Guide: Maserati Ghibli
Background
In late 1958, a visit to the Maserati factory by the Shah of Iran led to the development of a productionised V8 engine derived from the power unit in the obsolete 450 S sports racer.
The Shah very much liked Maserati’s straight six-powered 3500 GT, but upon seeing the monster V8s catching dust in a corner of the factory, he asked Maserati to build him a one-of-a-kind Gran Turismo powered by the 450 S engine.
The resultant 5000 GT was a car fit for a king. More expensive than anything else available at the time, 34 were built between 1959 and 1964.
Maserati then went on to use the V8 engine for their first four door saloon, the Quattroporte, launched in 1963.
Thereafter, V8-powered models gradually began to replace the straight six range.
The Vignale-styled Mexico (a four seat Coupe) was unveiled as a prototype in November 1965 and entered production twelve months later.
Then, at the Turin Motor Show in October 1966, Ghia presented a rakish two-seat Coupe: the Tipo 115 Ghibli.
Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Ghibli concept garnered an extremely positive response and thus Maserati decided to go ahead with production.
Named after a Libyan desert wind, the Ghibli was offered alongside the Quattroporte and Mexico in addition to the straight six-powered Mistral, which was also a two seater. Like the Mistral, the bigger, more powerful Ghibli would ultimately be available in both Coupe and Spider body styles.
Chassis
As per the Quattroporte and Mexico, the Ghibli’s chassis was a steel monocoque, albeit shortened and reinforced compared to its sisters. With no need for rear seats, the wheelbase was 90mm less than the Mexico (2550mm as opposed to 2640mm).
Maserati adopted the same suspension layout used by their other cars of the period; independent coil sprung double wishbones at the front with a live Salisbury axle and semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear. Telescopic dampers were fitted all round along with anti-roll bars at either end.
The Ghibli’s four wheel Girling disc brakes were not initially ventilated, but did come with servo-assistance.
The prototype Ghibli displayed at Turin in late 1966 used single instead of the twin piston calipers found on production variants. It also rode on 6-inch wide wheels whereas 7-inch wide wheels were used thereafter. These handsome Campagnolo magnesium alloy rims were attached via a single centre locking nut and had a 15-inch diameter. Pirelli tyres were standard.
Track was 10mm wider than the Mexico at the front and 80mm wider at the back.
Two 50-litre fuel tanks were installed in the rear fenders, either side of the trunk.
Engine / Gearbox
In the engine bay was the latest version of Maserati’s all-alloy dual overhead camshaft 90° V8.
Thanks to a bore and stroke of 93.9mm and 85mm respectively, displacement was the familiar 4719cc.
However, whereas the Quattroporte and Mexico used wet-sump V8s, the power unit fitted to the Ghibli featured a new dry-sump lubrication system. Not only did this prevent oil surge during hard driving, it also reduced the engine’s height which enabled the designers to adopt an ultra low profile hood.
Compression was unchanged at 8.5:1.
The usual bank of four Weber 38 DCNL 5 carburettors were initially installed, although these were switched to the bigger 40 DCNL 5 type soon after launch.
Peak output was 310bhp at 5000rpm and 290lb-ft at 4000rpm. Such figures compared favourably to the 4.7-litre wet-sump Mexico engine which delivered 290bhp at 5000rpm and 282lb-ft at 4000rpm.
Transmission was via a new ZF five-speed gearbox, single-plate clutch and Salisbury differential.
Bodywork
While Ferrari had an exclusive contract with Pininfarina for production models, Maserati commissioned their automotive designs from a variety of Italian coachbuilders. Of the models available in 1966, the Quattroporte and Mistral were both Frua creations while the Sebring and Mexico were executed by Vignale.
The Ghia-designed Ghibli was arguably the best looking car of the bunch.
Low, sleek and perfectly proportioned, it looked like it was doing 100mph stood still.
An exaggerated air-piercing front end was home to retractable headlights (the first time a production Maserati had been equipped this way). Giugiaro also incorporated an unusual full width mesh grille shrouded by a chrome surround that served as the bumper.
