Maserati Khamsin

Well we fully agree on this Walter, I pushed as hard as I could to try to get the factory to change their mind but no go. I did really appreciate the factory taking the time to explain the ins and outs of what has to be their position.

Fabio with the many factory permissions needed and obtained, will be one of the judges at KHAMSIN CINQUANTA where we will have well over 20 Khamsins from at least ELEVEN countries .

We had a phone chat yesterday and I teasingly told him that just for him there would maybe be ONE K still in full US market look....except it will stay on a trailer at the side of the Concours so people can see what these looked like. Thankfully in Europe I know only of about 3 or 4 still like this. As mentioned at least 80 of the 155 US Khamsins have been converted.

He said the factory media department was taking an interest in K50 which is very rewarding

Speaking of which I am closing registrations Tuesday so anyone who has not been in touch you know have 4 days left!

 

I suppose removing those ugly but very effective bumpers could be construed as affecting the safety of the car but ... the derivation of the 5 mph bumpers wasn't about safety. People (and insurance companies!) had become incensed by the high repair costs of cars from just a slight tap of the bumpers. So effort was put into coming up with better bumpers that could survive parking lot combat and not incur enormous repair expense. The Federal government mandated it. But these aren't going to make the car any safer in a real accident. That was improved with the idea of controlled crush design to absorb the impact and not transmit it so violently to the passengers. These bumpers are the exact opposite of that but I have to admit that on the Bora they do prevent gas station mishaps from doing any damage. They're also very good for pushing a dead car around.

 

Marc,
yes, but we discussed here the certification process and not the CINQUANTA...

 

You are completely correct in your statement and that should include some of the late US Boras and those bumpers were equally ugly.

 

Hello everyone. I just spotted on eBay that someone is stripping out the Citroen hydraulics from a Merak and has an LHM tank for sale, plus spheres and connector blocks etc under a separate listing.
I believe these are very similar to Khamsin tanks and as the repro ones are so expensive, I thought someone may wish to buy it.It is £195.
I have no connection to the seller, but hope someone may need it.

the item number is 175654469587

all the very best.
Mark.

 

Beware, both items (175654469587 and 175654448366) are "for parts only", even if claiming that the LHM braking system worked before dismantling it to convert to conventional braking system..

I went the difficult route trying resealing my LHM tank: endless task, always leaking after many soldering attempts.
These tanks rust from the inside, due to condensation water (not mixing with LHM) trapped at the bootom.
It's a gamble. Now, if it still works, the price is interesting because these tanks are unobtainium.

For the spheres, they will certainly need restoration (new seals and filling with 50 bars gas) by a Citroen specialist before a safe reassembly.
Probably the same issue concerning the remaining parts (cylinders, connectors, etc.), they better be checked and refurbished with new seals.

 

The aubergine has re-emerged!

It, AM120US1116, appeared out of the blue at Bonhams the Quail auction August 2021, no one seems to have known about it.

Someone in the western US had the "brilliant" idea of asking their painter to make the Ralph Nader bumpers matching color! They had never heard of Euro conversions....

And no it is not a factory color. 1116 was born blue Ischia with white interior.

It failed to sell in the auction and was, predictably bought right after by Peter Kumar of Gullwing Motorcars and now we know the Ghibli garage of Nicola Cinelli in Italy has it. I am not related to this sale. Hopefully it finds a gardener who trims the sprouts;-)!

https://ghibligarage.com/1975-maserati-khamsin

 

pretty color, even if not correct.

 

But not as pretty as blu Ischia!!

 

Interesting color..

I happen to own an original rendering by Bob Grossman of a Khamsin .. in purple.

w/Euro bumpers, thankfully.

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So after many months I finally have time to tell an unusual little tale.

When I was in Arizona in November for my Octane Magazine test drives of the 2 450S; #4504 and the Costin Zagato berlinetta as well as the 250 GTO #5575GT I also had the chance got to meet some great characters.

Harley Cluxton III of Le Mans Mirage fame hosted me in his incredible Scottsdale lair and showed me his cars and memorabilia, no Maserati content but still mind boggling. We vaguely spoke of going to lunch at 11:30 but by 2:30 PM we were still talking in his office!...and I had to go to my next appointment! An incredible character with an endless supply of -very- colorful tales who, small world, is a great friend of my remote uncle in law twice Le Mans winner Gerard Larrousse and also knew well my 1988 Formula Ford teammate Gil de Ferran future Indy 500 winner, whom I beat every February 29th and Friday the thirteenth;-).

