This classically slick Maserati 300S Sports-Racing Spider was once driven by Bill Spear and Sherwood Johnston in the 1955 Sebring 12-hours race, which was the American round of the FIA Sports Car World Championship. It was a remarkable debut as they finished third, beaten only by a Phil Hill-driven Ferrari and the winning Mike Hawthorn Jaguar D-Type. Now, almost 60 years later, one of the most desired two-seater sports-racing vehicles from the 1950s is to be sold at an auction hosted by Bonhams, one of the world’s most respected auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The car was sold in 1956 by Bill Spear to Joe Giubardo of Valley Stream, Long Island who owned it until 1964. It was then acquired by Maserati authority Joel Eric Finn and then passed on to leading German Maseratisto Dr Thomas Bscher in 1986, who has preserved it wonderfully in all its fine glory until now. The 3-litre, 6-cylinder-engined Maserati 300S, chassis no. 3053, is set to be the star lot at Bonhams 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale. History will be in the making when it is bought, not only because the proud purchaser will be one of a select few to have owned such a classic piece of motor engineering, but because the sale of premium-grade Maserati 300S sports-racing cars at a public auction is incredibly rare. The auction is set to take place on 12 July, 2013.
