By the 1970s, coachbuilding was very much a lost art in the automotive industry. With rising gas prices, stifling governmental regulations and the added complexities of building custom coachwork, building a car to one’s own taste was exorbitantly expensive, and the vast majority of people who could afford to undertake such a project never considered doing so. However, a handful of fabulously wealthy individuals who had owned and used such extravagant cars in the past were not dissuaded.

Enter Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini, the Aga Khan IV. The 49th Imam of Nizari Ismailism, a subsect of Shia Islam, the Shah had a penchant for speed and fast cars and has owned a handful of Maseratis, including a pair of 5000 GTs with Frua coachwork. After seeing the first Frua-bodied Quattroporte at the Geneva Motor Show in 1972, the Aga Khan commissioned a second car to be built for his personal use. Information compiled by Frua Coachwork historian Stefan Dierkes shows that chassis no. 004 was delivered to him in Paris in September of 1974 after the chassis had been supplied to Frua in November of 1973. The car was subsequently registered in Switzerland by the Aga Khan in November of 1974.

In the late 1970s, the car apparently passed into the hands of Yves St. Martin, one of the Aga Khan’s horse racing jockeys, before being sold to its third owner, Christine Coty. In 1989, the Quattroporte was purchased by the Musée International de l’Automobile Genève, where it remained on display for several years. Subsequently, the car was purchased by the noted Maserati collector Alfredo Brener of Houston, Texas.

Subsequently imported to the U.S., the car was shown by Brener at a number of events, including Concorso Italiano on three separate occasions (1998, 2000 and 2003), as well as in the special Maserati Custom Coachwork class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2000. Passing to John Ling in 2003, the car was purchased by another Maserati collector, Bruce Milner, in 2005. Interestingly enough, Milner also owned chassis no. 002, bringing both Quattroporte Fruas under one roof for a brief period of time.

Ten years later, the Maserati had returned to the UK where it was bought by its current Maserati collector and subsequently road registered. Shortly after his purchase, the Quattroporte was sent to McGrath Maserati for a two-year mechanical restoration and interior retrim by McGrath Maserati, which included a full engine rebuild and retrimming of the interior to concours standards, and invoices for this work are on file. Furthermore, it is accompanied by a large history file with documents from throughout its life, including copies of correspondence between the Aga Khan and Maserati during the car’s build process.

A truly fascinating automobile in every way, the Aga Khan’s Frua-bodied Quattroporte is without a doubt one of the most compelling Maseratis of the 1970s. It would stand proud in any collection of Italian cars worldwide.