Driving A 1970 Ghibli Spyder - What Makes Maseratis of This Era So Special?
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- Maserati used to make cars for the very richest and more powerful, it had a reputation to be envied. What made Maseratis from the 60s and 70s so special? Today I drive this 1970 Ghibli Spyder and find out what all the fuss was about!
The Ghibli Coupe is definitely one of the most beautiful cars ever, IMO. Quite simple lines, but very elegant and just perfect proportions.
There is something very optimistic and aspirational about the design of many cars from this era, something that's missing in modern cars.
Sadly soon all gas cars will be illegal in EU and USA!
There is something definitely missing in design today. 😢
May have something to do with the insatiable demand for tall, frumpy SUVs - where even the term SUV is a misnomer.
Straight line and curve styling. Logical, sensible and it can support low drag coefficient design
This swishy bubble car sh!t they are serving up is embarrassing.
Look at rear headroom in lots of SUVs. The regression is real.
It's called ' soul ' the transfer of passion by the designer into product . As there's nothing in c.a.d. ! it's dead, sterile none meaning crap . Products for profits , not passion
Absolutely stunning, what an amazing car. Stunning coachwork and an absolutely beautiful interior. Spyder would definitely be the one to have for GT cruising on a Summer's day without having to worry about Italian AC in the Coupe, plus of course that delicious engine sound.
Hi Jack,
Just a small correction, the Ghibli was designed by Giugiaro, when he was head of Ghia. The later Khamsin was designed by Gandini (and it got rear independant suspention as well).
Stunningly beautiful. Remember being on holiday as a newlywed in 1980 in Oahu, Hawaii, and there was one parked at the hotel. What a treat to see it every day. Living in South Africa, not something I readily saw.
@@peteronay381 That must have cost a lot back then - are you E' Loon Musk's Dad? We, as a family in '72, went to visit my Uncle in Zambia from the UK, had to fly in to Pretoria where he picked us up in his own little plane, flew us all back to Kitwe in the copper belt. My old man moaned about the cost of the BOAC flight to get to RSA for the whole holiday, but that flight was cheap by comparison to getting to Hawaii - are you still paying the loan off?
Correct, I think Giugiaro even owned a Ghibli himself (or maybe he still does).
@@marcelhannover3.. he still does. 🙋🏻♀️🏎️
One of the dream super Cars of my youth, along with the Iso Grifo. Gorgeous. And you literally drove past the House I grew up in, Watford Road!!
Great Video.
Actress Diana Dors had the convertible! A compliment from someone who DID like amazing cars!
My all time number one on the wish list car!! A true beauty!!
What an absolutely beautiful car, inside and out, stunning.
Jack, you never fail to impress with the cars you review. I used to re-tune one of these roughly every two weeks every summer back in the early 80s. it would come in popping and farting and leave sounding like a symphony. the best bit was the road test, especially as I was a long-haired spotty teenager back then 😁
Absolute perfection and beautiful cars! I've Always loved the Ghibli!
I think this is one of the most beautiful grand tourers you've ever reviewed, absolutely phenomenal!
Fabulous car, really nice interior, the fact that it is being compared to the Daytona shows its importance and quality.
Thank you for reviewing the Ghibli. Beautiful car. I would place it in the European automotive elegance trifecta of the 60s and 70s next to Bizzarini GT Strada and Ferrari Daytona.
Absouletly beautiful car! The Italians just hit one home run after another.
Wow. This is one of those cars so gorgeous I remember the moment I first saw one. I was 9 years old and it was in a syndicated forgotten sitcom called 'Love American Style'. Recall nothing of the show but the car burned into my brain forever. I still slightly prefer it over the Ferrari Daytona Spyder.
In other words, a real gentleman’s car.
My dad's friend owned the yellow prototype Ghibli Spyder until he sold it a few years ago at RM Monterey Auction. Really neat car compared to production ones, all kinds of subtle differences.
One of my top 10 most beautiful post war road cars!
