Guide: Maserati Kyalami
Background
When Citroen took ownership of Maserati in January 1968, the Italian firm began an optimistic era that was supposed to bring some much-needed stability.
By late 1973, Citroen had ushered in an entirely new Maserati line up. It comprised the front V8-engined Indy four seater, the mid V8-engined Bora two seater, the V6-powered Merak (a Bora look-a-like which was notionally a 2+2) and the V8-powered Khamsin (a front-engined 2+2).
The Indy was a Vignale creation that was already on the drawing board when Citroen arrived. The Bora and Merak were styled by Ital Design and the Khamsin came out of Bertone’s studio.
All four models embraced the trend for sharply creased wedge design that characterised much of the 1970s. Furthermore, the Bora, Merak and Khamsin (the designs for which all began after Citroen took control) were riddled with the kind of advanced hydraulic systems their French parent company were famously so fond of.
Unfortunately, because the global economy began to turn sour in the early 1970s, things gradually began to unravel for Maserati and Citroen. Things worsened dramatically when the Oil Crisis hit during the winter of 1973-1974.
As a result of war in the Middle East, oil prices rose exponentially and remained at elevated levels for the next two years. Demand for gas-guzzlers evaporated overnight and Maserati’s sales plummeted.
In 1974, Citroen was declared bankrupt and had to be rescued by the French government.
In May 1975, Citroen cut Maserati loose and announced the Italian firm had been placed into liquidation.
August 1975 saw Maserati ownership pass to an Italian state-owned holding company and Alessandro de Tomaso. De Tomaso was still flush with cash after the Ford buyout (and subsequent return) of his auto maker in 1974.
During Ford’s ownership of De Tomaso Automobili, the American giant had funded the development of three new models: the Pantera, Deauviille and Longchamp.
The Deauville was a foor-door saloon designed to take on Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar.
The Longchamp was a short wheelbase Coupe version of the Deauville. It had been launched at the Turin Motor Show in November 1972 but sales had been slow, in part as a result of poor trading conditions but also because of its rather awkward Ghia styling.
As production of the Indy had been halted during 1975, Alessandro de Tomaso decided to reintroduce a fourth model to Maserati’s range. The new machine would be based on the expensively developed Longchamp platform.
Instead of a 5.7-litre Ford engine, the new car would be powered by Maserati’s venerable V8. The Longchamp’s pedestrian Ghia styling would also be ditched in favour of a gorgeous new Frua-designed body and interior.
Internally dubbed Tipo AM129, the new car was named Kyalami after the racing circuit where Pedro Rodriguez won the 1967 South African Grand Prix driving a Maserati-powered Cooper T81.
The production-ready Kyalami was unveiled at the Turin Motor Show in November 1976 where it appeared alongside a prototype for a new third generation Quattroporte.
Chassis
Like the De Tomaso Longchamp, the Maserati Kyalami was based on a pressed steel unibody platform with a 2600mm wheelbase.
Suspension was independent all round via double wishbones with coil sprung dampers. Anti roll bars were fitted at either end.
The hydraulically-operated dual-circuit brake system employed 286mm diameter discs that were ventilated up front and solid at the rear.
7.5 x 15-inch magnesium alloy wheels were supplied by Campagnolo and originally shod with Michelin XDX tyres.
A ZF power steering system was fitted as standard.
Dual fuel tanks used separate fillers mounted on each C-pillar. The tanks had a combined capacity of 100-litres and were mounted in the rear fenders (either side of the trunk).
Engine / Gearbox
Whereas the De Tomaso Longchamp was powered by Ford’s inexpensive and relatively unsophisticated 5.7-litre pushrod V8 with its cast-iron block and heads, Maserati equipped the Kyalami with an all-alloy dual overhead camshaft 90° V8.
The Tipo AM 107.21.42 engine fitted to the Kyalami displaced 4136cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 88mm and 85mm respectively. It ran two valves per cylinder, wet-sump lubrication, four Weber 40 DCNF-6 downdraught carburettors, a single Marelli distributor and an 8.5:1 compression ratio.
Peak output was 266bhp at 6000rpm and 289lb-ft at 3800rpm.
Transmission was through a five-speed ZF S5-24-3 manual gearbox, a dry single-plate clutch and limited-slip differential.
