Maserati Ghibli (Tipo AM115)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maserati
Maserati Ghibli Coupé (1966–1973)
Maserati Ghibli Coupé (1966–1973)
Ghibli
Production period: 1966-1973
Class : Sports car
Body versions : Coupé , convertible
Engines:
Petrol engines : 4.7-4.9 liters
(227-246 kW)
Length: 4590 mm
Width: 1800 mm
Height: 1160 mm
Wheelbase : 2500 mm
Empty weight : 1640 kg
Previous model Maserati 5000 GT
successor Maserati Khamsin

The Maserati Ghibli was a sports car from the Italian car manufacturer Maserati , which was produced from the autumn of 1966 until the end of 1973. The name of the car is derived from the Gibli , a hot desert wind in the Sahara .

Other Maserati vehicles also bear the name Ghibli. Between the spring of 1992 and the end of 1997, a descendant of the biturbo family was given this name, and an upper mid-range notchback sedan has been sold as the Ghibli since 2013 . However, these vehicles have nothing to do with the Ghibli of the 1960s.

The background

In the 1960s, Maserati entered the market for six-cylinder sports cars with the Maserati Sebring and the Mistral, which was introduced a little later . In addition, until 1964 the company had the Maserati 5000 GT on offer, a very expensive, high-performance coupé with an eight-cylinder engine based on a racing engine. From 1963 Maserati expanded the model range of eight-cylinder vehicles. After the Quattroporte , a four-door sports sedan, a two-door, four-seater Gran Turismo appeared in 1966 with the Maserati Mexico , both of which were equipped with a reduced-power version of the well-known eight-cylinder engine. What was initially missing was a two-seater sports car. This role was taken over by the Ghibli presented in autumn 1966, which internally received the type designation AM 115.

The car

The rear end of the Ghibli influenced cars from Audi, Bitter and Monteverdi
Maserati Ghibli Spyder (1968-1973)

The body

A particular attraction of the Ghibli was its sensational body. It was the first design that Giorgetto Giugiaro realized for the Carrozzeria Ghia after leaving Bertone . It took Giugiaro only three months to draft; he still considers the Ghibli to be his most beautiful creation. The design was based on a study Ghia exhibited at the Turin Motor Show in 1964.

Giugiaro designed a flat structure with a long bonnet, short passenger cell and a distinctive hatchback. The extraordinary length of the bonnet - similar in proportions to those of the Jaguar E-Type - was a deliberately used stylistic device with which Giugiaro wanted to "emphasize the presence of the powerful machine" according to his own statements. In addition to the long bonnet, the long, sloping rear of the car shaped the image of the Ghibli, which took up a large rear window and only ended at the height of the belt line. The front bumpers were thin; they framed the low grille that spanned the entire front of the car. The rear bumpers went well around the fenders. The Ghibli carried electrically operated pop-up headlights; When opened, the headlight units clearly broke through the flowing lines of the front of the car. At the rear, the rear lights of the Alfa Romeo Giulia were initially used, later the larger units of the Alfa Romeo 1750/2000 .

In November 1968 the Ghibli Coupé was supplemented by a two-seater Spyder, which was also designed by Giugiaro. The front of the car corresponded to that of the coupé; the body, however, had been modified at the rear. The tightly cut fabric top of the Spyder could be completely folded down; it disappeared under a metal cover when it was not needed. A metal hardtop was offered for the Spyder at the factory , of which 25 copies were sold at most.

The proportions of the Ghibli Coupé, and in particular the design of the hatchback, influenced numerous other sports cars such as the Monteverdi High Speed ​​375 designed by Pietro Frua , the Bitter CD and Tom Tjaarda's De Tomaso Zonda . The Audi 100 Coupé also quoted the design features of the Ghibli in the rear area. The design of the rear side window and the tank inlets were finally found in a modified form on the Aston Martin DBS presented in 1967 .

The motor

Maserati equipped the Ghibli with a slightly revised version of the eight-cylinder engine, which had made its racing debut in 1956 with the Tipo 450S and had been used in the Quattroporte since 1964. Unlike in the case of the four-door model, however, the engine here had dry sump lubrication with a separate oil reservoir. Only with this construction could the flat front end of the Ghibli be realized. Initially, the Ghibli received the 4.7 liter version of the engine, which - depending on the measurement - delivered between 310 and 330 hp.

In 1970 the Maserati Ghibli SS 5000 was added, which received a version enlarged to 4.9 liters displacement with a power output of 335 hp. The dimensions of this engine corresponded exactly to those of the Maserati 5000 GT. The Ghibli reached a top speed of 270 km / h.

