Maserati Khamsin

I was browsing through the used book section of a book store and came across a two volume set that appeared to be Maserati marketing material from the mid-to-late 1980's. The books had red covers, were each about 300 mm tall by 200 wide by 15 mm thick. They contained many black and white photos and historical descriptions of Maserati race cars and road going cars right up through the Biturbo era. There was also a Biturbo sales brochure tucked into the pages.

Priced at U$D 125 for the two volume set, I hid them behind some other books on a low shelf, (for safe keeping while I think about it). I'll probably go back tomorrow to buy them.

One of the photos shows a Khamsin with what appears to be late Indy taillights. What do we make of this?
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Looks like those are photo's of 004 to me. Also the body-work and rear bumper are different from normal production K's.

Sounds like a nice publication you stumbled upon.

 

Hi Carmine
It is posible to have the handle backing done in cast ally . you can already buy the backing for the boot/petrol cap in cast ally.
Cast stainlees is what they make the handels for the 2000 alfa Spider/Ferrari handels from.

Regards
Graeme

 

Yes that is 004 Carmine, two shots form the original September 1973 photoshoot on the Avigliana golf course near Turin by Bertone's PR Gaimbeppe Panico. As can be seen in other photos from that shoot the hood badge is not yet on the car but will be by the time the car is shown in the Turin salon for its world premiere.

You should buy that pair of books -the catalogue raisonné if I am not mistaken I don't have my copy here- which should include their slip case. They are by now quite obsolete but constituting a Maserati library is far more interesting and challenging than the Ferrari or Porsche equivalent since so few books ever came out in the past.

best regards,

Marc
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Just spent a little time scratching around on the Maserati factory website. The section on their past is not quite what I'd expect.

On the Khamsin I read there that in 1979 engine output was reduced to 280 HP.

That's new to me, butwhy was this done, and how was it achieved?

 

Marc, so you say it was 004 and "Fore!" ?

 

Hi all,
when 024 was registered in Germany in 1976 it also had 280HP put in its official papers. 058 is registered in with 202 kW which corresponds to 275HP. Both cars are built with Italian market specification. Top speed in the same documents 250 for 024 and 256 for 058.
And there is more confusion: Some of the factory marketing material states 320HP and 275km/h top speed. Some other period material also from an authorised dealership and apparently factory published says 280HP and 275km/h.
And more: The official document of homologation "Certificato n. 15463 OM" says 278HP and 250km/h.
I heard it was not unusual to do some maquillage to these figures in the marketing material. Anybody knows the truth here?
Best regards, Otto

 

Otto,

Just speculating here, but it may have something to do with the then prevalent DIN methods becoming more wisely used as the norm.

The factory write-up speaks of a magazine testing the Khamsin at 272km/h. I do not have the documentation here to see what in the engine specs has changed over the production span of the Khamsin, let alone the engine, if one includes the Ghibli SS, of which the same text tells that it was taken for K production. Whilst this may be true in general terms, I believe that the Ghibli had different combustion chambers, for instance, but there will be more learned people here to point those differences out.

So, by the looks of it I got robbed of 40 horses, and I want them back

 

I understood it to be over 275bhp. Possibly 320? but until the 1980's there was no ned to quote accurate power so most of it was invented for marketing purposes!

Top speed though! 275kph or 171mph! Not a chance!
250kph or 155mph. mmmmmmm I recall a post on here saying they got their car to 160mph.

It certainly is a 150mph car although I have still to drive at that speed in my car although been close. Properly tuned cars in ideal conditions can be quite different to the average, but physics prevails! As a very very rough rule of thumb each extra mph above 100mph is about 5bhp.

 

Hello all,

To answer Jack's question when I asked Cozza the very same he responded that the tool used to adjust power to satisfy emissions demands was...a pen (virtually speaking)! He stated that all they changed was the figures in the brochures to pretend they had worked on emissions. Remember that hard to believe as it may seem this was three and a half decades ago Italy not Japan 2012.

He also stated that the Khamsin engine is the same as a Ghibli SS engine and that when they had measured the power of the Ghibli SS engine at 330 it was done with exhausts that gave it a higher figure and this figure was also measured in that other method one of you alludes to. As far as I know the power is 320hp.

