NOT FOR SALE

• Engine: 2790cc twin-turbo V6 cylinder

• Transmission: 4 Speed automatic

• Year: 1990

• Chassis #: ZAM332B00*LB290379

• Registration: 2 BWG (previously J499 HPO)

• Mileage: 53,000

• Exterior Colour: Metallic Blue Silver

• Interior colour and material: Cloud Grey leather / alcantara

Vehicle History
I originally acquired this Maserati 430 in February 2008 (at 48,000 miles) but I sadly sold it in March 2009 (at 50,000 miles). Having always regretted its sale, I re-acquired in May 2021.

This rare 4-door derivative of Maserati’s well-regarded Biturbo range was manufactured on April 20th 1990 and sold new by the then new Maserati importer Meridien Maserati of Lyndhurst, Hampshire. So new was their role of importer, that their invoice in January 1992 for the sale of the car to the finance and leasing company Lombard North Central PLC carried number 8. The car was completed with the later SE body styling which included colour-coded bumpers, side skirts (originally black) and a boot spoiler, plus the rare option of Sport Seats (as fitted to Coupe models).

The car was owned by Trevor Kemp of Gainford near Darlington, County Durham, who sold it just over two years later in June 1994 to Doran Ofer of Primrose Hill, London NW3. Mr Ofer’s ownership was brief, and in November 1995 it was bought by Paul Slade of Winchmore Hill, London N21. The mileage at this time was recorded as being 38,800 miles.

In October 2001 when the odometer displayed 46,000 miles, the car was bought by Gary Wilson of Wyboston, Bedfordshire, and it was clear the car had been in storage for some time and required recommissioning. The work was never carried out and after a further three years of storage the car was acquired by Dino Guagenti of Enfield, Middlesex. Mr Guagenti carried out enough work to get the car driving again and sold it through a friend to Antonio Barbarino of Chigwell, Essex. Mr Barbarino hardly drove the car and due to the arrival of a baby in the family, he traded it to Dagenham Ford of Woodford in June 2007 for a more practical Ford SUV 4x4.

After several months unsuccessfully going through various BCA modern car auctions, BCA placed it in one of their classic car auctions at Blackbushe in Hampshire in February 2008. I had been casually looking for a 430 for a few years after failing to purchase one at an auction about ten years previously, and as I didn’t want to let this one pass by I went to Blackbushe and successfully bid on the car and brought it home.

The car was very original but had received little maintenance over the past ten years or so, and the next few months were spent carrying out a lot of recommissioning work as well as contacting previous owners Mr Guagenti and Mr Barbarino who were both extremely helpful in telling me all that they knew about the car. Equally helpful were Merdien Maserati who supplied me with a copy of the original sale invoice and warranty confirmation, and also a spare set of keys they had on file. Comfortingly, Merdien’s original registration plates were still fitted to the car indicating it had remained accident free throughout its sixteen years since first registration. While the recommissioning work was being carried out, I had the black plastic sill covers painted silver to match the bumpers.

Just prior to purchasing the Maserati I had bought a 1969 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super, and after about two thousand enjoyable miles in the 430 I realised I did not need two similar saloon cars, despite there being over twenty years separating them. Faced with selling either the 430 or the Giulia Super, the 430 was put up for sale and eventually entered into a Bonhams auction in Oxford in March 2009. This was a decision I was soon to regret and I have been wanting to find it and re-acquire it since the mid-2010’s. The DVLA database showed it had not been used since early 2011, just two years and 3,000 miles since I had sold it, so I was intrigued to know what had happened to it as well as locate it.

To my delight, in May 2021 the car appeared on eBay, and after so many years of wanting it back the result was inevitable! The car had been owned by a taxi company proprietor in Wadebridge, Cornwall, who had bought it from the Bonhams auction in Oxford. They had several classic cars, and informed me the Maserati was parked on a storage ramp in their warehouse in late 2010 for the winter ahead, and due to other cars always being below and in front of the 430 it remained there for the next ten years. In early 2021 he closed the business and sold the majority of his classic cars (including the 430) to a local classic car dealer, who soon put the 430 on eBay where I saw it listed.

I was delighted to have it back, but ten years of storage had taken their toll on the mechanicals of the car, although fortunately the body and interior were largely unchanged from when I had owned it previously. After significant recommissioning at leading Maserati specialist McGrath Maserati in Hertfordshire, the car was operating superbly once again.

This is an extremely rare car with How Many Left suggesting there are just five automatic transmission 430’s and just five manual examples in use on UK roads in 2022. With a good and documented history covering its 53,000 miles (as of June 2022) and presenting in a good cosmetic condition, this is an interesting sports-saloon from Maserati’s Biturbo era. With a 225 bhp twin-turbo 2.8 V6 engine coupled to a 4-speed automatic transmission, its impressive performance is delivered smoothly.

Originally registered J499 HPO and previously registered 465 AGB.