Chassis and technology

The Ghibli had a self-supporting steel body with a box-shaped subframe. The basic construction corresponded - apart from the slightly reduced dimensions - to that of the Maserati Mexico and thus the Maserati Quattroporte.

While the front wheels were individually suspended, Maserati used a rigid axle at the rear , which was obtained from the UK by the Salisbury Wheel Company . The rear axle was guided by leaf springs and a Panhard rod . The simplicity of the rear axle construction has been repeatedly criticized in the literature; the driving behavior of the car was sometimes referred to as "rough", others described the chassis of the Ghibli as "that of a truck". Maserati had temporarily considered equipping the Ghibli with the De Dion rear axle of the Quattroporte; Driving tests with such a converted prototype should not have improved the driving behavior, so Maserati used this design feature regardless of the fact that Italian competing vehicles such as the Ferrari 365 / GTB4 “Daytona” naturally had independent suspension on all wheels until the Ghibli was discontinued and also equipped the Indy model, released in 1969, with a corresponding construction.

A manual five-speed gearbox from ZF was offered as a standard power transmission , the basic concept of which was derived from the power transmission of the Hanomag Kurier and supplemented by a fifth gear. From 1968, a three-speed automatic transmission from BorgWarner was also available on request . It was also possible to order a power steering  - again from ZF - which made it easier to handle the vehicle, which had previously been perceived as clumsy.

Special models

  • At least one Ghibli coupe has been converted into a fire engine. It contained several water tanks and carried a movable water syringe on the roof. The car has been shown at several Italian motorsport events; he was never used.
  • The Milan-based company Carrozzeria Pavesi , which is still involved in armoring and bodywork conversions, provided a Ghibli coupé with a removable roof section in the Targa style in 1968 . The vehicle remained a one-off.

Production, Distribution and Market Conditions

production

The Maserati Ghibli was presented to the public at the 1966 Turin Motor Show. Sales began in the fall of 1966, with the first cars being delivered in early 1967. Production of the Ghibli lasted until the end of 1973. Maserati manufactured the chassis and engine, while the body was manufactured by Vignale and Ghia.

The Ghibli was more expensive than most of its competing models. It was offered on the German market in 1969 at a price of DM 73,000. This made it 3,000 DM more expensive than a Lamborghini Miura or a Ferrari Daytona, which were each equipped with twelve-cylinder engines and capable of driving performance similar to the Ghibli. An Iso Grifo was even 16,000 DM cheaper. On the Swiss market, the purchase price for a Ghibli in 1969 was 65,500 Swiss francs , 2,500 francs more than Ferrari asked for the Daytona.

Regardless of this, a total of 1,250 copies were built in eight years, with the coupé being by far the more frequently produced version: there were only 125 Spyder for 1,124 coupés. Ghibli drivers included Jean-Paul Belmondo , Sammy Davis Junior , Henry Ford II and Peter Sellers .

Market situation

The Maserati Ghibli is a rare, attractive and sought-after classic. In 1988 and 1989, when speculators had discovered the classic car market for their business at short notice, Ghiblis were sometimes bought and sold for millions. Used Ghibli - like other classics - have not reached this price level for a long time. Nevertheless, the Ghibli is still a coveted car, for which comparatively high to very high prices are still being asked and paid. In general, it should be noted that the much rarer Ghibli Spyder is many times more expensive than a coupé. A Ghibli Coupé in a neat condition is currently (2016) quoted at around 300,000 euros, while an equivalent Spyder can cost around 400,000 euros. In the UK market, an excellent Ghibli Coupe is priced at £ 50,000 and a Spyder is priced at £ 110,000.

Competitors

Technical specifications

Type 4700 5000 pp
construction time 1966-1973 1969-1973
Engine: Eight-cylinder four-stroke V-engine; water-cooled, V-shaped hanging valves, two overhead, chain-driven camshafts per cylinder row, crankshaft with five bearings, compression ratio 8.8: 1, dry sump lubrication
Mixture preparation: four Weber twin carburetors
Displacement : 4709 cc 4930 cc
Bore × stroke: 93.9 x 85 mm 93.9 x 89 mm
Performance at 1 / min: 227 kW at 5500 246 kW at 5500
Max. Torque at 1 / min: 441 Nm at 4000 480 Nm at 4000
Drive: Rear-wheel drive: 5-speed ( ZF synchronous transmission); 3-speed automatic on request (Borg-Warner)
Front suspension: Independent suspension on wishbones, coil springs, stabilizer, telescopic shock absorbers
Rear suspension: Rigid axle on semi-elliptical leaf springs, reaction struts, stabilizer, telescopic shock absorber
Body: Self-supporting with tubular space frames
Wheelbase : 2550 mm
Dimensions L × W × H: 4590 × 1800 × 1160 mm
Empty weight (without driver): 1430-1530 kg
Top speed:  275 km / h (test value 1969)
Price: 73,000 DM (1969)

