1950s, eligible for the greatest historic events, including the Mille Miglia, Goodwood and Monaco
- Car driven by Juan-Manuel Fangio at the 1949 Rome Grand Prix
- Continuous, well-documented history, very dense Argentinean history, never seen before on the market

In 1945, at the end of the Second World War, Maserati was in a position to produce and sell the sublime A6-1500, a small sports car developed from the legendary, high-performance 6CM Grand Prix car, which had already shone in the second half of the 1930s. With its very elegant Extra Lusso coupé and spyder bodywork (only 2 examples) designed by Pinin Farina, it enabled the ‘other Modena manufacturer’ to establish itself among the leading Italian factories, and foreshadowed the first competition car from the Trident brand. The A6 GCS (CS designating a dual-purpose Corsa and Sport car), refined in 1947, nevertheless differed markedly in terms of a new tubular chassis, improved suspension, new bodywork and a revised engine. For the bodywork, the talented and efficient Medardo Fantuzzi was chosen, who designed a superb two-seater siluro body, basic but elegant, with separate wings, so that it could compete in F2 (without wings) and in Sport (with wings), and whose single central headlamp integrated into the radiator grille would distinguish this first A6 GCS: Monofaro.

Under the bonnet, the particularly accessible powertrain differs from that of the previous A6 in that it has an increased displacement of 2 litres, dry sump lubrication and a set of 3 special Weber 36DO4 carburettors. Producing 130 hp at 6,000 rpm, it propelled the car, which weighed just 672 kg dry (580 kg in the F2 version!), to speeds of over 200 km/h with disconcerting ease... Only 14 examples of the Monofaro were produced, of which only 8 survived. Today, it is one of the most sought-after Maseratis, thanks to its rarity, its performance, its place in the history of the brand (the last car developed by the Maserati brothers before the Orsi family took control, and an essential milestone in the genesis of 6-cylinder racing cars - A6GCS/53, A6G/54, 300S in particular - and road cars - 3500 GT) and its unrivalled versatility. Thanks to its extensive track record, the 2000 A6 GCS is eligible to take part in the greatest historic events, including the Mille Miglia, Goodwood and Monaco, where it can compete in both single-seater and sports categories, just as it did back in the day...

The car that illustrates these pages is the seventh A6 GCS produced, chassis #2007, officially entered in the factory registers on 7 June 1948 as a factory car, which only concerns three other chassis (#2001, #2002 - born as a coupé - and #2003 - destroyed in period) out of the 14 built. It is likely that the car was used for some racing, testing and development, before being renumbered #2010 at the factory, and sold to Italian businessman Giuseppe Vianini on 4 April 1949 (factory registers). 1949 was an important year in motor sport, as it was the year in which Juan Perón, the Argentine dictator, commissioned two experienced drivers to come and race in Europe to promote their country. For the occasion, this Equipo Argentina was given Gordinis and Maseratis... for hire. The names of these drivers? Juan-Manuel Fangio and Benedicto Campos, unknowns on the Old Continent... Fangio quickly made a name for himself, winning the F1 Grands Prix at San Remo, Pau, Perpignan, Marseille, Monza and Albi. He also raced in Sport and F2, and took the start of the Xth Grand Prix of Rome, run on the temporary circuit of the Baths of Caracalla, on 2 June at the wheel of the Maserati #2007/2010 entrusted to Vianini, who also had business in Argentina and dual nationality. Although the crew was forced to retire on lap 21, it is likely that the car that illustrates these pages was again entered on 26 June at the Monza F2 Grand Prix (4 A6 GCS on the grid) and on 10 July at the 9th Circuit del Garda (3 A6 GCS on the grid) and also in the Italian F2 Grand Prix of the 1950 season.

At the end of the 1950 season, Vianini exported the A6 GCS #2007/2010 to Argentina, where he sold it to Carlos Lostaló, an experienced driver from the Buenos Aires region, who raced it on 17 December 1950 at the Parque Sarmiento circuit in Cordoba, where he finished 4th. A country with a rich motoring culture, Argentina recovered a large number of European racing cars, both new and second-hand, and our Maserati, re-engined in mid-1953 with a Ford V8 following the breakage of its engine, continued to scour the local circuits until 1959, successfully battling against, in no particular order, Alfa Romeo 8Cs, Delahaye 135 Ss, Ferrari 166s, 212s, 225s, 375s and 625s, Cisitalia 202s, BMW 328s, Jaguar XK 120s, Gordini T15s, Allard J2s, Porsche 550s and Bugatti 35s and 51s! She took part in the famous 1000 km of Buenos Aires (fig. 6, DNF), with Carlos Guimarey and Carming, alias Eduardo ‘Buby’ Salzman, an event counting towards the World Sport Championship that year! This car has a crystal-clear history and is listed in all the reference books and known to the greatest marque specialists.

