Among the most charismatic competition cars to emerge from Modena, Maserati’s four-cylinder sports racers played a pivotal role in the marque’s postwar history. Developed during the mid-1950s, the 150S, 200S, and 250S combined sophisticated engineering, lightweight construction, and elegant Italian coachwork with formidable competition credentials.
Introduced in 1955, the 150S established the formula with its advanced 1.5-liter twin-cam four-cylinder engine. The following year brought the 200S, which increased displacement to nearly two liters and produced approximately 190 hp, making it a serious rival to Ferrari’s 500 Testa Rossa. Drivers including Jean Behra, Stirling Moss, and Piero Taruffi demonstrated the model’s capabilities in major European events.
For 1957, Maserati introduced the 200SI, or “Sport Internazionale,” revised to meet FIA Appendix C regulations. Doors, a full-width windscreen, wipers, and weather equipment made the car more practical without compromising its competition character. With elegant Fantuzzi coachwork and production generally estimated at just 28 examples, the 200SI became a favorite of privateers in Europe and North America.
Chassis 2425, completed in 1957, is among the final examples built. Factory records show that it was consigned through Maserati Corporation of America in New York and sold new to Carroll Shelby Sports Cars Inc. of Dallas, the dealership founded by Carroll Shelby and Dick Hall.
The Dallas operation played an important role in American sports car racing and helped launch the career of Dick Hall’s younger brother, Jim Hall, years before his revolutionary Chaparral racing cars appeared. Shelby and Hall promoted their European machinery through SCCA competition, and 2425 was among the Maseratis campaigned by the dealership.
Jim Hall debuted the 200SI at Stillwater, Oklahoma, in September 1957, taking a class victory and finishing 3rd Overall. Further appearances followed at Hourglass Field, Palm Springs, Laguna Seca, and Riverside. At Hourglass Field, Hall recorded two 2nd in Class finishes while placing 3rd Overall in the preliminary race and 5th Overall in the feature.
In 1958, 2425 passed to Ohio-based SCCA racer Lieutenant Colonel Robert Kuhn, who had been profiled the previous year in Sports Illustrated’s “Weekend Heroes on Wheels.” Kuhn drove the Maserati to 6th Overall at Lime Rock and 5th Overall in the Formula Libre Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, a race won by Jo Bonnier in a Maserati 250F.
By 1962, the car had been acquired by Otto J. Klein Jr. of Springfield, Illinois, a US Navy veteran, engineer, and accomplished amateur racer. Klein continued to campaign 2425 in regional SCCA events, scoring class victories at Wilmot Hills and an outright win at Lawrenceville in 1963. Like many aging European sports racers, the Maserati was later fitted with American V-8 power before retiring from contemporary competition.
Collector Wayne Golomb acquired 2425 in 1972 and commissioned substantial restoration work, including conversion to 2.5-liter specification. During the 1980s, the Maserati passed through the hands of specialists Joe Marchetti and Steve Barney and began a second career in historic competition, including multiple appearances in the 1000 Miglia.
An extensive restoration undertaken during the 1990s for British collector Phillip Marcq led to the issuance of an FIA Historic Technical Passport. Subsequent German ownership brought further competition in the Shell Ferrari/Maserati Historic Challenge and several editions of the Nürburgring Oldtimer Grand Prix.
Acquired by its current caretaker in 2007, chassis 2425 has since received additional restoration and regular maintenance while remaining active in premier historic events. It appeared repeatedly at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion between 2011 and 2024 and was selected for the featured Maserati display at the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®.
For competition use, 2425 is currently powered by a race-prepared 2.5-liter replica engine. Its original Maserati engine accompanies the car and retains the matching-number cylinder head stamped 2425. Also included is an extensive collection of mechanical spares, including gearbox and differential components, together with factory records, logbooks, a Maserati Certificate of Origin, FIA Historic Technical Passport, and copies of the original build and delivery documents.
With its Fantuzzi coachwork, documented American racing history, association with Carroll Shelby and Jim Hall, and decades of participation in international historic events, chassis 2425 represents an important surviving example of Maserati’s four-cylinder sports-racing lineage. Its combination of provenance, competition history, documentation, and event eligibility places it among the most compelling examples of the rare 200SI.
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