1977 Maserati Khamsin
Every Car has a story, and it is a challenge to find it. But when you find the story, even a portion of it, it is very rewarding to be able to tell the story.
Maserati Khamsin was a spectacular car. It came at a time when Citroen was a parent company of Maserati. A great deal of advanced design and technology went into the engineering. It also arrived at the time of fuel crisis, when sales of fast supercars were not high on consumer's list.
This story is a bit different, but really it needs to be told. At first I will give you all the technical detail, and then real story will start. It is truly a love story, told by Mrs. Judy Theriot McCarthy in her own words. You will not be disappointed, it truly is a great story.
Maserati Khamsin was introduced as a prototype in autumn 1972 at the Turin Motor Show, and it was produced from 1974 until 1982 with 435 vehicles made (155 for the US market). Following Maserati’s tradition, it was named after a wind: the Khamsin, a hot violent blowing in Egyptian desert for 50 days out of a year. This Grand Tourer was designed by Bertoine’s legendary designer, Marcello Giardini. Giardini’s other works include Lamborghini Miura, Alfa Romeo Montreal and Fiat X 1/9.
The designs clean lines were characterized by a waistline rising gently from pointed nose to truncated tail. It features folding headlights, exceedingly long hood and the rear window doing double duty as a trunk lid. With a delicate A-pillar and glass sections in the rear, the Khamsin appears exceptionally light and airy. Even though it is a two-seat coupe, it featured two emergency seats that were hardly usable due to lack of head and leg room.
The Khamsin used all-steel monocoque construction, with a rear bushing insulated tubular subframe supporting the rear suspension and differential. Suspension was double wishbones all around, with coaxial springs and single shock absorbers up front and double at the rear and anti-roll bars. There were two fuel tanks of different size. A small tank is on the right and it is connected to the main tank below the cargo floor, with a single fuel filler on the right-hand side feeding directly to the small tank. Cosmetic triangular vent panel on the C-pillar hides the fuel filler cap.
The front-mid mounted engine gave the car a 50/50 weight distribution. This was accomplished by using a trick from the parent company Citroen. Steering gear was placed in front of the engine, which could then be pushed back toward fire wall. In fact a full sized spare tire was stored beneath the radiator freeing up space in the trunk.
The 4.9 liter 16 valve V8 with four double barrel Weber carburators and used dry-sum lubrication. It delivered 320 hp at 5500 rpm and 355 lb/ft of torque at 400 rpm. All this amounts to a very decent performance with 0-100kph in 6.6 seconds with the top speed of 272 km/h.
Today, the car struggles to get the same kind of attention like other Maserati classics. But its technology and extraordinary design make it a very special classic car and probably the most underestimated Maserati in history.
Sources:
www.instagram.com?carrozzieri_italiani/?hl=en
www.carsfromitaly.net/maseratiindex.html
www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/maserati-khamsin-angular-art
www.retromotion.com/en/stories/der-maserati-khamsin-ein-unterschaetzter-klassiker.html
Khamsin - The Love Story
Dear Bill
I want you to know that the Khamsin you now own and love is wrapped in a love story and can only be told in that context.
It began when my boyfriend of three months, who later became my husband, took me to European Auto Imports on Van Ness St. in San Francisco. That in itself is ironic because we later bought a home on Van Ness Blvd. in Fresno.
I was visiting him on a trip from South Louisiana where I lived in 1980. When we walked in to the showroom he said “look around, see what you like”. I went straight to the Khamsin which was center stage. I got in the car, honked the horn and jokingly said, “I’ll take it!”. He said, “you like it, really like it?”. I said “Yes, I really like it, its beautiful; I really do like it.”. He turned to the salesperson and said, “Wrap it up, we’ll take it.”. This took no more than ten minutes.
The salesperson was shocked and commented, that it was the quickest sale he ever made. He gave the salesperson some details and we were out the door. We left there and went to lunch. At lunch I commented on that I did not know that he was interested in sports cars. He said rather emphatically, “I am not, but since its your birthday and almost Valentine’s day and you look so good in the car, you should have it.”.
Then he said amazingly,” If you want me to ship it to Louisiana for you, I will. But, shyly staring at me with his sky-blue eyes, I’d much rather you stayed in California and drive it here. Would you consider that?”. Little did he know that he hardly had to entice me with a car, little did he know that he was the most fascinating man I had ever met, and little did I know that a cliché like “love at the first sight” would ever be pertinent to me. I told him that the car wasn’t necessary to get me to California. He said: “I thought I’d just throw that in for motivation.”. Silly boy!
So, I went home, packed up everything, quit my job, took a leap of faith, and moved to California. Some people thought I had lost my mind, but it was my heart!
Year later we kidded about that back-handed proposal. When I arrived in Montecito, CA the car was waiting for me with a big red bow on the hood.
The car was a big hit in Montecito. People followed me around waiting for me to stop so they could talk to me about the car. “What is it, where did you get it, how fast does it go and can I look under the hood”’ were the basic questions.
There were many financial ups and downs in the years to come. Other cars went, planes went, helicopter went, jewelry went, land went etc., but the one thing we always hang on to was the Khamsin. It was a symbol of our leap of faith that served us so well over thirty years.
In 2002 my husband began to suffer symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. It became hard for him to get in and out of the car. Life would become a series of doctor visits and me dragging him to any place or person I thought could offer a cure or alleviate for his symptoms.
Sadly, I put the car in storage. I wasn’t in the mood for fun driving. Therde it sat until after his death in 2009. In 2011 I decided to sell the car. It was a sad day to see the car go to a stranger. The memories associated with the car were too bittersweet.
The night you called me, Bill, and I heard the excitement in your voice, I was so happy. I knew Khamsin had found a loving new home.
When you told me, you had found it in Florida, I couldn’t help but wonder about the path it had been in the last six or seven years, all the way across the country. We may never know who else sat behind the wheel. What a long and arduous journey to get to you in Canada. Amazing!
Bill, I can only say that I am so genuinely happy that you now have it for safe keeping. It is finally home. I wish you and your family every happiness as the new owners. Thanks for finding it and recognizing its uniqueness and beauty.
Best Regard
Judy Theriot McCarthy
