Maserati 300S 1st Palm Springs 1955 #207

Maserati 300S 1st Palm Springs 1955 #207 by Faenza 43

The majority of these Maserati 300S releases from Faenza are works cars with a single head fairing and hard tonneau cover, so the differences are generally restricted to race numbers, but there are a few exceptions. The 1955 Sebring cars for example (FAE163 & FAE164) which finished third and fourth overall had no head fairings and no front lights, which makes the cars look very different. Moss’s Nassau winner (FAE206) was also a factory car and this time we see the front completely covered in tape, all neatly applied as decal. Most obviously different are the models of de Graffenreid’s car raced in Portugal which are finished in blue rather than red, the earlier car (FAE169) in a darker shade with white bonnet while the later one (FAE170) has an extremely subtle and very attractive two tone finish. Masten Gregory drove Tony Paravano’s car to victory at both Palm Springs (FAE171) and Torrey Pines (FAE172), the car fitted with a half tonneau for the early race but with an open cockpit for the latter. On the Torrey Pines car the number decals on the sides are a little oversized, but otherwise the models are all very smart and well finished. Perhaps something of an overload releasing them all at once, but there’s plenty of interest here for the serious sportscar collector.