The 5000 GT’s clients included Shah Reza Pahlavi, South African industrialist Basil Read, Fiat’s Giovanni Agnelli, industrialist Ferdinando Innocenti, Mexican President Lopez Mateos, film star Stewart Granger, the Aga Khan and princes of Saudi Arabia. One singular example, the only 5000 GT executed by innovative stylist Giovanni Michelotti, was built for American sportsman Briggs S. Cunningham.

Briggs Cunningham died July 2, 2003, at the age of 96 after a long siege with Alzheimer’s disease. The powerful, distinctive and unique Maserati 5000 GT which he commissioned 40 years ago expresses, in many ways, the inimitable character of Briggs Cunningham. A founder, with his longtime pals the Collier brothers, of the Automobile Racing Club of America, forerunner to the Sports Car Club of America, Briggs was fascinated by the 24 Hours of Le Mans and mounted many assaults of La Sarthe over a period of nearly 20 years. His first may have been the most memorable, taking two 1950 Series 61 Cadillacs to Le Mans in 1950 and bringing them home a remarkable 10th and 11th overall.

Realizing the road racing shortcomings of American cars in the Fifties, he then started B.S. Cunningham Co. in West Palm Beach, Florida, for the specific purpose of building automobiles capable of seriously competing in Le Mans-calibre road racing.

The Cunninghams were consistently successful at Le Mans, finishing third in both 1953 and 1954, but never realized Cunningham’s dream of capturing the overall win. These and subsequent Cunningham team Le Mans entries with Jaguars, Corvettes and Maseratis were conducted with the preparation, style and good humour which distinguished Briggs Cunningham and created a legacy from which subsequent generations of American entrants at La Sarthe have benefited.

Concurrent with his year-round auto racing campaigns, in 1958 Briggs Cunningham formed the New York Yacht Club syndicate which built the 12-metre 'Columbia' to defend the America’s Cup for the first time in 28 years. Once again his style, preparation and competitiveness carried the day, successfully defeating the British challenger, 'Sceptre', and beginning the modern era of America’s Cup racing.

In the postwar history of American racing, no one brought more credit to the sport than Briggs Cunningham. His cars were built by professionals of uncommon skill and attention to detail. They were presented to high standards of fit and finish. He nurtured his drivers, whether old friends or talented journeymen, and never failed to be courteous and caring.

Briggs Cunningham was the classic sportsman, the likes of which sports car racing is unlikely to see again, who pursued his idealistic goals with class and style, the same class and style that is evident in his Maserati 5000 GT Michelotti coupé.

After competing at Le Mans with a factory-backed team of Corvettes in 1960 – and achieving the best Le Mans finish for a Corvette, eighth, until the advent of the factory C5R some 40 years later – Cunningham began to race Maseratis and achieved, again, some of Maserati’s best race results including bringing the 12-cylinder Tipo 63 driven by Augie Pabst and Dick Thompson into fourth place in 1961 followed by Cunningham and Bill Kimberly in a Tipo 61 in eighth. In 1962 in addition to the raucous Tipo 151s driven by Kimberly/Thompson and Walt Hansgen/Bruce McLaren both of which failed to finish, Briggs and Roy Salvadori harried the Ferrari 250 GTOs in Cunningham’s lightweight E-type, eventually finishing fourth.

What better way to arrive at Le Mans in 1961 than in this magnificent Michelotti coupé?

Giovanni Michelotti began his career in 1938 with Stablimenti Farina. He set up his own design office in Turin in 1947 and worked as a contract designer with many coachbuilders, among them Allemano, Balbo, Vignale, Ghia and Bertone. His first contact with Briggs Cunningham came in 1952, when he designed the Vignale-built bodies for the Cunningham C-3 coupes. In 1960, Michelotti established his own workshop in Orbassano for production of one-off coachwork and styling models. Briggs Cunningham’s 5000 GT must have been one of the first complete cars built by Michelotti in the new facility, and it is a magnificent creation, completely different in both layout and style from the other 5000 GTs.

A true 2+2, despite its fastback rear window, the nose is distinctive and reflects much thought and attention to the 5000 GT’s aerodynamics. The headlights are covered, but not in the conventional sense, instead having drop-down body-colored covers which are operated by a crank on the dashboard. The front fenders slope sleekly back but the large oval grille, with fog lights in its corners, projects aggressively forward. The trunk reflects typical Michelotti thinking, with an accent crease extending back from the top of the rear wheel arch and blending into a small overhang. Finished in brilliant silver with dark blue interior, the gauges, calibrated for the U.S. market, are in two round multifunctional displays directly in front of the wood-rimmed steering wheel with Maserati’s typical trident-shaped spokes. Notably, there is no radio, this being a high speed automobile that warrants its driver’s concentrated attention.

The unique 5000 GT offered here was found by Alfredo Brener in Poland and is in good older-restored condition. The Lucas mechanical fuel injected engine has been checked by Rod at FAI and is very strong. The 5000 GT drives extremely well, and is described as “the fastest of the 5000 GTs we have,” which is a strong endorsement in the context of Alfredo Brener’s outstanding and well-maintained collection.

One of only 34 Maserati 5000 GTs built, and the only one bodied by Michelotti, this is a very special opportunity to acquire the most exclusive gran turismo of its period, built for and first owned by America’s greatest sportsman of the second half of the 20th Century, Briggs Swift Cunningham.

ESTIMATE US $300,000 - $400,000  /  GB £193,500 - £260,000 (approx.)

HIGH BID: US $302,500 (including 10% buyer's premium)  /  GB £190,600 (approx.) - SOLD.