Royal Maserati returns home before auction

A 1967 Maserati Quattroporte that belonged to Princess Aly Khan has gone back to its original home at Eaton Square in London before being auctioned by Coys on 10 March.

The Quattroporte was ordered by French importer ‘Agence Maserati’ and delivered to His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan in Paris on 4 January, 1968. It was then registered to Princess Aly Khan at 76 Eaton Square, London, where it now met with Maserati’s new flagship, luxury four door saloon, the Quattroporte S.

The car will go under the hammer at Coys Spring Classics auction at the Royal Horticultural Society in London and is estimated at £38,000-£42,000.

Chris Routledge, managing partner of Coys, said, ‘This car is one of only eight right hand drive examples produced, with just 28,300 miles and two owners from new.’

The Quattroporte remained in the Princess’ ownership for a further 25 years, during which time the she re-married to the 2nd Viscount Camrose, the former chairman of the Daily Telegraph, and was latterly known as Lady Camrose.

In this period, it went into dry storage, but was still frequently driven around the Hackwood estate. It was subsequently purchased direct from Lady Camrose by the second and current owner in 1993.

The car is in original condition inside and out, comes with the original tool kit and even the original logbook with Princess Aly Khan listed as the first owner. It has been well maintained, including an engine rebuild by Maserati specialists in 1999, and is supplied with many other bills for maintenance work.

‘Rush’ Lotus for sale

The auction will also feature a 1913 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. This fantastic pre-World War One car underwent a restoration in 2000 and still possesses the qualities of refinement, reliability and performance that established Rolls-Royce as the pre-eminent British motor manufacturer as long ago as the Edwardian era. It is estimated at £150,000 to £170,000.

Other important entries include a 1977 Porsche 911 Carrera with an impressive rallying history and a 1970 Lotus 59, which was a Team Lotus Works Car and was also used in the movie ‘Rush’.

The 911 Carrera is a Porsche Competition Department prepared car that took part in a series of international rallies including the 1977 and 2004 London to Sydney Marathon and the 2005 East African Safari Rally. With such a prestigious history, this car has been invited to the Goodwood Festival of Speed on five separate occasions in 2004 through to 2008 and the owner has confirmed that it will be running at this year’s event. It is estimated at £350,000 to £400,000.

Routledge said, ‘This factory prepared competition car is highly unique and indeed the most rallied Porsche in the world, having competed the equivalent of three times around the globe.’

The Lotus 59 is one of the Lotus Team cars used in the European Formula 3 Championship and was a model used by drivers looking to make it into Formula 1. This car was also a star in Ron Howard’s movie ‘Rush’, which depicts the rivalry between racing drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda. The rivalry started in 1970 at Chrystal Palace racing circuit in London, where James Hunt in his Lotus 59 raced against newcomer Niki Lauda in his Techno F3 car.