Start with what the Maserati 3500 GT is: a 2+2 coupé / 2-seat spyder with 3.5 L Tipo 101 I6, built from 1957 to 1964, at the height of the post-war boom. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Carrozzeria Touring (coupé) / Giovanni Michelotti at Vignale (spyder).
Where it came from
The Maserati 3500 GT (Tipo 101) and the Maserati 3500 GT Spyder (Tipo 101/C) are 2-door coupé and convertible grand tourers made by Italian car manufacturer Maserati between 1957 and 1964. It was a seminal vehicle for Maserati as the company's first successful attempt at the Gran Turismo market and series production.
Under the skin
The engine is 3.5 L Tipo 101 I6. On the scales it comes to 1440 kg. Drive goes through a 4-speed ZF S4-17 manual / 5-speed ZF S5-17 manual. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 2600 mm (coupé) / 2500 mm (spyder). These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
In the Maserati line-up the Maserati 3500 GT has a clear place: it replaced the Maserati A6; it handed the line to the Maserati Sebring / Maserati Mistral (Tipo AM109); the factory was Modena, Italy. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Nissan Skyline, the Fiat 500, the Nissan Patrol. Nearby in the Maserati catalogue sit the Maserati 150S and the Maserati 200S.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Maserati 3500 GT has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.