Part of the joy of owning and driving a vintage exotic is how rich they make you look.  Of course, a modern supercar leaves few doubts about your large account balance, sure.

But for a real old-money glamour among those who have seen and done it all?  A vintage exotic has few peers — it is so inherently extra, superfluous and special.

This breathtaking 1963 Maserati 3500 GTi certainly impresses at all times.

More than external vainty, though, the 3500GT makes you feel quite special inside. That gorgeous oval grille with oversized Trident badge as large as a dinner plate. The somewhat upright glasshouse shape for the 2+2 cabin, formal nose and tail, and yet innovative performance and real speed (at the time…).

232-horsepower from the fuel-injected straight six made the 3500GT into the lower, wider and longer 3500GTi.  This car was actually the first Italian production car to be fuel injected.

Its beauty and effortless elan make it a seminole getaway car for dozens of films and real-life adventures of its era. Even Ian Fleming mentions Bond driving a 3500GT Spyder briefly in the book of Her Majesty’s Secret Service.  It would be 1989’s License to Kill before Bond drove a Maserati as his hero wheels… but the villainous appeal of the 3500GT is very intact in person in 2016.

All that being said… this 3500GTi — like most original cars its age —  is not flawless. The Touring Superleggera bodywork shows some cracks in its thick oil-based paintwork. The chrome might need a re-shine or even a re-dip to glow like new.  And the cabin’s soft almond leathers both feel — and smell — like they have seen a few butts in their lifetime.

The blatt of those long pipes in back will make it all worthwhile, however, once this orange beauty is out on the open road.

This 3500GTi goes across the block at Mecum Kissimmee Florida’s massive car auction this week. 

https://mecum.com/lot-detail/FL0116-237778/0/1963-Maserati-3500-GTi/5-Speed/

1963 Maserati 3500 GTi Superleggera Coupe