Rusty gold. 

What is it that captivates about derelict classic cars? Is it the thrill of bringing back a rusty hunk of metal from the very edge of the scrap yard, costs be damned? If that's the core of the public fascination with so-called barn finds, this 1961 Maserati 5000 GT may be the perfect such project car.

Today, it's rare for a wealthy customer to not only have a hand in developing custom bodywork for a contemporary supercar, but also to help develop a whole new model altogether. But that's exactly what happened in mid-20th-century Italy with the Maserati 5000 GT.  At the time, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was what most of us aspire to be—a died-in-the-wool car enthusiast with virtually unlimited spending power. When he approached Maserati about building a car for the street that used the 5.0-liter V-8 engine from one of the brand's 450S race cars, Maserati was only too happy to comply.

To read more on MSN:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/classic-cars/rusty-and-rare-is-this-1961-maserati-worth-700-000/ar-AAF7YTY?ocid=AMZN#image=AAF7YTY_1|1

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