Bodywork
Ghia was one of several Italian institutions owned at one stage by Alessandro de Tomaso. Unsurprisingly therefore, it was Ghia that had styled most of De Tomaso’s production cars to include the Longchamp.
However, when Ford sold De Tomaso Automobili back to its founder in 1974, they retained Ghia (a firm they had invested heavily in to bring the Pantera up to standard).
As a consequence, the Kyalami would have to be styled by a different design house than the one that penned the original donor car.
Maserati turned to Pietro Frua who had previously worked on early coachbuilt Maseratis such as the A6 range in addition to later models like the Mistral and first generation Quattroporte.
Whereas the rather pedestrian Longchamp was hardly a thing of beauty, Frua created an extremely handsome machine that was lower, longer and wider than before.
Most obviously, instead of the Longchamp’s ugly Ford Granada-sourced rectangular headlights, the Kyalami came with twin circular units per side. A discrete chin spoiler was also added at the front.
Flat surfaces were broken up by carefully considered creases that gave the Kyalami a refined and beautifully resolved appearance.
Although by the mid 1970s chrome delete was becoming increasingly fashionable, the Kyalami retained polished brightwork for the front grille surround, the window frames, door handles, light shrouds and exhaust tips. Frua also fitted an unusual full width stainless trim at the top of the tail fascia.
More polished metal was applied to the upper and lower bumper sections. The bumpers were further equipped with distinctive fibreglass end caps that wrapped around to the wheelarches.
Frua fabricated the Kyalami’s body entirely from steel.
Although Frua did produce a solitary Kyalami Spider, it remained a one-off as Maserati executives decided against offering a production variant.
Interior
In typical Maserati fashion, the Kyalami’s cockpit was kitted out to an exceptionally high standard.
Unless specified otherwise, the dash, door caps, upper rear side panels, cockpit pillars and headliner were normally trimmed in mousehair alcantara which was coloured to match the carpet.
The instrument fascia was trimmed in Connolly leather to match the centre console / transmission tunnel, seats and lower side panels.
The seats were given ribbed centres as were the door panels.
Electric windows, air-conditioning, central locking and an electric driver’s side door mirror were standard.
The wide rectangular instrument binnacle spanned the area directly behind the four-spoke steering wheel and stretched all the way across to the top of the centre console.
Instrumentation comprised a large 8000rpm tach and matching 240kmh speedometer flanked by a bank of warning lights on both sides. Five smaller read outs (battery, fuel, water temperature, oil pressure and a clock) were located in the centre of the binnacle. Above these were a bank of six rocker switches.
The transmission tunnel adjoined the dash by way of a centre console that house the audio system, heating / ventilation system, a pair of air vents, a cigar lighter and the electric window switches.
Options
Few optional extras were offered as the Kyalami already had such a high specification.
Customers could specify full leather instead of leather / alcantara upholstery, a three-speed Borg Warner automatic gearbox and an electric passenger-side mirror.
Weight / Performance
At 1670kg, the Kyalami was no light weight sports car. It was instead a fully laden Gran Turismo with practically every conceivable luxury.
Top speed was 148mph and 0-62mph took 7.1 seconds.
Production Changes
In 1978, Maserati began to offer the Kyalami with a 4.9-litre engine.
The Tipo AM 107.23.49 motor was bored from 88mm to 93.9mm and stroked from 85mm to 89mm. This yielded a gain of 795cc for an overall displacement of 4931cc.
The original Weber 40 DCNF-6 carburettors were upgraded to the larger 42 DCNF-6 variety.
Peak power went from 266bhp at 6000rpm to 276bhp at 5600rpm.
The torque rating was an unchanged 289lb-ft, but this was now developed at 3000rpm as opposed to 3800rpm.
Instead of a five-speed ZF manual (now optional), the 4.9-litre Kyalami came with a three-speed automatic gearbox as standard.
End of Production
Production came to an end in 1983, by which time 200 Kyalamis had rolled off the production line.
Of these, 125 were equipped with the 4.2-litre engine and 75 with the 4.9.
43 right-hand drive cars were built, although what proportion of these were 4.2 and 4.9 is currently unknown.
Like the Bora, Merak and Khamsin, the Kyalami was not directly replaced as Maserati subsequently moved into the high volume Biturbo era.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Maserati - https://maserati.com
