Its often something that is hard to pinpoint, my SZ is only a V6, its not very fast, its not well built, its extremely quirky, parts are impossible to find and its often a ***** to drive especially when its hot.
But, I lusted adfter one when it first came out, I can never see me selling it, I don't care what its worth, I don't care what it cost me (although up until this year is has been super cheap), I don't care what other people think - I just love it to bits in fact I am hating it being in the bodyshop but it will be worth it when its finished
I'm not convinced it's THAT hard to pinpount. The SZ is a very rare car with crazy Zagato styling and a V6 that people love under the bonnet.
I had a little Matchbox one when I was a kid (in fact I still have it somewhere) and loved it. I can still remember seeing one for the first time, years later, and they just look crazy, even in a field of other Italian cars. Love it, and can easily see why it's valuable - similarly the old stepnose GTs aren't that fast etc, but simply gorgeous.
The 3200, 4200, Gransport... The press have made sure the 4200 will be the last of the 3 to be a classic, despite being, well, basically the same car.
Each car has points in its favoure:
The 3200 has the boomerang lights and the last evolution of the classic Maserati bi-turbo.
The GranSport does all the things the 4200 should have done according to the magazines, and has the more aggressive stance.
The 4200 has the 'Ferrari engine', will always be that bit cheaper for those willing to compromise on the surf boards, and (most probably) the last manual (mainstream?) Maserati make.
They were never poster cars, but they sound great, have decent performance, and are fairly practical.
The problem is, they are the opposite of the SZ. They blend in subtly in car parks, they don't scream look at me, they never really had the exposure of their more common contemporaries. To a large extent, they were always overshadowed by the more common 911, but there will always be people who don't want to follow like sheep, or who don't get on with the squashed beetle.
It's all crystal ball stuff..