It never ceases to amaze me that people are surprised at Maserati parts costs. Just because you can buy a car that cost £80k new for £15k doesn't mean that parts are going to Ford prices. When they are common parts with other models in the FCA stable then ok there is real scalping going on and you are paying for the box. For the other cars not so much. Limited volumes mean you don't get the same economies of scale that come with buying even a Merc, Audi, or BMW.
When you take on a Maserati you should do so knowing that nothing is cheap. Its the cost of ownership.
To be fair, whilst a lot of your post makes sense, the rarity of the part does not necessarily equate to cost - it's just scalping.
My Elise S1 isn't exactly a common car, and non-obsolete parts for it aren't horrifically priced despite it being limited run, hand made etc.
Our old VX220 is even rarer and the only bits that reach silly prices are front and rear lights, which are will only 300-350 or something each.
In fact, they are hiding behind the original value more than basing prices on it.
£80k new (well, maybe £65k) to £15k used now.
A clutch for my 4200 was about 600 quid 10 years ago when the car was worth significantly more, according to a page somewhere online posted by one of the main dealers.
So t,he clutch alone has more than doubled in price since then, and the value of the car has perhaps halved? More?
The part will also have continued to be manufactured, so it's been made, not as a part for an £80k car, but as a part for a car now worth £15k.
In that case, it seems to me more like Maserati not allowing other manufacturers to get in on the game, and having a monopoly on a part that is required, and wears out relatively quickly is allowing them to scalp.
The real shame is that these cars will disappear because of this. Cars will be written off and scrapped because of part costs.
A clutch, plus bearings, plus gearbox cables for a manual, plus a set of disks and pads for a 4200 is coming up for £4.5-5k alone at Maserati prices, and that's before labour.
On another note, in posting this, I checked how rare they are and found this via google over on Ferrari Chat regarding the Coupe / 4200 / M138. Apologies if it's been posted before, I found it pretty interesting
All data is from Maserati Classiche apparently.
Coupè Cambiocorsa: 5371
Coupè Manual: 1078
Spyder Cambiocorsa: 3134
Spyder Manual: 574
Spyder 90th Ann.: 181
GranSport Coupè: 2432
GranSport Spyder: 472
GranSport MC Victory: 181
Chris