Fabulous and such a tasteful and stylish car, I don't think they've bettered it since. Imagine in the early 70's owning that a Range Rover and a Royal Oak watch all design classics!
Every true car guys loves Maseratis, Jack.
This was a fine episode...the challenge now is to get hold of a Bora / Khamsin or (I'm reaching for the stars here) a 300S or 450 S (I know, I know, but divine intervention or blind luck might intervene)
Perhaps some fabulously rich collector has a red 450S as in the video, you could exercise it for him ;)
We are not sure whether Leonardo Fioravanti was inspired by Giorgetto Giugiarp but the are both artists and we shall be thankful that they have been on this earth to create driving art. Marcello off course too and Franco Scaglione and many more…
Looks stunning very nice interior goes very well and sounds great what a maverlouse grand tourer
Wow, stunning! When Maseratis’s we’re soo special! 🙏🏽
Getting Spirited Away in a Ghibli - very nice👍🏻
Hats off to the owner. It's in immaculate condition
A lovely car, used to compare those to a Daytona - you say it's a 4,7 however it says SS everywhere which is the 4,9 - badge engineering on a Maserati?
Another great video, keep them coming
Nice sound. Very elegant looking.
"So un-Italian of you" Oh Jack, you made me spill my drink. Yeah, the parking brake handle, the size of the clock on the dash, the offset of the gear lever...yeah, so un-Italian ;) On the other hand, that thing is stunningly beautiful. It is so much better looking than a coupe, that I didnt even realize it is not the same car. Who cares if drives a bit low-rent. Park it in front of a cafe and watch car guys trip on their own shadows as they pass by. In comparison to that, Daytona looks like Fiero.
Sporty, elegant, super exclusive, powerful, reliable, deliciously sonorous: highly desirable!
I like the doggy reflection at 1:44!
One of the most beautiful convertibles/spyders of the sixties and seventies for my taste. The other candidates would the Aston Martin Volante, the Ferrari Daytona and the Monteverdi Palm Beach.
Such a wonderful car and the best exhaust soundtrack spoiled by a bit of copper slip for the pads.
It's more than copier slip. I had to get 3m rear pad cushions and bevel the pads
I really love the coupe version of this. Most elegant lines.
Daytona vs Ghibli: spyder, the Maserati is better looking, coupe it's the Ferrari. That engine note is beautiful.
Thank you Jack
Wonderful review Jack, these videos are so interesting, thanks 👍
beautiful timeless design
Reminds me of 68-69. I was working as a lot boy at a VW-Porsche- Maserati dealership. In those days the cars came over covered in a wax- like spray that had to be removed before initial service. The wash bay was sized for VW’s and Porsches. I had to fit this behemoth into the wash bay that was only barely big enough! Unfortunately there was also a sink on the side of the bay to rinse rags in. One time as a swung a Ghibli coupe in… well, it was good the dealership also had an in-house body shop. 😮😢😂
As others have pointed out, the Ghibli was designed by Giugiaro, when he was at Ghia.
People poke fun at american cars and yet corvette had independent suspension since 1963. This Maserati seems to be similar in concept of course nicer interior and finish because it's handmade.
Would love it if you could test an AC Frua 428 please Jack?
This car is really beautiful!
Actually Henry Ford tried to buy Maserati, but Omer Orsi hadn’t consider his offer at the time. Just when Argentinian government failed to pay its very high debt to him, that he was forced to sell it to Citroen in 1968.
About the live rear axle suspension, the first series of Quattroporte 1 was originally designed and produced with a more modern De Dion rear suspension, only the post-1965 type was produced with conventional beam rear axle. Surprisingly, Giulio Alfieri, the Maserati’s chief engineer, who was very pragmatic and straightforward, decided to change it to the conventional beam rear axle, as he decreed that was quieter and could be made to handle and ride just as well.
Not only the Ghibli, but also the Mexico and Indy were all based on the Quattroporte 1 series 2 that’s why they’re all produced with efficient, but already outdated beam rear axle.