Regarding top speed that German magazine did record 272 plus:

http://www.maseratikhamsinregistry.com/art_101.html

Go to bottom of the page to click on to the next ones. Go to the very last page for the performance chart which needs no translation. Needless to say they did not rely on the speedometers but used proper equipment or stop watches. It is one of two German articles quoting that figure the other one being Motor Revue.

Regarding top speed H in Zurich saw 280kph indicated on his two Euro K's in recent years, quite a few others have said so too, the Frenchman who is restoring 050 who really used to drive fast says he was stuck side by side with a 355 at top speed for a while many years ago and I saw 160mph indicated on my US K 26 times (I did not count but you don't forget) however as some have pointed out Italian speedometers are notoriously optimistic.

I can't wait to go out on an Autobahn with a healthy Euro 5 speed and a GPS since I am convinced that it will do 270kph however the problem is that the V8 is not meant to be revved very long at high revs which is why in immature moments I dream of a six speed or at least one with different top ratios.

It feels very stable at top speed you can let go of the wheel.

To be clear a US K has a lower diff ratio and is therefore slower plus those ridiculous reburning exhausts get red hot and the heat travels back up to the block so your water temperature jumps 10 degrees.

A US automatic has a top speed about 50kph lower than a Euro 5 speed because the slush box has a lower top ratio as well.

It is apparently not aerodynamic because one designer (not Gandini) told me he snuck his into a windtunnel owned or rented by the manufacturer he works for and the figures were not good at all, mostly due to the underside. It would be interesting to visualize the turbulence at the back but that can be done with strips of cotton taped to the car.

best regards,

Marc

PS: Carmine sorry I don't understand Noe yawk humor

 

Marc,

One thing was done to fool the authorities: Some of us with late cars have an actual smog pump, on reactor-less cars with otherwise complete Euro specifications, including the headers. The point eluded me until I read your above post. I don't feel robbed anymore I am old school, and the 300HP figure was what separated the men from the boys, anything over and above was supercar territory.

Is it fair to state that Ghibli SS and Khamsin engines are identical then, and all parts interchangeable? Just asking for bragging rights, as it brings us a little closer to the 450S

Yes, the Khamsin underside is a mess for aerodynamics. The only thing that makes the Khamsin appear very slippery is its' profile. Nevertheless, a Ferrari 365 GTC/4 didn't get to 272, and what was the top of a Lambo Jarama? Those are the only two I can think of, and the K certainly stacked up well in that company, even with 4 cylinders short. (I still have to get used to that V-8 sound though)

Some more questions, but will post separately.

Thank you Gentlemen!

 

Can we do some maths here!

Final drive = 3.31. 5th is .89 tyre and wheel size is 215/50/15 = 26.9''
therefore =27.16mph/1000 rpm

250km = 155mph = 5700 rpm
260 = 162 = 5965
273 = 170 = 6260
280 = 174 = 6400

If max power is at 5500rpm or 5100 according to the German magazine then the engine is running well above that to get to these speeds? Having driven regularily above 150mph in the old days in a variety of cars, i do know that some cars in some conditions have a better day and go at a speed ou may never repeat, usually downhil though!
if the speedo overreads by up to 10% which was the EEC max allowed even then, 145= 160mph
I have driven at 174mph before and am afraid, even with a newly rebuilt engine now of 5200cc with stainless exhaust etc that my K isn't and never will be a 280km car!
I reckon it will pull 150mph plus but not by much and would need a long piece of road to find that.

 

First I assume it was a typo the correct tire size is 215/70/15.

You don't need to do the math, simply look in the owners manual. All the numbers are there for anyone to see. To reach the speeds that people are claiming you would have to take the RPMs over 6,000.

As a side note, I have used my GPS in Ghibli SS #2110 amazingly the Speedo is only off by 3 mph. I've used it in modern cars that are off by more.

 

hi

I agree that the handbook says what the gearing is although there are two final drive ratios for the Khamsin.
I also tested my speedo against a GPS and the old tradional way of marker posts and a stopwatch. Mine overreads but not by 10%. Approx 4mph.
Keeping an eye on a speedo and doing 130mph is dangerous! lol
Best the passenger does that...but then the weight.....
Marc wants me to do a max speed autobhan run and video it. Am keen to do so too, but need to get over there. We have some max speed events in the UK. Generally invitation only to airfields.
Wil see what else I can do!!!
Paul

 

The manual uses the Euro spec final drive (3:31) giving a top speed of 236 klm or 146 mph. The US final drive is a 3:77 which gives the car a much lower top speed more like 130 mph. The auto transmission cars have a 3:07 final with a top speed 139 mph. Now if you put the auto final drive in a 5 speed you may reach those kind of numbers.

