1972 Maserati Khamsin (Bertone)

Then Citroën took over Maserati in 1968 plans for the launch of the Indy were so far advanced that they rightly decided to leave 'well alone' and were unable to add any of technical input. Subsequent models like the Bora and the Merak 'benefitted' from Citroën's influence and Maserati's production was steered away from its traditional front engined GTs to these mid/rear-engined sports cars. This left many Maserati customers unhappy at the lack of a luxury GT in the Maserati range and the Casa gave Bertone the task of designing and building a new Granturismo.

The result was the splendid Khamsin, designated Tipo 120 by the factory, a car designed by one of Bertone's more talented young designers, Marcello Gandini.

Introduced as the successor the Indy, the Khamsin was built on a tubular chassis with the same 2550 mm wheelbase as the Ghibli and with its engine mounted behind the front axle it gave the car excellent road handling.

Gandini's design had many interesting features including a distinct asymmetric louvred grille on the bonnet, a rear almost horizontal tailgate, a rear glass panel to allow for better rear visibility and the spare wheel stowed at the front of the car under the radiator.

The interior of the Khamsin, with seating finished in leather, afforded excellent comfort for the driver and front passenger but headroom and legroom in the rear was restricted. There was ample luggage space, with easy access via the tail gate, mainly due to the twin fuel tanks with single fuel filler on the right-hand side and the spare tyre being stored under the front radiator. The dashboard had excellent instrumentation and controls with speedometer, rev counter, oil pressure gauge, oil temperature gauge, water temperature gauge, voltmeter, fuel gauge and a variety of rocker switches and warning lights, including one for the braking system.

The reliable four overhead camshaft, two valves per cylinder 5-litre (4930 cc) V8 engine was chosen as the powerplant and produced 320 bhp @ 5500 rpm with an impressive maximum torque figure of 354 lb ft @ 4000 rpm. A five-speed manual ZF gearbox or 3-speed Borg-Warner automatic trasmission was available.

A 1979 road test by Road & Track of a Khamsin, with manual transmission, quoted a top speed of 140 mph and a 0 to 60 mph acceleration figure of 7.3 seconds.

The Khamsin incorporated many interesting features from Citroën's technical department, including a sophisticated hydaulically power-assisted speed-related steering system, a high pressure (2500 psi from an engine driven pump) hydraulic braking system and clutch. Ask any Khamsin owner and they'll tell you that; "it's a great car to drive but the brakes need a little getting used to!"

Suspension was independent double wishbone suspension on all four wheels with twin dampers and coil springs on each rear wheel a là Bora. In line with Maserati's tradition of passenger comfort, the rear differential was mounted on a sub-frame bolted to the chassis with rubber dampers thereby insulating the occupants from transmission noise and vibration.

During its production life, the Khamsin underwent very few changes until 1976/77 when the front of the bonnet received additional louvres, this time symmetric, a re-designed dashboard and a new steering wheel with a large padded centre.

Standard equipment on the Khamsin included air conditioning, full leather interior, tinted electric windows, heated rear window, iodine headlights, hydraulically adjusted reclining front seats with head rests, anti-theft device and radio. Optional extras included automatic transmission and right-hand drive.

If ever a supercar, and the Khamsin was indeed a 'super car', was produced at the wrong time, then surely the Maserati Khamsin was it. Launched at a time when the then owners, Citroën, were about to abandon Maserati, at a time of an energy crisis which saw a huge drop in demand for such gas guzzling V8s and at a time of an unsure future for the 'Casa' which left little opportunity for further development, the Khamsin never had the opportunity of achieving the success, in terms of numbers produced, it merited.

Production over the nine year period from the end of 1973 to 1982 was limited to 435 cars and under more normal circumstances the figure would have been far higher. The 'Catalogue Raisonné' by Gianni Cancellieri quotes production figures for the Khamsin as 5 cars in 1973, 97 in 1974, 69 in 1975, 37 in 1976, 69 in 1977, 72 in 1978, 42 in 1979, 12 in 1980, 11 in 1981 and 3 in 1982 (however the total for these figures does not tally wih the official total production figure of 430 carsof which 71 were right-hand drive).

