Maserati A 1959 Tipo 61 Birdcage has gone for $4.24 million at the Gooding Christie's Pebble Beach Auctions 2026 in California.

A 1959 Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage has gone for $4.24 million, as reported by the auction house, at Gooding Christie's prestigious Pebble Beach Auctions 2026 held in California on 14 August. According to the official outcomes published by the auction house, the result represents a new world record for auctioning of the Maserati Tipo 61 model. The car – with bodywork produced by Allegretti – exceeded its pre-auction estimate of between approximately $3 and 4 million.

The sale celebrates one of the House of the Trident's most iconic racing cars in 2026, the year of the 100th anniversary both of the Maserati Trident and of Maserati’s inclusion in the world of motorsport.

The model belongs to the Birdcage family, cars designed by engineer Giulio Alfieri, who took as a starting point the quest for a solution that could combine lightness and high torsional rigidity. Its nickname was taken from its revolutionary lattice frame, consisting of approximately 200 steel tubes just 10-15 mm in diameter, welded together in a complex structure that resembled a birdcage. This architecture made the two-seater barchetta especially rigid and lightweight, resulting in one of the most advanced expressions of the front-engine, rear-wheel drive scheme of the time.

The Tipo 60, built from March 1959, adopted a compact two-litre four-cylinder engine based on the 200S's, mounted at the front and tilted by 45° to lower the centre of gravity and reduce the dimensions in the front. The engine – equipped with two Weber 45 DCO3 carburettors and a dual battery ignition system with Marelli distributor – delivered 200 hp. The project was completed by the front suspension with coil springs and by the De Dion rear axle with transverse leaf spring, for a weight contained to only 570 kg.

In 1959, the car evolved into the Tipo 61, with the displacement of the four-cylinder engine raised to 2,890 cc and its power increased to 250 CV at 6,800 rpm, even so maintaining the Tipo 60's set-up and main technical solutions. The weight reached 600 kg, whereas its top speed rose to 285 km/h. Despite its improved performance, the relatively low fuel consumption made it possible to reduce the number of refuelling stops, giving it a major advantage in endurance races.

The Tipo 61 Birdcage also linked its name to two consecutive overall victories in the Nürburgring 1000 km: in 1960 with Stirling Moss and Dan Gurney, and in 1961 with Masten Gregory and Lloyd Casner for the Camoradi team. These successes helped to establish the Birdcage as one of the best-known sports cars of its time.

Only 17 units of the Tipo 61 were produced, making it one of the rarest and most sought-after racing Maseratis of its generation. The combination of innovative chassis design, performance and prestigious sporting history has helped make it one of the most representative cars of the golden age of motor racing.

The outcome achieved at Pebble Beach takes on an even more special significance in 2026. Exactly a century ago, on 25 April 1926, Alfieri Maserati made his debut with the Tipo 26, the first car to bear the Trident on its bonnet, taking first place in the class up to 1,500 cc and eighth overall in the Targa Florio. That victory gave rise to a racing tradition of audacity, technical innovation and international successes, which to this day stands as a fundamental aspect of the House of the Trident’s identity.

Maserati S.p.A.

Maserati produces a complete range of unique cars, immediately recognizable for their extraordinary personality. Thanks to their style, technology, and innately exclusive character, they delight the most discerning, demanding tastes and have always been a benchmark for the global automotive industry. A tradition of successful cars, each of them redefining what makes an Italian sports car in terms of design, performance, comfort, elegance and safety, and which are currently available in more than 70 markets internationally.

The Maserati line-up includes the Grecale SUV, the GranTurismo, the iconic Italian grand tourer, and the GranCabrio, the Trident’s convertible; all models characterized by the use of the highest quality materials and excellent technical solutions. The range includes a 4-cylinder hybrid powertrain – available for Grecale – and V6 petrol engines, paired with rear-wheel and four-wheel drive, embodying the performance DNA of the House of the Trident. GranTurismo is available with both the high-performance V6 petrol engine and a 100% electric version: the GranTurismo Folgore, the first car in the Modena-based brand’s history to adopt this solution. The full-electric range also includes the Grecale Folgore and the GranCabrio Folgore. The top of the House of the Trident's range is the MC family, which consists of the MCPURA coupé and its MCPURA Cielo convertible version, both powered by the innovative V6 Neptune engine, 100% Maserati, which incorporates Formula 1-derived technologies into the power unit of a standard production car. Completing the Brand's commercial offering are the Maserati GT2 Stradale, the road-legal version of the GT2, which brought Maserati back to the track in covered-wheel championships, and the Maserati MCXtrema, the limited series of only 62 units: a racing car homologated exclusively for the track, which takes Trident performance to the highest level and is dedicated to racing car enthusiasts.

The mission at Maserati is to write the future of mobility in the luxury segment, by focusing on its customers’ requests. In order to achieve this mission, the Brand is also strongly focused on the Maserati Fuoriserie customization program, on Maserati Classiche activities, and on the intensive Maserati Corse sports program.