Historian Pierre Abeillon confirmed this back in 2001: ‘It is written in all the serious books on the Maserati marque (the English Crump, p. 113, of the 3rd edition, and the Italian Orsini-Zagari, p. 430) that the Maseretai A6 GCS #2007, which was produced new for the 1948 season for use by the official team, was sold renumbered 2010 in 1949 to the Italian Vianini (it is therefore one and the same car). It was loaned to Fangio for an F2 race in Rome in June 1949 and sold to Lostalo in Argentina in 1950”. These comments are confirmed and supplemented by Argentine historian Cristiàn Bertschi, author of the reference book Club Automoviles Sport, story of passion and racing in Argentina with Estanislao Iacona: ‘On 14 February 2017, I was invited by [Mr T.] to his garage to examine his Maserati A6 GCS #2007/2010. I found it to be exactly what I expected. The car looks very honest and original, with the exception of the bodywork. The chassis shows signs of heavy use at the time. The original engine (#2010) was broken in 1953; the remains of this unusable, badly damaged and incomplete engine, were used to build a replica made by Pur Sang in Argentina and exported a few years ago. The engine that powers today's #2007/2010 is a spare engine that was sent to Brazil for one of the two cars bought in the period by the Autoclub do Brazil, chassis #2012 and #2019. The chassis is stamped #2010 on the front right suspension struts. The number looks old, damaged and beautiful. From memory, and I could be wrong, I think we discussed some modifications to the front of the chassis, but I can't remember what they were. I didn't compare the chassis to other A6 GCSs in any depth. The body is not the original one, and was redone during the restoration by the Dellepiane brothers. I can say that I really like this car because of its rarity, its patina and its history! I've never taken the time to research its factory period, but it seems to be the car that Fangio drove at Caracalla”.
Another leading Maserati expert, Richard Crump, wrote to Mr T. at the end of 1986: “When I last saw the car, it was in running condition and appeared to be complete in its original features. You will appreciate that these early cycle wings Maseratis have not a high survival rate, but certainly #2007 was an original works competition car and should be considered a rare example of the marque.” We could also add that the car still has its Maserati 4-spoke steering wheel, a unique feature, as the other Monofaros have a 3-spoke steering wheel. It should be noted that the current engine, as described by Cristiàn Bertschi, and which is today in wet sump configuration, was found by the famous Colin Crabbe in Sao Paulo.

At the end of the 1970s, one of its former Argentine drivers, the very European Eduardo ‘Buby’ Salzman, acquired it from the Dellepiane brothers, who had restored and rebodied it (on original tubular frame) after buying it from Rodolfo Iriarte. After a few races in Argentina, he entered it in the historic Mille Miglia in 1986, and sold it a few days later to Mr T. It was reunited with Juan-Manuel Fangio for the Bordeaux Grand Prix retrospective in 1987, before beginning a quiet life in Mr T's garage (interspersed with static, one-off exhibitions, such as at the Salon d'Avignon, or for the brand's 110th anniversary), who recently decided to sell it due to other projects.

A monument to the history of Argentinian motor sport by virtue of its longevity, its record of achievements, its place in Fangio's career, and its ‘descendants’ (it gave birth to a whole series of Sport Nationals with bodywork inspired by the Monofaro), this A6 GCS 2000 can also boast indisputable authenticity and a perfectly documented ongoing history, making it highly eligible for the biggest international events. Will it stay in France or Europe? Or will it go back to Argentina? Place your bids...