literature

  • Dean Bachelor, Chris Poole, Graham Robson: The Big Book of Sports Cars ; Erlangen 1990 (no ISBN)
  • Gianni Cancellieri et al. (Ed.): Maserati. Catalog raisonné 1926–2003 . Automobilia, Milan 2003. ISBN 88-7960-151-2
  • Diether Günter: Maserati Ghibli. The hot desert wind from Modena. Presentation of the model history in: Oldtimer Markt, issue 9/1989, p. 6 ff.
  • Hans-Karl Lange: Maserati. The other Italian sports car . Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-552-05102-3
  • Frank Oleski, Hartmut Lehbrink: Series sports cars . Cologne (Könemann) 1993. ISBN 3-89508-000-4 .
  • Halwart Schrader, Georg Amtmann: Italian sports cars . Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-613-01988-4 .
  • David Sparrow, Iain Ayre: Maserati Heritage. Osprey Classic Marques. Auckland 1995. ISBN 1-85532-441-5 .
  • Maurizio Tabucchi: Maserati. All Grand Prix, Sports and GT vehicles from 1926 until today . Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2004. ISBN 3-89880-211-6
  • Bernd Woytal: Maserati Ghibli 4.9 SS: Donnerbolzen . In: Bernd Wieland: Italian classic sports cars. 1st edition. Stuttgart (Motorbuch Verlag) 2001. ISBN 3-613-02162-5

Web links

Commons : Maserati Ghibli  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hartmut Lehbrink wrote in Oleski, Lehbrink: Series sports car: "You found no defect, only perfection"; auto motor und sport 11/1969 said: "A dream of a body".
  2. ↑ Oldtimer Markt 9/1989, p. 12.
  3. ↑ Quoted from Woytal: Italian sports car classics, p. 119.
  4. ↑ Classic and Sports Cars, issue 6/2005.
  5. ↑ Woytal: Italian sports car classic, S. 119th
  6. ↑ Oldtimer Markt 9/1989, p. 12.
  7. ^ Long: Maserati. The other Italian sports car. P. 37.
  8. ↑ Oldtimer Markt 1/1996, p. 8 ff .; unlike in the case of the Ghibli, however, the rear window of the Bitter was part of the large tailgate.
  9. ^ Post on www.autobild.de : "The Audi looked like it would have rather become a Maserati Ghibli".
  10. ^ Bachelor, Robson, Poole, p. 275.
  11. ^ Sparrow, Ayre: Maserati Heritage, p. 48.
  12. ^ Long: Maserati. The other Italian sports car. P. 36.
  13. ↑ Brazendale: Encyclopedia Automobile, p. 384.
  14. ↑ Brazendale: Encyclopedia Automobile, p. 384.
  15. ^ Long: Maserati. The other Italian sports car. P. 36.
  16. ↑ This construction was used in the Quattroporte I from 1963 to 1967. In the second series, introduced in 1967, the rear axle suspension was also upgraded to a rigid axle
  17. ↑ Oldtimer Markt 9/1989, p. 12.
  18. ↑ Some small series manufacturers such as Monteverdi , however, held on to a rear rigid axle until the 1970s.
  19. ↑ Woytal: Italian sports car classic, S. 124th
  20. ↑ Oldtimer Markt 9/1989, p. 12.
  21. ↑ Woytal: Italian sports car classic, S. 119th
  22. ↑ Oldtimer Markt 9/1989, p. 12.
  23. ^ Schrader, Amtmann: Italian Sports Cars, p. 303.
  24. ↑ Oldtimer Markt 9/1989, p. 12.
  25. ↑ Oldtimer Markt 9/1989, p. 12.
  26. ^ Sparrow, Ayre: Maserati Heritage, p. 46.
  27. ^ Long: Maserati. The other Italian sports car. P. 36.
  28. ^ Long: Maserati. The other Italian sports car. P. 36.
  29. ↑ Motor Klassik 10/2010, p. 65.
  30. ↑ Classic Cars, issue 11/2009, p. 129.
  31. ^ Klaus Westrup: Aston Martin DBS V8: Going Strong - the successor to the DB6. October 26, 2010, accessed March 7, 2020 .