The Ghibli was designed by Giugiaro while briefly at Ghia - in between leaving Bertone and founding ItalDesign. He also did the DeTomaso Mangusta while he was there. Therefore nothing whatsoever to do with Gandini. Also, Campana did not convert the 125 factory Spyders, they came from the factory as convertible bodies with excellent reinforcement modifications. This black car is beautiful but it's a "cut" coupe, whether done by Campana or anybody else who sawed the roofs off nice coupes in the 70s. I thought all "SS" badged cars were 4.9L, not 4.7. These cars have strong, reliable engines, good suspension, great (for the era) optional power steering. Lots of parts shared with S2 Jaguar E-types like brakes and rear axle. But get a coupe for the proper shape 🙂
Beautiful thing Jack inside and out 👌
I’d have one any day
Maria Cristina Vettore, Italienne, was Mrs Ford, 1965-76. That's why.
That design is fantastic, thinking of all the modern cars it meets on the road...they look interesting like a bag of potatoes in compare.
Stunningly looking car
I had chassis number AM115-870 here in the US, a grey market import. 4.7L coupe, blue over tile red. A beast to drive, very heavy clutch, no power steering, a very elegant truck.. The sound though! It would set off car alarms just driving by. I don't know how original all that wood trim is, mine didn't have that, looks overdone to me.
Beautiful car.
What a beauty
That`s a beautiful car, and it sounds great. Who care`s about anything else?
Style....on wheels 👍
3:34 A very unusual position for the handbrake. I wonder why they put it right there ?
At last, a Gandini without strange rear wheel arches.... the design is stunning, and (imo) better looking than the Daytona
Jack incorrectly attributed the design to Gandini. The Ghibli was designed by Giugiaro who at the time was the lead designer at Ghia.
Thats a great review - wonderful to see the original Ghiibli. I own a GranTurismo S and you can see that Maserati / Ferrari tried to perform an update to the classic with the styling / size / engine / etc. Not a bad attempt but not as pure and graceful as the original Ghibli. Why they didn't call it the Ghibli as well, I dont know. But why they then named a somewhat dissapointing BMW 5-series challenger the Ghibli is even more confusing and almost a travesty!
Interesting how both car design and music were so much better in that era than todays stuff. Now we know that government regulation put a limit on car design but what happened to the music....
Dream car.
I'm uncomfortable with the chrome SS embossed on the black car. 🤔
Maserati at that time benefitted heavily from engineers and workers fed up working for Enzo Ferrari, selling cars to customers also fed up with Ferrari quality issues.
Gee,s The brake squeak is louder than the engine. Get the brakes sorted please, and check the wheel alignment, may improve the steering.
I'm going to just go ahead and like this video before I watch it. Ok with you? At 7:09, on Grange Lane, what the hell snorts?
What a special car
I am Hoping you get to drive a Khamsin.
Very elegant, the coupe is also just as gorgeous. Can you find someone with a Bora?
I’d really love to!
Nice!
Didn't blow up. That's nice. Wolfman jack drove one in stridex? Commercial. 70's Lol.
With the 'orsi family in charge it was bound to be a stable period!
Looks wise, timeless, great sound, and it must have been totally sensational when launched. That interior isn't original in all its details, with some added bits of wood. I seem to remember the convertibles had dual level floors, unlike the coupes. Wonder how that's been addressed if you went to Campana with your coupe.
It is NOT a Gandini design! Correct that. It was styled by Giugiaro while he was at Ghia. Love your channel but you should do proper research.
Correct - and insulting to Giugiaro, as it was one of his best designs.
To Alistair Faults. Styled by Giugaro? When he still styled beautiful cars, and not (claimed aerodynamic) bricks
Wow!❤
Lovely car but I’d guessed less than 100k not 200k they are advertised for!
You won't find one for under 250 sterling
From a time when ideas of dream cars, schoolboy aspirations and future Space travel were all coincident!
If were going to drive cars on Mars one day……this what they’d LOOK like. Never mind that it’s a convertible! 😂
I'd be afraid to drive that car around town in traffic.
