Maserati A6G 2000 Ala d’Oro

The Maserati A6GCS Ala d’Oro Coupé, chassis number 2003, was constructed in 1947 as a closed sports car built upon the Maserati A6GCS platform. The chassis was equipped with a 2.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine derived from the A6 family, featuring single overhead camshaft architecture and dual carburation. Output, consistent with early A6GCS specifications, was estimated at approximately 100 horsepower, with power transmitted to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual gearbox. Carrozzeria Ala d’Oro, a small Reggio Emilia-based firm established by aeronautical engineers shortly after the Second World War, was commissioned to body the car. The styling was aerodynamically focused, featuring an enclosed two-seat configuration with a sharply sloped windscreen, low roofline, and integrated fenders. The use of lightweight materials and construction methods derived from aircraft practice was evident in the body’s execution. The Ala d’Oro Coupé was conceived as a competition-focused gran turismo model, combining closed bodywork with performance engineering. Chassis 2003 was entered in the 1947 Mille Miglia, where it ran under number 222 with factory driver Luigi Villoresi and mechanic Guerino Bertocchi. The car failed to finish. Following the race, the body was removed and the chassis was converted into an open barchetta-style configuration for Baron Nicola Francesco Saverio Musmeci della Torre of Catania. Under Musmeci’s ownership, the car reappeared at the 1948 Targa Florio, driven by Musmeci and Enzo Catania as car number 343. The original Ala d’Oro coupé body was definitively discarded in 1949. Only one Maserati A6GCS is known to have received coachwork from Ala d’Oro, making chassis 2003 a singular example. The body no longer survives. The Ala d’Oro concern itself was short-lived, ceasing operations by the end of the 1940s, leaving behind a small number of experimental or racing commissions.