BY JAMES CAMPBELL

On a recent work trip to Arizona, I saw one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. No, it wasn’t an immigration wall. Nor was it the beautiful pink of Sedona’s rocks. It was a Maserati 3500 GT Convertible parked outside a bar in Scottsdale.

The Maserati 3500 GT and the Maserati 3500 GT Convertible are 2-door coupé and convertible grand tourers made by Italian car manufacturer Maserati between 1957 and 1964. The 3500 was a seminal vehicle for Maserati as the company’s first successful attempt at the Gran Turismo market.

So beautiful was this particular Maserati that men and women were having selfies taken beside it. I was tempted to join them but I’m British and I don’t get involved in that sort of baloney.

In my humble opinion, the only other car of a similar ilk that would have drawn such crowds would have to be the Aston Martin DB5 as used of course by James Bond in Goldfinger way back in 1964.

Head to head as a coupe I think the Italian car is more attractive than the British one. As a marvel of engineering and panache, I’d say the DB5 edges the Maserati. But the Maserati convertible beats both hands down for sheer beauty every time.

What makes this car quite so stunningly attractive?

For one, it’s the car’s length. The way you sit back in it and slouch when it purrs uphill. It’s a rare design which is as pulchritudinous from whichever angle you gaze at it. From the simplicity of its dash to the grooves chiselled out of its aerodynamic sides, there’s genius all over this car’s design. With the convertible, I can find no fault at all in its design at least.

In the pantheon of gorgeous cars, the Maserati 3500 GT in both versions is right up there. I am forever smitten.