What does the term DRY SUMPED mean?
dommage que la Ghibi coupé et spider n est pas sorti uvec le moteurde competition tipo 6400 , v8 6468 cm3 , 110 x85 mm ( 580 ch en competition ) une version sage de 5340 cm3 100 x85 mm 350 ch et 6468 cm3 110 x85 mm de 400 ch
The Ghibli was designed by Giugiaro, not Gandini.
Nice looking car another old car that puts modern car design to shame .Be interesting to see how much one was worth by the mid 80s and how much they are worth now
Ghibliman, ghibliman, does whatever a ghibli can (lol).
Exceptional and stunning car,even if it is a conversion of a fantastic Ghibli coupè. If this is a 4.7 liter it can't be an SS,because the SS was only the 5000 (with 4.9 engine). The 4.9 engine developed only 5 bhp more than the 4.7 (330 bhp for the 4.7 and 335 for the 4.9) but the 4.9 had more torque and was ideal for the automatic gearbox,that was a typical request in the U.S. market. The steering wheel is the original one but is covered of veneer instead of natural wood. Anyway this is a magnificent car,in my opinion one of the most refined and elegant granturismos ever. My father had several Maseratis and when I was a child we used to go in Greece for summer holidays. We always left home with two cars,my mother with the Lancia Flavia full of luggage and my father with the Maserati,and we stopped in Modena where he used to leave the car for the annual service... Than the trip proceeded to Ancona with the Lancia to embark in the ferry boat to Greece and the Maserati was withdrawed weeks later,when we came back.For me and my brother that was the top of our holiday,we were taken for a tour of the factory and we always met the chief tester,Mr.Guerino Bertocchi,that was the chief mechanic of Fangio in the F1 Maserati team and also had been a F1 driver for Maserati. He tested all the new cars and he always took me and my brother for a ride in a brand new Ghibli. We were both sitting on the passenger seat and he was driving for about 20 minutes or half an hour at incredible speed in the streets around Modena. Happy times,today nobody can take children for a ride at more than 200 km/h,but my father thought he was a fantastic driver,and there was no traffic so this remained as an unforgettable experience for us. I remember those Ghiblis,there were always three or four ready at the end of the production line,they had the colors of that era,not only metallic silver or metallic blue,but also Modena yellow or orange....The seats were covered by cellophane and they had the smell of a new car.Maybe this is the reason why I consider this as the most beautiful,streamlined and elegant car of all time.Unfortunately my father never had one,because he needed a four seater as the Mexico and the Indy,and I lost the opportunity to buy a coupè some years ago....Great video,Giacomo,as always.
🔱
Ahh. Jack. Giacomo. I geddit.
@@elroyfudbucker6806 🤣🤣🤣 he is the man!!
A great road test comparison to get your hands on was in Car&Driver (I think) from about 1967. It was called, "The $64,000 Road Test" and compared the Ferrari 275 GTB/4, Aston Martin DBS, Maserati Ghibli and Lamborghini 400GT. Some of the testers were world renowned drivers of the time. Excellent read. I still have the original in a box somewhere in our basement! All four of these cars are among the most beautiful automobiles ever produced. But each one needs to be experienced in person for their beauty to be fully appreciated. They come from a time when rolling art, or automotive porn (whichever term you prefer) was at its zenith. A few other cars from this era also must be included in the conversation: Lamborghini Miura, Iso Grifo, Monteverdi 375, AC 428. Aston Martin DBSV8, Ferrari Daytona (365 GTB/4)... Twenty years ago, I was fortunate to have been able to obtain a 1970's Aston Martin V8 manual. It's still a truly awesome and rewarding car to drive, but it would love to have a Ghibli like this as a 'garage mate'!
Prettier than the Daytona Spyder in my opinion. Prettier than most, in fact. And sounds wonderful.
Agreed! Personally, I've never really liked the Daytona that much, always found the indicators too big
I agree too, much more elegant.
I’m pretty sure all the Daytonas were hardtop from factory and made convertible later
@@peanutbutterpadre1519 Not all of them. A factory convertible was produced, though in smaller numbers than the coupe’s I think (without referring to Wikipedia). However, many coupe’s were subsequently converted…the factory original convertibles command a significant premium over the modified cars.
