One to Buy: 1971 Maserati Ghibli SS Spyder Hardtop
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Around four years after Ghibli production had started, Maserati replaced the model’s original 4.7-litre V8 with a 4.9-litre unit thus creating the Ghibli SS.
The SS engine engine was enlarged thanks a stroke extension - a 4mm stretch to 89mm resulted in an additional 211cc and an overall capacity of 4930cc. A new crankshaft was fitted, but the 8.5:1 compression ratio stayed as did the four existing Weber 40 DCNL 5 carburettors.
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 prior.
Like its rivals from Ferrari and Aston Martin, the Ghibli could be ordered with either a Coupe or Spyder body. For the, latter all three manufacturers offered a rarely requested Hardtop option as per this fabulous 1971 Ghibli SS currently on offer at the DD Classics showroom in London.
Only 14 manual SS Spyders were built and this is understood to be the last of just four Euro-spec. right-hand drive Ghibli SS Spyders produced with a manual gearbox. Maserati also built ten manual left hookers in Euro spec.
Supplied new to the United Kingdom in 1971, this car was specified with the rare optional factory Hardtop, a feature reputedly only taken up five Ghibli customers in total, making it an exceptionally unusual specification.
The car is accompanied by a comprehensive history file to include original factory correspondence, period magazine material and historic photographs. More recently, the car benefited from a three-year nut-and-bolt restoration carried out in Sydney, with extensive photographic documentation and invoices detailing the work completed.
