@ Mental : in 1958 the Shah of Persia asked for a meeting with Omer Orsi and his Chief Engineer, Giulio Alfieri, to discuss the building of a rather special sports car. The Shah of Persia had seen leaflets about the 'retired' 450S in the back of a Maserati 3500 GT catalogue. He wanted a very special Gran Turismo, powered by the 5-litre race engine of the 450S sports racer, a car that would be in keeping with his high status.
Tailor made for a King , the first two cars also known " Scia de Persia " by Touring in 1959 .
Whilst being given a test drive on the 'Autostrada del Sole' by Maserati test driver, Guerino Bertocchi, Hans Tanner, the noted motoring author, timed one kilometre at 168 mph and another at 172.4 mph - And where were the Polizia Stradale? It was probably lunchtime!
Maserati 5000 GT specs
Car type | Coupe |
Curb weight | 1652 kg (3642 lbs) |
Dimensions | 4.76 m (187 in) long, 1.70 m (67 in) wide, 1.32 m (52 in) high |
Wheelbase | 2.60 m (102 in) |
Introduced | 1959 |
Origin country | Italy |
Views | 5.8k |
Submitted by | Mental |
Performance
0 - 100 kph | 6.4 s |
1000 m | 25.5 s |
0 - 60 mph | 6.1 s |
0 - 100 mph | 13.7 s |
Est. 1/8 mile | 10.0 s @ 85.1 mph |
1/4 mile | 14.3 s |
Top speed | 270 kph (168 mph) |
Powertrain specs
Engine type | V8, DOHC, 16 valves |
Displacement | 4.9 l (299 ci) |
Power | 330 ps (325 bhp / 242 kw) @ 5500 rpm |
Torque | 442 Nm (326 lb-ft) @ 3600 rpm |
Power / liter | 67 ps (66 hp) |
Power / weight | 199 ps (197 bhp) / t |
Torque / weight | 268 Nm (197 lb-ft) / t |
Transmission | ZF 5 speed manual |
Layout | front engine, rear wheel drive |
5000 GT competition
Bijan 13y ago
Mental 13y ago
The top speed is 270 kph - that is so amazing for '59! Ten years ago ('48) the greatest top speed of road legal car was 192 kph - Jag XK120. As you can see, the difference is really great. With such rates of increasing of top speed now, in 2020 there would be supercars, which would be able to reach 520 kph! But, no way, that's just impossible!