As a manufacturer, Maserati never seems to have walked the middle ground when it comes to style. Their offerings are usually either cars of beauty and elegance or cars that are singularly unattractive in appearance. To me, this extremely rare 1970 Maserati Mexico definitely falls into the former category, as even in its current state, it is a stunning looking car. It has been in storage for more than three decades but is now about to be offered for sale. It is located in St Louis, Missouri, and you can find the full story on the Maserati here at Autoweek. The car is due to go to auction in a few days in a No Reserve auction, so if you want to become the owner of a rare Italian classic, you will find the auction details here at RM Sotheby’s.

The Mexico first saw the light of day as a Vaginale concept car in 1965. The body was fitted over the chassis of a Maserati 5000GT. Maserati was so impressed with the concept car, that they eventually put a slightly restyled version into production in 1966. The car remained in production until 1972, and during its entire production run, a mere 485 cars were produced. This particular car was being used as a daily driver for many years but was placed into storage in 1987. At some point prior to this time, the car did undergo a repaint. With the car sitting idle for the past 32-years, there will be plenty of cosmetic work required to return it to its former glory. The paint is quite pitted and has deteriorated markedly. Thankfully, it doesn’t appear that the car has been plagued by any real rust issues. The external chrome and trim are also quite pitted. This will probably require some pretty time-consuming and meticulous restoration work because with only 485 cars built, spare components aren’t going to be terribly thick on the ground.

The interior, which was once a thing of beauty in white leather, is now looking pretty sad. There are a couple of positives to take from this, though. The first is that the interior does look to be complete, so it should be possible to undertake a faithful restoration, as existing upholstery can serve as templates for replacement pieces. For me though, the really good news is that that beautiful, hand-crafted, solid timber dash is not only complete, but it looks like it is also in fantastic condition. You can well imagine how this interior must have looked and felt when new, and it would definitely be possible to return it to its original state.

If any part of a vintage Maserati is virtually guaranteed to cause heartache, it is the engine. According to the information provided in the listing, what lies under the hood is the original 4.7-liter engine, which is backed by a 5-speed ZF manual transmission. That engine is a vital part of what makes this already rare car all the more important. With only 485 cars built, a Mexico already has an air of exclusivity about it. Maserati fitted 310 of the cars with the 4.2-liter V8 engine. The remaining 175 rolled out of the factory with the 290hp 4.7 engine. With that engine under the hood, this is one rare car. Making it even more exclusive is the fact that it is fitted with factory air conditioning. I’ve done quite a lot of research on this in a bid to pin down an exact total, but numerous sources indicate that there were only a handful of cars thus equipped. One interesting way to quickly get an indication as to which engine is fitted to a Mexico is to look at the wheels. When they rolled off the line, all Mexicos fitted with the 4.2 engine wore steel wheels, while those with the 4.7 wore wire wheels. All were fitted with power 4-wheel disc brakes. With this particular Maserati having been inactive since 1987, there is probably going to be quite a bit of work involved in bringing it back to life.

The Mexico is one of the rarest vehicles built by Maserati, and it tends to be overlooked when people consider the various cars that the company has produced over the years. Due to the engine that is fitted to this car, it makes it a rarer car again. I also happen to think that it’s a beautiful looking car, and I would love to see it once it has been lovingly restored.