The Maserati Khamsin was introduced as a prototype in autumn 1972 at the Turin Motor Show, only a few weeks after the launch of the Merak. Intended as a replacement for the Ghibli, Maserati’s Khamsin coupé. At the height of the “wedge shape” design era, the Khamsin was Turin design house Bertone’s first official commission for Maserati. The production model was shown at the following Geneva motor show in March 1973. The design’s clean lines were characterized by a waistline rising gently from the pointed nose to the truncated tail, and were enhanced by innovative details such as the taillights “floating” in a rear transparent panel (unfortunately they had to be modified on the US version to comply with Federal legislation).

The wind lending its name to the new 2+2 coupé was a hot North-African desert gale blowing in Egypt and Libya. The self-supporting body rested on an unchanged 2.55 meter wheelbase, however the rear suspension was entirely new with oscillating trapeziums and differential units mounted in a sub-frame, effectively reducing both noise and vibration. The variable steering assistance was shared with the Citroën SM, as were other high-pressure hydraulics applications: brakes, clutch, pop-up headlights and driver seat adjustment. The spare wheel was fitted behind a trap door underneath the front bumper. By the time Khamsin deliveries started in 1974 both the Ghibli and Mexico had been phased out. It remained in production until 1982, with the 4.9 liter dry-sump V8 from the Ghibli SS as the sole engine choice.

German magazine Motor Revue achieved 272.2 kph (170 mph) before the unit was detuned from 320 hp to 280 hp in 1979, after which the top speed stood at 250 kph (156mph). One of the 435 cars assembled was delivered to Luciano Benetton in 1981. A subtle restyle added a small three-slot grille at the front in 1977.

Этот автомобиль получил свое имя в честь дующего только в Египте сезонного ветра. Он был создан в качестве преемника модели Ghibli, также имеющей название ветра, и модели Indy. Впервые Maserati заказала кузов фирме Bertone и впервые в конструкции машины с передним двигателем она применила независимую заднюю подвеску, рычаги и пружины которой аналогичны используемым в передней подвеске. Над дизайном кузова работал Марчелло Гандини (Marcello Gandini), создавший футуристический автомобиль Lamborghini Espada ("Ламборгини Эспада").

Как и в конструкции Bora и Merak, в устройстве машины Khamsin явно прослеживалось влияние Citroen, в частности использовалась гидравлическая система высокого давления для привода тормозов и усилитель рулевого механизма. В остальном же конструкция была традиционной для Maserati: передний двигатель V8 с четырьмя распредвалами и задние ведущие колеса при 5-ступенчатой коробке передач ZF или 3-ступенчатой автоматической Borg-Warner. Очень жесткая работа гидравлической системы приводила к тому, что даже опытные водители могли непреднамеренно заблокировать колеса при торможении. Усилитель рулевого механизма работал с переменной степенью усиления в зависимости от скорости движения.

И все же главной особенностью Khamsin следует признать дизайн кузова. Компания Bertone придала машине подчеркнуто заостренные переднюю и заднюю части. На боковинах ее кузова находится складка, проходящая с подъемом от верхней части передней надколесной арки к задней части кузова. Боковое заднее окно также свидетельствует о стиле Bertone.

Как и в случае с моделью Merak, компания Maserati считала, что Khamsin имеет салон 2+2. Но из-за очень тесного заднего сиденья и низкого потолка над ним фактически число мест составляло 2+1. С 5-литровым двигателем V8 автомобиль развивал скорость 257 км/ч, разгонялся с места до 96 км/ч за 8 с и обладал хорошей управляемостью благодаря примерно равному распределению нагрузки на передние и задние колеса.

Скорее всего, если бы ходовая часть машины была лучше проработана, если бы не наступил энергетический кризис и если бы финансовое положение компании не оставляло желать лучшего, модель Khamsin пользовалась бы успехом. Но получилось так, что в конце 70-х гг. ее продажи резко сократились и за 9 лет суммарный объем производства составил всего 421 автомобиль. Самым удачным был 1974 г., когда поступили заказы на 96 Khamsin.