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Palmarès certifié et documenté
Certified and documented track record

2 juin 1949
Xe Grand Prix de Rome
Circuit des Thermes de Caracalla
#2 Juan-Manuel Fangio
DNF

17 décembre 1950
Circuito Parque Sarmiento 1950
Córdoba
# 4 Carlos Lostaló
Pos. OA 5

22 avril 1951
Premio María Eva Duarte de Perón 1951
Autódromo Eva Perón, Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires
# 4 Carlos Lostaló
Pos. OA 5

08 juillet 1951
Autódromo de Mar del Plata
Autódromo Eva Perón, Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires
# 2 Carlos Lostaló
Pos. OA 2

23 septembre 1951
Premio Gobernador Brisoli
Circuito Parque General San Martín, Mendoza
# 2 Carlos Lostaló
Pos. OA 3

22 novembre 1951
Links
La Plata, Buenos Aires
Carlos Lostaló
Pos. OA 8

9 mars 1952
Premio Presidente de la Nación Juan Domingo Perón 1952
Autódromo de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires
# 2 Carlos Lostaló
Pos. OA 7

15 mars 1952
Premio Eva Perón
Autódromo de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires
# 2 Carlos Lostaló
DNF

13 septembre 1952
Premio Eva Perón
Autódromo de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires
# 4 Carlos Lostaló
DNF

19 octobre 1952
Premio de la Lealtad, Eva Perón
Autódromo de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires
# 4 Carlos Lostaló
Pos. OA 4

1er février 1953
Gran Premio Ciudad de Buenos Aires
Autódromo de Buenos Aires
Pos. OA 11
# 24 Roberto Calise

22 février 1953
Premio Municipalidad de General Pueyrredon
Mar del Plata
# 24 Roberto Calise
Pos. OA 12

21 juin 1953
Premio Gobernador Evans 1953
Autódromo Presidente Perón, Mendoza.
# 24 Carlos Najurieta
Pos. OA 12

(Moteur Ford)

8 août 1953
II Premio Eva Perón 1953
Autódromo de Buenos Aires
# 24 Carlos Najurieta
Pos. OA 10

20 décembre 1953
Mar del Plata 1953
# 24 Carlos Najurieta
DNF

4 juillet 1954
II Premio Invierno
Autódromo de Buenos Aires
# 21 Carlos Najurieta
Pos. OA 2

11 juillet 1954
Gran Premio Internacional Independencia 1954
Autódromo de Buenos Aires
# 21 Carlos Najurieta
Pos. OA 2

31 octobre 1954
Premio Primavera 1954
Autódromo de Buenos Aires
# 21 Carlos Najurieta
Pos. OA 2

23 janvier 1955
1000 km. de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires
Autódromo de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires
# 100 Carlos Guimarey / Carming Eduardo « Buby » Salzman
DNF

3 avril 1955
Parque Independencia 1955
# 12 Guillermo Gainza Paz
Pos. OA 3

10 juillet 1955
Gran Premio Internacional Independencia 1955
Autódromo de Buenos Aires
# 37 Guillermo Gainza Paz
DNF

14 août 1955
Circuito del Bosque
La Plata, Buenos Aires
# 37 Guillermo Gainza Paz
Pos. OA 6

29 janvier 1956
1000 km. de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires
Autódromo de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires
# 47 Gastón Perkins / Rodolfo de Álzaga
DNS

29 juillet 1956
IV Premio Invierno
Autódromo de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires
# 20 Rodolfo de Álzaga
DNF

12 octobre 1956
Premio Primavera
Autódromo de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires
# 4 Carlos Najurieta
DNF

30 juin 1957
V Premio Invierno
Autódromo de Buenos Aires
# 15 Rodolfo de Álzaga
DNF

17 août 1958
VI Premio Invierno
Autódromo de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires
# 11 Carlos Najurieta
Pos. OA 13

Mai 1986
Mille Miglia 1986
Brescia - Roma - Brescia
# 103 Eduardo « Buby » Salzman / Germán Sopeña

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Est. 800 000 – 1 200 000 €

Ce véhicule sera vendu aux enchères lors de la vente d’automobiles de collection, organisée par l’étude AGUTTES le samedi 5 octobre 2024 à Bruxelles.

Le catalogue numérique est disponible sur notre site internet.

N’hésitez pas à nous contacter pour tout renseignement complémentaire.
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01 47 45 93 01

This car will be sold by auction by AGUTTES Auction House, in Bruxelles, Belgium, on October 5th, 2024.
The digital catalog is available on our website.

Please contact us for any further details.
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