Agreed
That is the definition of automotive art.
Wow. You got your hands on an original Ghibli Spider.
That car is a moving work of art. It's one of the most drop dead gorgeous cars ever made.
Every car designer should be made to spend a month studying this, and then told "If you can't produce something at least as beautiful, don't bother".
This is Marilyn Monroe in metal. Sadly, you'll never see the like of it ever again now that the SUV disease has infected the motor industry.
Well, it’s a Spyder conversion…as Jack explained in the vid.
@@baasbowing ... he also said that technically, they all were, including the "original" ones ... :)
@@Calilasseia The statement that all Ghibli spyders were "converted" is absolutely incorrect. Different from the Daytona spiders, the Ghibli spyders were meant from birth to be a convertible. The original spyders were not converted by Campana or anyone else. Ghia built the spyders on frames designed for the spyders, which included differences such as double floors. I've owned 6 original spyders and still own one today. And yes, they are great cars!
Such a beautiful car and so well designed. The engine sounds so sweet, just right.Yes Maserati had problems but their cars of this era are so well thought through with just the odd blip (hand brake!). Thank you Jack for bringing us another gem. 👍👍
Love the new format 😊
Maserati made the best cars in the world? That's debatable.
Love it, my dad had a Maserati Indy America here in Australia many years ago, what a car that was👌
What a beautiful creation. Huge thanks to the owner Mark for letting us ogle at it.
My pleasure it will be my AC 428 next
@@markgreen4234 Looking forward to THAT!
@@markgreen4234 post a link when you do!
This car has incredible lines, love it.
I’ve been a poster on Ferrarichat for 20 years, have owned several carbureted Ferrari’s from that era, but recently I bought a 1980 Maserati Merak SS, and I’ve driven an early Ghibli. These cars are FAR better to take on long drives, better seating, and for the late Merak, handles better than a 308. That said, they are totally different cars and IMO, you need one of each to properly scratch the itch depending on what your itch is that day. They are both just that good
WOW what a fantastic looking motor! ....not sure black would be my choice but is definitely a beautiful car.
You're knocking it out the park with the contents Jack, well done buddy..... keep it coming 💪👍
Squeaky brakes 🙄
probaly not used enough !!
Excellent, thanks Jack. That is one beautifully styled vehicle, it sounds fantastic not over the top loud but really "hairy chested" and "ballsy". The styling so typical of it's time and my 20's, just love it. Thank you for the ride.
To me, these are quite a bit more beautiful than the Daytona, which I always found to be a bit plumb. This seems more modern than the Daytona. A very nice car, even if I find the coupe even more appealing.
The Daytona was an Italian Copy of the C3 Corvette!
@@Schlipperschlopper Stevie Wonder has better eyesight than you
Please test of a Honda S600 Spider 1960s!
Jack, does it drive like a hot desert wind? Looks gorgeous
A stunning design, among the top 10 of beautiful cars ( Miura, Dino, Mangusta, E type, Stratos etc) but when I met someone who owned one and i was drooling over it, his first comment was "It drives like a truck". Having driven around in it several times, he's pretty much right. Low reving engine, poor steering and antiquated suspension. Among exotics of the time it got worse gas mileage than any of the others. Sure is easy on the eyes though!
Thanks Jack, 8 instruments, leather, manual, 4.7 V8, engine noise, convertible, with great shape & just right for trips away - peak Maserati! 🙏🙏
What a gorgeous droptop the Ghibli Spyder was/is. The sound of the unstressed V8 is also fabulous. Amazed to see a car from that era with fully adjustable steering even telescopically too. I have to agree with you that Maserati succeeded in making a car that easy to own and drive unlike other Italian exotics. But the other surprise was the leaf spring rear suspension. Pity about that. Great video!
Awesome car. Love the design of these. Hopefully one day you can make a video with a coupe. Nice video. Keep up the good work.
My God this car is gorgeous!