Gaze into the eyes of this fully restored Maserati 3500 GT

Though Touring Superleggera boasts some of the coldest of stone-cold modern hits like the Disco Volante and Veloce12, the company is actually nearly 100 years old and was responsible for the stone-cold design of the original Maserati 3500 GT.

Like this one. And this one, first owned by Mr Horace Elgin Dodge III – yes, that Dodge, a member of the US Dodge automobile family – has found its way back to Milan where Touring has totally restored it back to its 1959 glory.

And thus, our only task is to gaze into its big, pretty eyes, and gawp.

While you do that, some background noise. Though successful in motorsport including something called ‘Formula One’, the 3500 GT was Maser’s first real volume production car and thus holds an enormously significant place in the company’s history.

Its 3.5-litre road-going straight-six was spun from Guilio Alfieri’s design for the 350S racing car, while Touring – then known as Carrozzeria Touring – spun out aluminium panels (the superleggera bit) over a tubular steel frame.

So, this one. Mr Dodge first bought it back in 1959, after which it was passed down through the Dodge family as a “cherished possession” and a bit of “family treasure”. It then found its way back to Europe where it formed a part of a few collectors’ garages, until finally returning to Touring’s workshop in Milan.

Touring has fully restored it right back to original condition, though sent the engine and mechanical componentry off to Candini Classiche for a full rebuild. The result is a car that’s earned Maserati’s ‘Classiche Certification’, which we’re guessing means a certificate of classifications. Maybe.

It’ll be on display at the Retromobile show in Paris next week, alongside a ‘barn find’ 3500 GT (below) to show the difference, and that rather delightful sky blue Veloce12. Still gawping, huh.