is just STUNNING! WOW!
Looks very nice indeed. I've never seen a Ghibli with the alternator mounted that way before. On power steering cars that I've seen, the pump occupies the place of the alternator and the alternator is located on a cast bracket that attaches to the front end of the intake cam cover. On this car the alternator appears to turn in the opposite direction.
I've never met Ivan "the car nut", but I sure would like to some day. He has turned out some incredibly nice Maseratis over the years.
Ivan Ruiz is one helluva great guy. I've me him and seen alot of his other masers that he's had. He is local to me and comes and brings 1 or 2 of his toys to our Atlanta Italian Car Day show. The next show is October 9th and he probably will bring the Spider and probably (as he usually does) wins best in class and/or best of show. You couldn't meet a nicer more humble person. JD
Properly restored, worth every penny. One of the most beautiful spiders ever made. I would be all over that if the money was there.
Might be worth every penny............Until a price is listed, I'm still guessing it must be a giveaway, and worth every penny of $0. I absolutely DESPISE that strategy, in case that's just not quite evident enough. I would have loved to have picked up Ivan's blue Vignale Spyder he did a while back, so certainly not a knock on his talent - just the sales approach on this one....and if the Ghibli wasn't red.........<sigh>
I guess it's the "If you have to ask, you can't afford it" approach. I think he should get in touch with Jay Leno - I don't recall seeing a Ghibli in Jay's collection & he absolutely needs one.
Nope. It's the pretense of implying it. Reeks of deceit from before I don't bother to call. Yes, I've potentially missed several good cars, but I'm not going to waste my time doing the dance if they make me fell like they're sizing me up for a con.
I believe in the past that if it's Ivan's car he lists an asking price but if he is selling it for someone else he doesn't list it if the owners don't want it listed. When looking at ads I usually blow right by the ones that don't have an asking price, (especially dealers), even for cheap cars. I immediately think "games" or "bait and switch". (In Ivan's case I don't).
No pretense, no arrogance, nothing like that. When you have something that is 1) that rare, and 2) that desirable, you can't just put a price on it; there is not enough "market" to define a price expectation, and listing an asking price only limits fairness to either the buyer or the seller. Instead, you might take offers, or talk with potential buyers, hold a private auction, public auction, or whatever, and the deal that is reached sets a milestone or marker in the market. When you are selling a 911 or 348, you have plenty of examples to go by and there is an identifiable "market value" for such a car; but how often to genuine Ghibli Spiders go up for sale? If it's something like once per year (or less), you can't rely on the last few sales -- which might stretch back over several years, various countries, economic and/or political conditions, and shifts in popularity of certain models -- to pre-set an asking price. And with a car like that, the chances are that one or more of the more recent sales may have been conducted privately, and the actual selling price may not be made available. So there is really not enough existing "market", and each individual sale is notable. The potential buyers for this car have money and want the car, and are spending their play money on their own free will; the seller has every right to take or refuse the best offer. It might be higher than recent recorded sales, and it might be lower. The car is worth whatever price a buyer and seller can agree to, and pre-setting that is unfairly limiting in either direction. Now if someone selling a more plentiful, less-desirable exotic doesn't post a price, I just assume he's either asking too much, or wants to see if he can find a sucker. In that case -- i.e. someone selling a common/less-desirable exotic doesn't want to talk price until they "gauge" the buyer -- well, they can keep their car.
Actually the alternator mounted backwards was quite common on the US delivered cars. Below are photos of four additional Ghibli with the alternator mounted this way. It is true that an alternator does not care which way it rotates, the only difference is in the pulley fins which are used for cooling the alternator as it rotates. There is usually an arrow stamped on the fins which indicate the intended rotation. Ivan Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I too generally do not like car ads that do not have a price but in this case I also have to think of the buyer. Many buyers in this price range do not like people (wife, IRS, etc) to know how much they are paying for their toys. We all know approximately what a Ghibli spyder sells for and anyone that knows me knows that I do not ask unrealistic high prices. Not to say I am the Walmart of vintage Maserati GT cars but if you want to do this on a regular basis overpricing your cars is not a smart strategy. One thing I definitely refuse to do is get into a bidding war between potential buyers. That belongs on ebay or a live auction and not in a private sale. Yesterday I received a deposit on the car. It does not mean the car is sold, but for now it is off the market until he completed whatever he wants to check out. Ivan
Ivan, Bring it to ICD and get a Best of Show... You'll increse its value just a bit anyways, would sure like to see it in the flesh Jeff
I decided to keep the Ghibli spyder as it simply looks too good next to the Mistral and Vignale spyders to let it go. Drove it this weekend to the EuroAuto Festival which is held yearly at the BMW factory in Spartangburg, South Carolina. Weather could have not been better! Round trip was a little over 400 miles and the car behaved extremely well. BTW; car behind me is a very nicely restored Iso Grifo, best one I have seem. Ivan Image Unavailable, Please Login
I am JEALOUS! You did the right thing to hang onto the Ghibli. Nice ones don't come along very often. The Grifo is another I would love to have.