A discrete power bulge was added to the hood along with slim engine cooling vents behind each front wheelarch.
The roof sloped down to the Kamm tail in one continuous line and the five window cockpit gave excellent visibility. An extended rear overhang ensured plenty of space for luggage and fuel.
The single piece wraparound rear bumper was chrome plated to match the window frames, light bezels, front bumper, door handles, badges, wipers, sill strips, wing mirrors, radio antenna and fuel cap locks.
Body panels were fabricated entirely from steel.
Interior
In contrast to the new breed of radical mid-engined supercars that were beginning to appear, the Ghibli was a comfortable Grand Tourer with plenty of cockpit space. Its T-shaped dash comprised a full width rectangular binnacle and a vertical control panel that joined the transmission tunnel.
Directly behind the wood-rimmed steering wheel was an 8000rpm tach, a 200mph or 300kph speedometer and a smaller oil pressure gauge in between.
Five additional instruments were also provided: a fuel gauge, ammeter, clock, water temperature read out and oil temperature meter. These were usually clustered together in the centre of the dash, although the fuel gauge was sometimes moved to the outer corner.
Dashboards were available with either non-reflective dark grey mousehair or leather.
Leather was also used to upholster the seats, headlining, door panels, sidewalls and rear quarters (except for the boot floor). The transmission tunnel was normally upholstered in black leather regardless of the customer’s chosen interior shade.
Air conditioning and electric windows were standard.
Options
Optional extras included a three-speed Borg-Warner automatic transmission, Borrani wire wheels, fog lights, a radio and head rests.
There was also a 3.31 rear axle ratio instead of the standard 3.54 configuration.
Weight / Performance
Maserati quoted a weight of 1520kg, a top speed of 168mph and 0-62mph time of 6.4 seconds.
Production Begins
The production-ready Ghibli was unveiled at Geneva in March 1967.
The first customer cars began to roll out of the factory in April 1967.
87 cars were produced that year.
Production Changes
Towards the end of 1967, chrome bumper overriders began to appear as did ventilated brake discs.
Ghibli Spyder
At the Turin Motor Show in November 1968, Maserati unveiled a drophead Spider which was offered with an optional hard top.
When lowered, the manually-operated canvas hood stowed beneath a body coloured panel which meant it completely disappeared from view.
Luggage space was reduced by around 25% compared to the Coupe.
Spider production got underway in early 1969. 21 were completed that year.
USA Version
By the time the Spider was in production, Ghiblis bound for the USA were being fitted with side reflectors down each flank and an air pump to reduce exhaust emissions.
Ghibli SS
Production of the 4.7-litre Ghibli continued until late 1970, when it was replaced by a new 4.9-litre SS variant.
As had been the case when the V8 engine evolved from 4.2 to 4.7-litres, Maserati increased displacement by extending the stroke. A 4mm stretch to 89mm resulted in an additional 211cc. Overall capacity was now 4930cc.
A new crankshaft was fitted at the same time.
The compression ratio stayed at 8.5:1 and four Weber 40 DCNL 5 carburettors were retained.
The SS engine produced 25bhp more than the 4.7, albeit 500rpm higher up the rev range than before (335bhp at 5500rpm compared to 310bhp at 5000rpm).
However, the move to 4.9-litre trim was more about boosting torque; in this latest configuration, the venerable Maserati V8 now produced 354lb-ft at 4000rpm compared to 290lb-ft at 4000rpm.
Outside, little was changed, except for a discrete SS badge on the tail fascia.
Reinforced bumpers were also a frequent addition as was a bulky new padded boss for the steering wheel.
Emissions-equipped engines produced 315bhp.
SS Ghiblis came with new rocker switches on the dash while the dash fascia and centre console were now coloured to match the rest of the upholstery.
Power steering was added to the options list.
The Ghibli SS was produced until early 1973.
End of Production
When Ghibli production ended, 1170 Coupes had been manufactured along with 125 Spiders.
Of these, 425 were SS Coupes and 45 were SS Spiders.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Maserati - https://maserati.com
