Khamsin

Bertone’s answer to the front-engined Maserati grand tourer arrived in 1974 as the Khamsin, named for the searing Saharan wind and shaped by Marcello Gandini at the height of his powers. Where the Ghibli had been muscular and sensuous, the Khamsin was pure geometry — a low wedge profile terminating in one of the most audacious design gestures of the era: a full glass rear panel with the taillights seemingly suspended in mid-air, granting the driver an unobstructed view rearward beneath them.

Beneath that Gandini bodywork sits the definitive Maserati powertrain of the period: a 4,930 cc quad-cam V-8 breathing through four Weber DCNF carburetors, good for 320 horsepower and paired to the enthusiast’s choice of ZF five-speed manual gearbox. The Citroën ownership of the period contributed its high-pressure hydraulics, operating the brakes, steering, pop-up headlamps, and even the driver’s seat adjustment — sophistication that placed the Khamsin in a category of one among 1970s GTs.

Just 421 examples were built across the model’s entire 1974–1982 run, of which only 155 were delivered to the United States, making the Khamsin one of the rarest series-production Maseratis of the modern era.

This 1977 example, chassis AM120/US/1140, has been fitted with the far more attractive European bumpers, allowing the floating taillight panel and the clean nose to read as Gandini intended — free of the federally mandated impact bumpers that compromised US-market cars. It is accompanied by its books, tools, and jack, along with Maserati Classiche documentation confirming its specification.

The car was acquired by the current owner in 2018 and has spent the past year on public display at the Petersen Automotive Museum as part of the institution’s wedge car exhibition — a fitting home for one of the definitive shapes of the genre, and a testament to the quality of its presentation. With the owner now consolidating his collection, this Khamsin is offered to a new caretaker.

Noted for the sake of transparency: the driver’s window does not currently raise or lower.

Car Highlights

• Attractive design by Bertone

• One of 421 Khamsins produced; one of 155 US production models

• Desirable five-speed manual gearbox

• Accompanied by books, tools, jack, and Maserati Classiche documentation

• Fitted with European bumpers and floating taillights

• Displayed at the Petersen Automotive Museum wedge car exhibit

Technical Specifications

• 4,930 CC DOHC V-8 engine

• Four Weber DCNF carburetors

• 320 BHP at 5,500 RPM

• 5-speed ZF manual gearbox

• 4-wheel hydraulically actuated disc brakes

• 4-wheel independent suspension with coil springs