 

Like any other Italian car I have owned, you run out of revs. That said, doesn't the factory also state that it is allowed to exceed 5500, but not for long periods of time? (quite a different experience from screaming along in my 308 @ 8500)

 

Of course you can get to 6000 and even a little more as I did but you don't want to stay at those figures for more than a few seconds.

I think some people misunderstand: a top speed run is just that, a few seconds, the times when I did it I would reach that speed and only stay there for 10 seconds max, no point in straining the engine.

There have been a few Autobahn Khamsin engine failures, a handful not many from what I have been told, so even with the best Euro 5 speed and a freshly rebuilt engine on a perfect empty Autobahn I would not stay at top speed more than a few moments.

One other thing. my interviews of factory oldtimers for the book (there are 75000 words just of interviews) revealed that there were assembly errors quite often and so for a Euro diff or auto spec diff to end up in a US K or Euro 5 speed K would not be extraordinary at all and to be clear this would not be indicated in the car's production documents. Again this was Italy 1970's not Japan 2012 and while Citroën reorganized the factory very extensively and industrialized the manufacturing process there were still errors and also sometimes parts ran out so the next available was fitted. This needs to be considered with the context of the time. Bertocchi sr who was head of the test driving department was notorious for curing a car with a problem only if it went to a dealer that was amongst his friends if it went abroad he would say to the test driver "lascia cosi" leave it as it is and sign it off as ready for delivery...this was confirmed to me by Rosario Cammarda, Ermanno Cozza, Cleto Grandi and Giancarlo Martinelli. Bertocchi had a tendency to do as he pleased...including stealing parts until he was fired.

best regards,

Marc

 

I've done the same in my Bora. It still pulls quite nicely at 6,000 too! The 5,500 is the "you can do it all day long" number but where? LOL

 

Hi Bob!

Well the only time I went that fast in a Bora (apart of Group 4 #3000) was in the Nevada desert on route 50 12 years ago during Maser Miglia. I was just a passenger though with George Perfect driving in Muizelaar's car. It felt very stable but our hearts skipped a beat when we saw a police car going the other way...but thankfully we realized it was just a freight inspector or some such not an actual policeman!

best regards,

Marc

 

Hi Marc and Bob

This event was held in the Country areas of Victoria and had "stages" marked as "have a nice Drive" which were virtually closed road stages. 403 would regularly sit between 5,500 and 6,000 over the stage and with the tyres on at that point would equate to 150 plus. Just amazing how stable and direct the car was.

This was in the days of Biturbos and hotted up ones and they had no hope of staying with a Khamsin, that was then and fond memories.

Graeme

 

I'll be seeing Paul in Monterey this year. I'm suppose to be driving one of his cars there!

Yes Route 50, "The loneliest Road in America". God what a gorgeous drive for a Maserati GT car. I've done it many a time.

 

Hi Bob and Graeme,

Yep the desert, any desert is a good place for these cars and at speed you don't feel the heat I drove Ivan's Ghibli spyder over 200 miles one afternoon which was very pleasant and route 50 remains a wonderful memory. During that Maser Miglia from Denver to Monterey, no less than 1300 miles 2000kms 18 classic Maseratis all finished which was good to see. No K's but we had a Denver car at the initial barbecue and Sam Dibitonto from Reno joined us for dinner there with his.

Enjoy Monterey Bob hopefully a few more K's than usual will show up for the anniversary, I know MIE has tried to rouse them.

best regards,

MS

 

Took these and not had a chance to post as just took out a subscription!
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Very nice Paul, it is a shade lighter than before isn't it?

Not as light as the prototype which I found stunning and not as dark as 325 (which is oro Longchamps), interesting. I definitely think gold is one of the very best colors for it.

best regards,

Marc

 

Hi Marc

We put a bit more metalic silver in it. It looks a bit lighter and brighter

The original colour for the car is quite a bit darker more of a chocolaty gold!

Hopefully you will see it soon!

Paul