The pressure-sensitive brakes feel out of place at first, but you soon acclimatise to them and appreciate the way they haul in all of that weight so effortlessly. These cars all have gorgeously smooth throttles, but the Indy has such a light clutch that it almost feels assisted. As Heywood points out, this late car uses three different fluids for its various services: LHM for brakes, brake fluid for the clutch and ATF for the steering.
I’ve always liked the look of the Khamsin, an elegantly sculpted wedge with a slender roof, a long, tapering nose and an abruptly sliced tail. It recaptured some of the effortless grace of the Ghibli, but with a sharper, more modern feel. The steel body has some interesting details, such as asymmetric bonnet vents and a glass rear panel to aid visibility, with tail-lights (Alfa Berlina again, but 2000 this time) suspended in it.
Open the glass hatch, supported by hydraulic struts, and there is generous luggage space, extra depth having been liberated by mounting the space-saver spare under the front bumper. Perhaps the only disappointing aspect of the Khamsin is the interior. The neat finish and elegant detailing of the earlier generation of Ghia and Vignale Maseratis had given way to a flashier style, where the parts-bin nature of the switchgear and other elements was more obvious and the layout scattered and confusing. The Khamsin’s fixtures and fittings are generally a shade disappointing: the Alfetta doorhandles didn’t look very ‘special’, nor did the Fiat X1/9 release catches for the fuel flap and hatch.
A significant number of Khamsins, like this car, had a Borg Warner automatic transmission – geared down to 25.5mph per 1000rpm and around 140mph if the 5500rpm redline was observed. Off the line, the auto makes it feel slightly pedestrian but as the torque builds and the converter begins to bite the performance streams in. The low seating position heightens the sensation of speed anyway, along with an aggressive exhaust bellow that is easily the most strident of the three cars. Yet it is in steering and poise that the Khamsin feels a generation on from the Ghibli and the Indy. As in the SM, the assistance increases as the wheel is turned away from the centre but as road speeds rise the level of assistance decreases. Combine this with two turns from lock-to-lock, plus all-round double-wishbone suspension, and you have a recipe for a wonderfully neutral, roll-free car that goes where you direct it through gentle movement of the wrists rather than the forearms. In short, once you have got used to the ‘instant’ brakes and steering, you can drive the Khamsin much more accurately, and with more confident abandon, than its older brethren.
With a manual ’box, the Khamsin would certainly have the most driver appeal of these cars. If your tastes run to edgy and flamboyant ’70s styling, it makes a powerful statement that will stand it in good stead as a collector’s item. As the last great front-engined Maserati, and the last to be attributed to Alfieri, good Khamsins are already appreciating and rightly so.
The Ghibli has been strong money for some time with Spyders threatening to go stratospheric. That’s not to be celebrated if it’s near the top of your fantasy list, but the status is fully deserved and has been a long time coming. I guess I will always want a Ghibli, yet, in the real world, there is something very appealing about an Indy. Good ones are rare but, as with most exotica, those four seats – which make it so desirable in my book – hold it back in the market place. For me, it’s a car I can imagine using, living with. I want one.
Factfiles
GHIBLI SS
Sold/number built 1966-’73/1274 (1149 coupés, 125 Spyders) Construction tubular steel chassis, steel body Engine all-alloy, dohc-per-bank 4719cc (SS 4930cc) 90˚ V8, with four Weber 38DCNL (SS 42DCNF) carbs Max power 335bhp @ 5500rpm (SS 335bhp) Max torque 326Ib ft @ 4000rpm (SS 341Ib ft) Transmission five-speed ZF manual or three-speed Borg Warner automatic Suspension: front double wishbones, coil springs rear live axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs, trailing radius arms; anti-roll bar, telescopic dampers f/r Steering recirculating ball, with optional ZF power assistance Brakes vented discs all round, with servo Wheels & tyres 7 15in alloys, 205/70 VR15 tyres Length 15ft (4572mm) Width 5ft 9in (1753mm) Height 3ft 8in (1118mm) Wheelbase 8ft 3 in (2530mm) Front track 4ft 7in (1397mm) Rear track 4ft 6in (1372mm) Weight 2866Ib (1300kg) 0-60mph 6.4 secs Top speed 174mph Mpg 12-14 Price new £10,180
INDY
Sold/number built 1969-’75/1104 Construction steel platform chassis, steel body Engine all-alloy, dohc-per-bank 4136/4719/4930cc 90˚ V8, with four Weber 38DCNL/42DCNF carburettors Max power 260bhp @ 5200rpm-300bhp @ 5500rpm Max torque 375Ib ft @ 3800rpm-344lb ft @ 4000rpm Transmission five-speed ZF manual or three-speed Borg Warner automatic Suspension: front double wishbones, coil springs, anti-roll bar rear live axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs, trailing radius arms, anti-roll bar; telescopic dampers f/r Steering recirculating ball, with optional ZF power assistance Brakes vented discs all round, with servo Wheels & tyres 7 15in alloys, 205/70 VR15 tyres Length 16ft (4877mm) Width 5ft 10in (1778mm) Height 4ft 3in (1295mm) Wheelbase 8ft 7 in (2629mm) Front/rear track 4ft 7 in (1410mm) Weight 3638Ib (1650kg) 0-60mph 7.5 secs Top speed 156mph (4.7) Mpg 11-13 Price new £9654
KHAMSIN
Sold/number built 1974-’82/430 Construction steel monocoque Engine all-alloy, dohc-per-bank 4930cc 90˚ V8, with four Weber 42DCNF carburettors Max power 320bhp @ 5500rpm Max torque 354Ib ft @ 4000rpm Transmission five-speed ZF manual or three-speed Borg Warner automatic Suspension: front and rear double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers and anti-roll bar Steering rack and pinion, with Citroën hydro-pneumatic power assistance Brakes vented discs all round, with Citroën hydro-pneumatic power assistance Wheels & tyres 7 15in alloys, 215/70 VR15 tyres Length 15ft 5 in (4699mm) Width 5ft 11in (1397mm) Height 4ft 1in (1245mm) Wheelbase 8ft 4 in (2550mm) Front track 4ft 8in (1440mm) Rear track 4ft 10in (1471mm) Weight 3619Ib (1642kg) 0-60mph 5.6 secs Top speed 160mph Mpg 13 Price new £12,929
This article originally appeared in the January 2009 issue of Classic & Sports Car magazine, which retains the copyright to all words and images. Please read our copyright terms and conditions.
Words: Martin Buckley; pictures: Tony Baker
James Elliott
James Elliott is a former Editor of Classic & Sports Car