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Maserati 3500GT and Spyder (1957 - 1964) (Classics Reviews)
When the Maserati 3500GT hit the market in 1957, Ferrari found itself fighting with a fearsome foe that was based locally, for honours in the supercar market. The car signalled Maserati’s move into Ferrari’s patch, producing some of the world’s -
Maserati Sebring (1963 - 1969) (Classics Reviews)
First shown in 1962, and based upon the Maserati 3500GT, the Sebring was a graceful addition to the supercar ranks. Styled by Vignale and mounted on the short wheelbase 3500GTI convertible chassis the Sebring seemed to have it all. Originally, the car was called -
Maserati Mistral (1963 - 1970) (Classics Reviews)
The Frua-bodied Maserati Mistral was the end of the line of the 350S-derived six-cylinder cars. It was named after a wind that blows across the south of France, and set its maker on a course that meant a generation of subsequent cars had weather-related names. The Mistral's engine line-up -
Maserati Quattroporte (1963 - 1971) (Classics Reviews)
The Tipo 107 Maserati Quattroporte was significant because it was the first of its cars to be powered by the new 'Indy' V8 engine - initially in 4.1-litre form (later 4.7). The family resemblance with the Mistral was strong, as it was also a Frua design; while underneath it was built on a sports -
Maserati Indy (1969 - 1974) (Classics Reviews)
The Maserati Indy was based on a shortened version of the Quattroporte’s chassis, but with a wider track. It looked like a proper supercar, and yet the Vignale-styled Indy had room for four, and a reasonably-sized luggage compartment. Compared with the Mexico it replaced, the Indy -
Maserati Ghibli (1969 - 1974) (Classics Reviews)
The Maserati Ghibli represented the absolute pinnacle of its maker's range at the turn of the 1970s. And not only was it a suitably fitting replacement for the Sebring, but it was a very capable Ferrari Daytona and Lamborghini Islero rival. The Ghibli emergeda as one of the era's finest -
Maserati Bora (1971 - 1978) (Classics Reviews)
The Maserati Bora was the company's first mid-engined car, and what a magnificent effort it was. Maserati decided to build a mid-engined car in 1968, in order to compete against the Lamborghini Miura and De Tomaso Mangusta - at the time, it looked like all top-flight supercars would end up being -
Maserati Khamsin (1973 - 1982) (Classics Reviews)
Despite its new-found commitment to the mid-engined cause, the Maserati Khamsin arrived in 1973 as its maker's commitment to the old-fashioned GT. It was a departure from the Ghibli and Indy in terms of design, as it now wore a Bertone sharp suit. The Italian design house also conceived its -
Maserati Merak (1974 - 1982) (Classics Reviews)
The Maserati Merak was created to fight the Ferrari Dino, Porsche 911 and Lamborghini Urraco in the 'junior' supercar market. But more than that, it was also a useful vehicle for the brilliant engine it had devised for the Citroen SM, and which soon after its launch was failing to meet market -
Maserati Quattroporte II (1974 - 1978) (Classics Reviews)
The second generation Maserati Quattroporte was far less successful, than the first, with a production run totalling 13. Powered by the 3.0-litre Citroen SM/Maserati Merak SS engine and automatic gearbox, it simply wasn’t fast or appealing enough to survive the recession of the mid-1970s -
Maserati Kyalami (1976 - 1983) (Classics Reviews)
After De Tomaso’s takeover of Maserati in 1975, badge engineering soon followed. The De Tomaso Longchamp - a Ford V8 engined rival to the Mercedes-Benz SLC - was given the Maserati treatment, gaining a slightly facelifted (and much prettier) front end, and the Indy V8 (initially in 4.1 -
Maserati Quattroporte III (1979 - 1990) (Classics Reviews)
The Maserati Quattroporte III was another post-De Tomaso back to basics offering, and none the worse for it. And the good news was that unlike the Kyalami, this wasn't a badge-engineered Deauville, but a full-scale, full-powered high-speed four-door. And in the USA. it received a suitably -
Maserati Biturbo (1981 - 1994) (Classics Reviews)
The 1981 Maserati Biturbo was solid proof that Alejandro DeTomaso wanted to take Maserati in a new - downward -- direction. Since 1976, the company had been developing a new small car that - it hoped - would combine Maserati's prestige with a realistic price tag to go fighting the BMW 3-Series -
Maserati Karif (1988 - 1992) (Classics Reviews)
The Maserati Karif was introduced to take the Biturbo further upmarket, offering higher performance and excellent handling from what was essentially a theme based on the Biturbo. The Karif used the Spyder's shortened platform, which did the styling no favours whatsoever. But it was fast -
Maserati Shamal (1989 - 1996) (Classics Reviews)
The Maserati Shamal was the second major development of the Biturbo. It was a Gandini-penned restyle that was powered by a 3.2-litre twin-turbocharged V8, DOHC and 32 valves engine producing some 326bhp. This was more than enough to give the interestingly named car supercar-baiting performance -
Maserati Ghibli II (1992 - 1997) (Classics Reviews)
The return of the Maserati Ghibli in 1992 was trumpted by its maker as a hugely important milestone - but the name that had once adorned one of the world's greatest suprcars was now being used on a (very effective, admittedly facelift of the Biturbo). It was actually a lower powered