Then a few days later I had a great lunch with Marc Tauber. Marc used to sell new Maseratis in the seventies on the East coast with Bob Grossman and brought sales sheets for various Khamsins he had sold back then. I was able to trace them all; one of these for example is now in Austria with Helmut H. who used to post here occasionally.

But there was one K for which he did not have the chassis number. He had a great tale for it though.

One day in the showroom a couple came in and the man started taking lots of pictures of the statuesque blonde he was with, as stunning as her outfit was tight fitting, leaning all over the cars in dramatic poses.

At first he thought they were tire kickers but the man, Philip J. Lama soon established that he wanted to buy a car for his lady. That day.

Jennifer Welles was a glamorous actress and well not to put too fine a point on it she had become a very successful porn actress and her husband had divorced her because he could no longer cope.
Enter Mr Lama, ten years younger who swept her off her feet and convinced her to stop. It was the right time so she accepted.

Apart of a new house the car was to be her big gift...so he asked her to look at the various models and after a few minutes she stated that she wanted, you guessed it, a Khamsin! She had taste!

They asked what colors where available so Marc suggested they head to the warehouse a couple of miles away.

There her beautiful eyes immediately settled on a gold Khamsin with black interior and automatic gearbox.

Marc had the chassis numbers for all the other K's he sold except for this one...but Fabio Collina at the factory confirmed to me that only one K was sold in the US with those specs: it was AM120US1264.
Welles kept the car a few years then resold it. She passed away, small world, in Arizona, in 2018.

1264 has been in Germany for some years and I saw it in August 2009 at the Oldtimer GP at the Nurgburgring, repainted black.

It was owned by a young man with snake skin cowboy boots (!) as common in Europe as Eskimos in Texas. Oddly it had a wooden steering wheel, who knows if this was requested by Welles post sale or fitted much later. He told me a top speed run with the automatic and the US reburning exhausts had to be aborted very quickly as temperatures rose alarmingly.

In later years the car was resold, again in Germany, and restored very well back to gold, no doubt with proper Euro exhausts.

Here some photos of that day in 2009, then the restoration back to gold and the poster of a more mainstream movie starring Jennifer Welles.

Imagine what a sight she was on the road back then in that stunning futuristic Berlinetta!

I do not know who owns that Khamsin so if anyone does I would appreciate getting in touch with them. I very much doubt they know about the colorful first owner!


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Apart from the wooden steering wheel, there seems to be also an alloy dashboard and console.
Is it an artefact or also an uncommon aftermarket fitting?

 

Just some idea the current owner had. They made those panels from scratch.

A couple of K's were retrofitted with wooden dashboards too ...

 

Hi All, I am mid way through replacing the rotten lower tailgate on my car. I spotted the number 228 stamped in to the inner part. Is this the body number? If so will I find it on all of the bolt on panels??

cheers

 

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Slow progress!!

 

Never seen those numbers. That's a question for Fabio Collina. Actually he would probably not know, Cozza, Grandi or Martinelli might.

Regarding your car nah you are just sandbagging, you will have it ready for K50 near Geneva in two months and 3 days to compete for best restoration !

 

Here are two original b/w pictures of the Khamsin. Also a wallhung piece of art 97x67 cm. It is a poster glued on Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login a cardboard. Staffan Enhörning got this as a gift when visiting the factory in the mind 70’s.

 

That khamsin has a significant rake!
Probably braking downhill as suggested by the picture

 

It is parked. I have that poster, very rare, finally got it about ten years ago. Just an odd angle.

This photo is part of the photoshoot done for the main brochure, the romantic one.

 

Hello Marc

which one of the early K's could this be? I cannot find a match


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Hi Roger,

Factory courtyard photo. It if is silver not sure, too many silver cars. If it is light blue it could 010 now in Toronto, sold new to Kuwait. It is now restored but look at the photo below, taken before restoration, a goofy outer mirror clearly aftermarket hence it left the factory without one. The interior matches too....what do you think?

Second photo post restoration.

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Most probably you are right, just wondered because the person who uploaded it meant it was taken 1977.

Here another shot of probably the same car

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Glad you think so, in any case 010 did the London Motor show as confirmed by Fabio Collina, see my clumsy screen capture of video we discussed here ages ago. The seats match: see photo below before resto.
Interestingly this is the car that had the goofy carpet shown in the main brochure: photo.
Of course in the second photo you post we see an identical twin behind it so the quest never ends!
Yes it is the same car as your first photo: same moment, same location, same shadow angles same white stain on the ground.

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Chatted to Fabio. He thinks it’s probably the Bertone body number. To make sure the right panels were fitted to the right car.

My 330 gt had these from pininfarina. Stamped on the bonnet and boot but chalk on the doors