1954 Maserati A6GCS/53 Barchetta
- Chassis No: 2071
- Engine No: 2071
- Color: White with 2 red stripes
- No. of A6GCS Models Produced: 52
- No. of A6GCS Models Produced with the factory "long-nose" upgrade: 2
Before World War II every single Maserati ever produced had been a pure bred racing car and a “monoposto” (single seater). However, after the war Maserati developed its first purpose-built sports car, the predecessor to this model. This A6GCS, the eigth car produced in this series, uses a straight six cylinder Maserati engine with a light alloy block and twin-plug, twin overhead camshaft, triple Weber 40 DCO3’s, producing 165 bhp with a top speed of 141 mph.
It has a magnigicent racing history, with its first owner, French privateer driver Jean Estanger, who entered the car in the 1954 Tour de France winning its class and finishing 6th overall. Since that time, the car was raced in Venezuela where its color scheme was changed from French Blue to its current configuration. overall in this grueling race. Archival pictures of the drivers and the car are on the right wall. The lower center picture portrays the world famous Italian driver Luigi Musso at the start of the 1954 Mille Miglia in #2071. He came in 3rd.