55 Years of Maserati Ghibli
On November 3, 1966, applause and cheers of enthusiasm were heard at the Ghia stand at the Turin Motor Show. The reason had been unveiled shortly before and was to be a new sports car for Maserati. Giorgetto Giugiaro, who wasn’t yet working independently at the time, was responsible for the design. As model name the company from Modena decided for a powerful, warm wind in North Africa, the Ghibli. In this way, they wanted to emphasize the speed and the “heat” of the technical specifications of the new sports car. In fact, the name also fits well with the wedge-shaped design of the body, which seems to get in the way of the wind as little as possible. Giorgetto Giugiaro envisaged a significant break here compared with previous models by seamlessly integrating the passenger compartment into the lines. Maserati also used pop-up headlights for the first time on a production car.
Favorite project of Giorgetto Giugiaro
Giugiaro himself still refers to the Ghibli as one of his most beautiful designs. He had only recently moved from Bertone to Ghia. For the design of the Ghibli he only took three months. A very similar concept car of him had already been shown in Turin in 1964. In addition to the steeply raked windshield and the very long, flat hood, the triangular C-pillar was particularly eye-catching. This became the leitmotif for later model series. At the front, the narrow chrome bumper integrated the flat, wide radiator grille. Meanwhile, the rear bumper encompassed the entire area from the rear to the wheel arches. From the end of 1968, the open Spider version completed the range. While the front elements up to the doors were unchanged from the Coupé, a modified rear end with a flatter trunk lid and soft-top box was used. This had a metal cover under which the soft top could disappear completely.
Powerful V8 engine with dry sump lubrication
In order to be able to guarantee the low overall height of the front section, Maserati had to develop a V8 engine with dry sump lubrication. The engine block from the Mexico, originally from the racing car 450S, served as the basis. Initially, around 310 hp to 330 hp (depending on the measuring method) was generated from 4.7 liters of displacement. At the end of 1969, a variant with a 4.9-liter engine debuted with the Ghibli SS. This produced 335 hp and accelerated the Coupé to a topspeed of up to 174 mph. The power transmission was provided by a manual five-speed gearbox or, from 1968, alternatively by a three-speed automatic from BorgWarner. In the same year, a power steering system from ZF was added to the optional range. Both engines could be combined with both body styles. After the world premiere of the Coupé in Turin in 1966, it took until early 1967 before the first vehicles reached dealers.
Production until the end of 1972
A total of more than 1,200 Ghibli Coupés were built by the end of 1972, but only 128 Spiders. The metal factory hardtop roof offered for the Spider remained particularly rare, and probably only around 15 of these were delivered. One Coupé received a conversion to a targa roof with removable center section from the Italian coachbuilder Pavesi. Meanwhile, another Coupé was used as the basis for a fire-fighting vehicle for racing events. A roof-mounted water sprayer drew water from several tanks distributed throughout the car. It was presented at several motorsport events in Italy, but unlike the Quattroporte fire engine vehicles, it was never used. In 1992, Maserati revived the Ghibli name for an offshoot of the Biturbo range. Since 2013, it has graced the rear of a four-door sports sedan below the Quattroporte.
Images: Maserati
