Chassis No. MMGT01

A true one-off, the Meccanica Maniero 4700 GT was conceived by an Italian businessman who sought to improve everyday drivability in a high-performance GT after frustrations with the low exhaust clearance of his Maserati 3500 GT. He commissioned the famous designer Giovanni Michelotti to create a compact, assertive coupe blending Italian styling with American V8 power, resulting in a 2,400-mm wheelbase, 1,450-kg grand tourer. The car is powered by a 275-horsepower 289 cu-in (4.7-liter) Ford HiPo V8 with solid lifters, paired with a four-speed manual transmission, the same drivetrain specification used in the legendary Shelby Cobra. It yielded balanced and spirited performance in a highly practical prototype package.

The completed prototype debuted at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show. Amid the buzz, Scuderia Filipinetti team owner Georges Filipinetti reportedly became so moved that he placed an order for 50 cars. Yet despite this tempting glimpse into broader acclaim, the Maniero family refused to pursue mass production. Chassis MMGT01 remains their singular, defiant achievement.

Having remained with the Maniero family for over five decades, the current owner acquired it directly from the family. First seeing it seven years earlier, they persistently expressed interest and ultimately won them over in 2016. Known for his focus on unrestored, original paint cars with preserved the factory-applied finish, it was the perfect addition to the collection. Well preserved are the Meccanica's tonal variations of lighter blue around the wheel arches and darker hues on the doors and roof. The interior remains highly original and beautifully preserved, with tan seating and period Jaeger instrumentation lending a distinctly refined atmosphere to the intimate cabin.

Never previously road-registered by the Maniero family, the car was carefully recommissioned mechanically under current ownership to ensure proper drivability while preserving its originality. Currently road-registered in Belgium, it wears the personalized number plate “MMGT01,” corresponding to its chassis number. Today this extraordinarily original example has just one registered owner from new and shows just over 6,400 kilometers at cataloging.

The Meccanica Maniero 4700 GT, in connoisseur circles seen as “the closed Cobra”, continues to deliver the character envisioned at its creation, combining a short wheelbase, lightweight construction, and a high-revving Ford HiPo V8 to produce an agile and engaging driving experience that feels compact, responsive, and purposefully quick. As the only example built, this grand touring prototype melds beautiful Italian design influence from Giovanni Michelotti with American performance engineering into a road-registered protype, family-built masterpiece. For the serious collector, it offers not only rarity but also absolute exclusivity combined with captivating performance.