1969 Maserati Ghibli Coupe

In its long and illustrious history, Maserati has produced some of the most desirable sports cars of all time and high on anybody's list would be the sensational Ghibli. Debuting at the 1966 Turin Salon, the Ghibli was styled by Giorgetto Giugiario whilst working for the Italian studio Ghia and was a sublime piece of design, simultaneously aggressive, elegant and remains, to many eyes, one of the most beautiful front-engined GT cars ever built. Named after a hot desert wind, the Ghibli was powered by a race-derived quad-cam light alloy V8, displacing some 4.7-litres and developing a healthy 340bhp. Fed by four Weber 38DCNL (later 42DCNF) carburettors and featuring a dry sump lubrication system to allow for a lower bonnet line, the V8 delivered its power to the rear wheels via a ZF five-speed transmission and a Salisbury rear axle with semi-elliptic springs. The Ghibli was described by Car & Driver as ?The In Car of 1968? and in doing so, robbed the exotic Lamborghini Miura of this title. The interior was in keeping with the bespoke nature of the Maserati, beautifully trimmed in leather hides, with full instrumentation and luxury touches like air conditioning and power windows. Production figures for the Ghibli remain a little vague but it would seem no more than 1,300 examples were built between 1967 and 1972. With all the looks, performance and rarity of the contemporary Ferrari Daytona, the Ghibli has remained something of a supercar bargain but the recent reversal in the Trident's fortunes has seen renewed appreciation for the classic models and for many, the Ghibli is the finest road going Maserati of all.