Yesterday I was invited to tag along for a short shoot between a 1969 Maserati Ghibli SS and 2019 Maserati Ghibli 3.0 V6 Diesel. The images would be used for a small leaflet reflecting on the 50-year heritage of the Ghibli. I was not involved in the shoot. The 1969 Ghibli SS is the same car which I shot a few years ago and is now featured on my website (www.wimmerfotografie.de).
(https://i.postimg.cc/h4mb8jmy/MMGSSMX-4.jpg)
I also got to ride in the 1969 Ghibli SS and later the 2019 Ghibli with the 3.0 V6 Diesel engine. Some impressions from riding along in both cars.
1969 Maserati Ghibli SS
The 1969 model is very tight and cramped, and getting in and out is not easy. Inside the car it smells like oil and gasoline. The 4.9-l V8 engine sounds blubbery and rough, but in a sporty and passionate way - it also has eight carburetors! The cabin creaks and rattles. Build quality? What's that?!
The leather seats are hard and not very comfortable. According to the driver, the clutch pedal feels like a 1960s truck clutch demanding a great deal of energy to depress. The car has leaf springs and according to the driver is a "handful" to drive at speeds over 160 km/h (100 mph) on the Autobahn. There are two 45-liter fuel tanks in the rear which have to be filled up individually. With an estimated fuel economy of almost 20 L / 100 km, you're not gonna get very far!
Gorgeous design, great V8 sound, but difficult to drive. The accelerator pedal is also offset to the left (where the brake pedal would be on a normal car) due to the wide transmission tunnel.
2019 Maserati Ghibli 3.0 V6 Diesel
Later I got to ride in the newer Ghibli. The first thing that struck me was, the exterior is quite handsome in blue. I've never really paid attention to this car, but it is beautiful.
The second thing I noticed was how CHEAP the interior is. The plastics felt hollow and made cheap sounds, just didn't feel or look very high quality to me. That was quite a shocker. The leather seats on the other hand felt very nice.
The diesel engine was quiet, but you could feel it vibrate. I assume this was because it was cold since the car was from Maserati Munich and the drive from the dealership to the location was less than 4 km. The engine did make a nice sound when accelerating sounding almost like a BMW inline-6 of the old days.
Interior space up front was so-so, even with the seat positioned all the way at the rear to accommodate my 6'4" frame.
Here are some snapshots and videos from yesterday.
(https://i.postimg.cc/PxpbRfRq/MMGSSMX-1.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/0ykYq0BF/MMGSSMX-2.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/9FjPLhtW/MMGSSMX-3.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/7YM3cWmS/MMGSSMX-5.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/QMVcFxsq/MMGSSMX-6.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/g2gvc69J/MMGSSMX-7.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/Fz0yhWm5/MMGSSMX-8.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/43MVVkxR/MMGSSMX-9.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/0QwmCWzM/MMGSSMX-10.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/2ydZs1FC/MMGSSMX-11.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/598LYrcD/MMGSSMX-12.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/c4ZYQc0C/MMGSSMX-13.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/J4qXKBzq/MMGSSMX-14.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/GmgynwYT/MMGSSMX-15.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/qvv3FMtd/MMGSSMX-16.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/1zgN9CcC/MMGSSMX-17.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/fb6Skc8w/MMGSSMX-18.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/gJ8Xhx73/MMGSSMX-19.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/0jCztLPQ/MMGSSMX-20.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/2jdL8BhD/MMGSSMX-21.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/X7QZ9Ss1/MMGSSMX-22.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/Dy2JWyPb/MMGSSMX-23.jpg)
VIDEO 1
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3kV1IjtmU0
VIDEO 2
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmPN6dLWfnU
VIDEO 3
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp4T1ynprkc
I love old cars with the ignition key on the dash.
Quote from: CaminoRacer on January 14, 2020, 12:04:04 PM
I love old cars with the ignition key on the dash.
I was more blown away by the fact that this thing has eight (8!!!) carburetors. Must be a bitch to fine-tune those suckers. :lol:
Far most aesthetically pleasing than anything on the market now.
(https://i.postimg.cc/0jCztLPQ/MMGSSMX-20.jpg)
Love the toggle switches.
Quote from: cawimmer430 on January 14, 2020, 06:41:46 PM
I was more blown away by the fact that this thing has eight (8!!!) carburetors. Must be a bitch to fine-tune those suckers. :lol:
Webers were surprisingly easy to tune, but the idle adjustment was always wonky on them.
Quote from: Soup DeVille on January 14, 2020, 07:23:29 PM
Webers were surprisingly easy to tune, but the idle adjustment was always wonky on them.
And that's why Italian cars can only be driven at full throttle.
Quote from: Soup DeVille on January 14, 2020, 07:23:29 PM
Webers were surprisingly easy to tune, but the idle adjustment was always wonky on them.
I wonder if it had Weber carburetors or European ones like Solex.
Quote from: cawimmer430 on January 15, 2020, 05:43:42 AM
I wonder if it had Weber carburetors or European ones like Solex.
I don't know; lamborghinis and most Ferraris had Webers (as did my Beetle).
Quote from: Soup DeVille on January 15, 2020, 05:47:01 AM
I don't know; lamborghinis and most Ferraris had Webers (as did my Beetle).
Just googled it and you appear to be right. Apparently the Ghibli SS had Weber DCNF/11 carburetors.
Quote from: cawimmer430 on January 14, 2020, 06:41:46 PM
I was more blown away by the fact that this thing has eight (8!!!) carburetors. Must be a bitch to fine-tune those suckers. :lol:
Webers typically came as 'dual' throat, that is, 4 dual throat carbs on a V8.
Quote from: FoMoJo on January 15, 2020, 06:56:47 AM
Webers typically came as 'dual' throat, that is, 4 dual throat carbs on a V8.
Sounds kinky! :lol: