This is the first of just two Maserati Quattroportes that were built with the coachwork made by Frua. Chassis 002 was first shown in October 1971 to the public at the Paris Salon de l’Automobile, where it was presented by Juan Manuel Fangio.
The public was taken with the car’s design, and over the coming years, it appeared at a number of events, such as:
- The 1972 Geneva Motor Show
- Trophé des Journalistes in Monaco, prior to the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix
- The 1973 Salon de l’auto in Paris
- The Salón Internacional del Automóvil de Barcelona in 1973 (where it participated in the “Desfile de Elegancia en Automóvil”)
- Once more at the Barcelona show in 1974
The Aga Khan clearly took note of this car’s appearance and beauty, commissioning a one-off Quattroporte for himself, chassis number 004.
Following its motor show career, the Quattroporte was sold privately in Barcelona and was registered there as “B 6997 AZ”, on 17
th May 1975.
It remained in Barcelona through 1988 with a handful of owners. Passing into the hands of Kurt A. Kunti of Alicante. The car was restored in his ownership and refinished in its current color combination of dark blue over a beige interior.
The Quattroporte remained in Europe through the 1990s prior to being sold to the respected American Maserati collector Alfredo Brener in 2000 and moved across the Atlantic.
In July 2003, Mr. Brener sold the Quattroporte to Mr. Bruce D. Milner of Los Angeles, California. Milner was also a respected collector with a penchant for one-off Italian automobiles and during his ownership, 002 was reunited with its sister car, chassis number 004, putting both Frua-bodied Quattroportes under the same roof. The car remained in Milner’s ownership for several years and was then purchased by Doug Magnon of Riverside, California. Magnon owned the Riverside International Automobile Museum and was a well-known Maserati enthusiast. He kept the Quattroporte at the museum alongside a number of other Maserati’s, where it proved to be a highlight for the staff and the visitors.
In addition to remaining on display in the museum, the Quattroporte was shown a handful of times in the museum’s ownership, including at Concorso Italiano in 2015, where it was voted Best of Maserati in a very competitive class. Following Magnon’s passing in 2015 and the closing of the Riverside International Automobile Museum, Magnon’s collection was sold through RM Sotheby’s in the summer of 2016. At that time, the car was sold to Mr. Guikas and moved to the South of France.
The entire Guikas collection was sold by RM/Sotheby’s on 19
th November 2021. Thierry Dehaeck was het highest bidder for this exceptional car, so the car moved to Belgium. It now remains in his private collection, next to other Maserati’s of which a rare Maserati Quattroporte Series II, one of only 13 made.
