1972 Maserati Ghibli

Exotic and elegant, the Ghibli was a sleek 2-seater sports car with a low, wedge-shaped design and an aggressive stance. The company's Grand Prix-derived six-cylinder engine was put to pasture as a new quad-cam eight-cylinder era began, offering every bit of the excitement that the vehicle's design promised. More than just raw supercar levels of performance, the Ghibli was refined and sophisticated, with exceptional comfort, impressive handling, balance, and drivability. It was a thoroughbred GT car and an instant sensation, a masterpiece of automotive design and an engineering marvel.

Maserati introduced its Ghibli at the Torino Motor Show in November of 1966. It wore styling by Carrozzeria Ghia by Giorgetto Giugiaro and was named after a Sahara Desert wind. Dry-sump lubrication enabled the engine to be mounted deep in the chassis, permitting a low bonnet line, while limited suspension travel ensured that the tires did not foul the wheel arches. It used a shortened version of the Quattroporte saloon's tubular steel chassis in its live rear axle form. The suspension was comprised of leaf springs and a single locating arm. The powerplant was a four-cam, 90-degree V8, an engine derived from that of the 450S sports racer and first seen in the road-going guise in the 5000GT. It had a 4.7-liter displacement up to 1970 when it was superseded by the 4.9-liter SS version in order to comply with emission laws.

In a similar fashion to the contemporary Mexico 2+2, the Ghibli rested on a shortened version of the Quattroporte saloon's tubular steel chassis in its live rear axle form. The suspension was comprised of leaf springs and a single locating arm. The Ghibli styling was long and low with razor-edges that were refined and brutal. With the assistance of the four-cam, dry-sump V8 engine, the top speed was in excess of 160 mph, making it among the fastest production cars of its day.

The coupe was joined by a Spider body style in 1969, for which Giugiaro received more acclaim. A year later, the 4.9 SS variant was introduced, delivering 33 horsepower which was an increase of 25 hp over the original 4.7-liter engine. The 4.9 SS took 16 seconds to reach 100 mph and had a claimed top speed of 174 mph.

Maserati built 1,274 Ghiblis through 1972, with 128 being Ghibli Spiders, and 70 of those being sent to the United States. Of the 30 examples of the 4.9 SS Spider that were sold new in the U.S., only 24 came with the ZF five-speed manual gearbox. The remaining six examples had a BorgWarner automatic.

The Maserati Ghibli combined balance, superb handling, comfort, drivability, and performance in an elegant package.

Dimensions and Chassis
The Maserati Ghibli had a 100.4-inch wheelbase, an overall length of 185 inches, a width of 70.5 inches, and stood 45.7 inches tall.

The tubular frame wore a spot welded on body, with coil springs, anti-roll bar, coaxial dampers, and double wishbones at the front. The rear suspension included a live axle on semi-elliptic springs, anti-roll bar, hydraulic dampers, and a single longitudinal torque arm.

The magnesium wheels were initially wrapped with Pirelli Cinturato 205 VR15 (CN72) tires. After 1972, the tires were changed to 215/70VR15 Pirelli Cinturato CN12, and wire wheels became optional.

Engine
The front-mounted quad-cam 4,719cc (4.7 liter / 288 cubic-inch) dry sump, aluminum V8 engine (Tipo AM 115) had a 3.7 inch bore and 3.5 inch stroke. With 8.5:1 compression and four vertical twin-choke Weber 40 DCNF/5 carburetors (42 DCNF/9 carburetors from 1969 forward), it produced 310 horsepower at 5,500 RPM and 290 ft-lbs at 4,000 RPM.

The Ghibli SS of 1969 introduced a larger 4,930cc engine which had a 4 mm (0.16 inch) increase in stroke. Output increased to 330 horsepower (335 PS) and torque to 354 lb-ft.

The transmission was a ZF five-speed manual unit with a three-speed automatic being optional.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2019