A what!?!?!

We get a call to do a Maserati Khamsin. A Maserati what.....LOL!

What an awesome car! Here are a few pics.
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This ain't no disco. Etc.

 

The asymetrical hood must be real. I don't see anything else as strange as to say it is not authentic?

They are strange enough to begin with aren't they? By virtue of their rareness?

I personally think that thier styling hit the mark.

 

Are you for real?

I know it's a slow news day?

 

I guess my enthusiasm for this car got the best of me. I’ve never seen one before. I was told there are maybe 50 – 60 in the US.

I thought it awkward looking at first but was in love about two hours later.

"I personally think that thier styling hit the mark." - I agree.


My apologize if this is old news.

 

Not old news. Just rarely read.


These are real masers and (I think) the last in that time line.



I'm not looking for a fight. I love the current Masers and are delighed that we can purchase a new one.




The Ghibli is more to my liking but it's successor is worthy.

 

No need to apologize. I understood what you were saying before I even clicked on the thread. You got a call to detail a Maserati Khamsin and have never heard of one before...now you're in love! Looks like a really, really nice Khamsin

 

This has to be the car that Ivan Ruiz just sold, as nice a car as I have seen come on the market in the Us in a long time excepting one that was restored near New York a couple of years ago.

For more information you may enjoy looking at my website:

www.maseratikhamsinregistry.com

Yes of the 155 Khamsin's sold in the US, 100 of which were manual and 55 automatic, I believe that only about 50 or 60 5 speeds are left in the US due to cars being sold to Europe in the 80's, cars destroyed or abandoned.

As you noted it has a very special distinctive character...I sold mine 2 months ago and feel like I sold my daughter for 50 camels...but I may well go see my "daughter" in January

Best regards,

Marc

 

I don't know much about the car.

I do know it was purchased very recently from Georgia and delivered to Southern California this week.

The red badge in the engine bay reads - "No 550038".

I would have loved the chance to have driven it!

 

TIGER SHARK!

 

I agree that has to be one of the nicest Khamsins. Not the best color for this car, this design looks even better dressed in wild colors similar to Lamborghini IMO. Still very very nice.

 

That's it: Ivan is in Atlanta.

I also think -but need to verify it- that this could the mystery Palm Beach black Khamsin that John Temerian sr has been telling me about for years.

 

beautiful Khamsin...great rare cars. I once owned a '78 that was originally purchased by Vida Blue (Oakland A's star at the time). Very cool car.

 

That's interesting as I saw his car parked outside the A's Stadium many times.

 

here is a photo of me driving it home from Reno to Walnut Creek many years ago. I sold it to then..Highline Motors in L.A. I drove it regularly and it was loads of fun! photo sucks.....it is a photo of an old BAD photo...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21222315@N07/2148194906/

unfortunately it was a US model with big bumpers and AUTOMATIC

still fun to drive, I enjoyed it for years of high speed straightline driving...not that great in the twisty's, but very fast!

 

http://stableltd.com/featured.aspx?id=739

how similar is it to this??? clearly not as good looking.

 

Bora's rock! Gorgeous and little more performance oriented than the Khamsin, but the Khamsin is longer..2+2 seating...lol!, and one of Marcello Gandini's great designs. Gandini is a definitely a favorite of mine and I for one LOVE the look of the Khamsin - Euro versions are WAY cleaner...bumpers, side marker lights, and a manual transmission of course are requirements for a 'cool' Khamsin.

I do remember the maroon/black restored car from a few years back that sold in the $70K range I believe that would have been a great acquisition...believe me if I could have afforded it at the time, I would have bought it in a heartbeat!

 

No one is mentioning the Khamsin's trademark, the glass rear panel, making an owner think twice before removing the US spec bumper for a Euro.. The Mistral remains a personal favourite but the Bora is the one I'd most want to drive. Lovely cars.

 

The clear panel in the of the car was pretty interesting.

Here is a pic from the inside out.
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Great photos Joe, thank you.

 

Ok, first the Khamsin wasn't the 1st car to have the rear glass panel, that was the Lamborghini Espada (also a Gandini design).

2nd you won't lose the rear glass panel when converting to Euro bumpers. The glass panel is still there it just has the tail lights inserted into it as is apparent in the photos.

3rd the Black car does appear to be a nice example but there are a number of things that are not correct on it. Most obvious is that this is a US spec car converted to Euro bumpers. They did not however convert the side marker lights. The Khamsin did not come with black wiper arms. It is hard to tell in the pictures but grills on the hood appear to be painted in body color. These should actually be a somewhat semi gloss dark charcoal grey.

There are a number of other minor things, but all in all it appears to be a very nice car.

Joe
Khamsin # 1226 (Car & Driver Test Car)
Ghibli SS # 2110
Mistral # 1216 (NY Autoshow Car)
Bora # 1046 (Next to last production car)
Islero # 6243
Lele Marlboro # 184 (Geneva Show car)
Mondial Cab # 49713
Laforza # 159

 

The Khamsin is a beautiful design.

 

Ralph - I know you are fond of Khamsin's and I completely understand that. They are now showing Gandini's brilliance with timeless lines and style. Their rarity and coolness make for a great acquisition. No wonder prices are solid and on the rise. I think Maserati made some really beautiful cars. They rarely had an ugly duckling in their line-up..can't always say the same for Ferrari and Lamborghini

I absolutely love the mainstream Maserati's....from 3500GT's, Mistral's, Ghibli's, Khamsin's, Boras, and Merak's,...all beautiful...not to mention some early rare series cars.

We all need one in our collections...

 

A beautiful car, and an excellent shine!

while back, there was a beautiful metallic blue Khamsin listed on .collectorcartraderonline.com, I thought the color really brought out the shape.

 

Yes, that is the black Khamsin I recently sold. The Khamsin is one of those cars that looks MUCH better in person than on photos.

There are additional photos of the car on this webpage: http://thecarnut.com/khamsin75black.html

For those interested in Boras, there are photos of a nice low mileage example on this webpage: http://thecarnut.com/Bora74Copper.html

My current project is a 1970 Ghibli coupe which should be completed in March.

Ivan Ruiz
www.thecarnut.com