Maserati Enthusiasts' Page

The Enthusiasts' Page
	All things 'Maserati'. News of forthcoming models, owner's cars, tips, 'Marque' reunions and the odd touch of humour! In fact anything of interest to the 'Maseratista'. So if you have any news about Maseratis or have anything owners and enthusiasts should know, send details to maserati123@btopenworld.com	Trident on the hub of a 1992 Barchetta

You can click on some pictures for a better view!!

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From John in the UK

"Hi there - great site! Am I out of my head? I've had a 01 BMW 530iSport for the last two years - great car... best I've ever had - I love everything about it, loads of toys - tv, nav etc etc. But I've always had a soft sport for Masers, and my last two BMWs were the first non-Italian cars I ran (always had Fiats, Alfas and Lancias). I'm used to the high running costs of cars like this, but am wondering about a number of things, and would like your opinion. Is the 3.2 V8 particularly consumptive - what kind of realistic MPG does it give? Is the Automatic any good? My BMW's auto is superb and would rather go back to a manual rather than a bad Auto. Is the build quality as bad as my old alfas and fiats or anywhere near as good as the BM? I've noticed in pictures of interiors that it looks ok - the centre wooden panel with the climate etc doesn't look very well fitted but I can get over stuff like that because I think the overall look of the car is just fantastic. I love the high boot line, the quad pipes, the big chunky tail lamps and the overall very clean lines. Is the manual box any good? While I'm willing to give up a few things to own a Maserati - I don't want to totally sell my soul to the devil! I'm pretty sure it'll be a 2000 onwards Evo - but are any of the earlier models worth looking at? Mid 1990s 2.0l turbos for instance? Have you any galleries on your site for this model - I can't seem to find any. If you've any pics or vids I'd love to see them - I've never heard the engine. Are you aware of any owners in Ireland that might let me have a look around their cars before I go doing something silly? I've never even seen one in the flesh!! Many thanks for your time. John."

Reply from Gareth in the UK

"Henry, Hi, Many Thanks for your email. With regard to the questions from John. Although the 3.2-litre V8 is fairly juicy compared to a modern run of the mill hatchback etc., in my experience it is certainly no worse than any other current large saloon from other luxury marques. I can't tell you exact figures but I would guess at 30 mpg on a long motorway run, obviously a bit less when you start really using the turbos but that can be said of any turbocharged car. My car is an automatic which I love, in fact a few weeks ago I drove a friends car which is a manual V8 from the South Coast back to Oxford. It was a novelty for the first ten miles or so, but I then found myself wishing I was in my auto V8. The manual car certainly felt quicker from standstill, but from around 40 mph onwards, it actually felt like it had to be worked at as the manual gearchange felt at odds with the car's character. The auto seems to deliver a huge wall of seamless power from the mid-range onwards, then takes a second breath at around 100 mph and wants to go again. Both cars are very quick but I prefer auto for a Quattoporte, whereas I think the manual is more for the Ghibli as it is more point and squirt! One thing I will say is that I prefer the "Sport" setting on the gearbox for town driving, odd as it may sound but the 'box is more responsive as it is always one gear lower so more ready to nip out of junctions or across roundabouts etc., whereas in the "normal" mode it sometimes has to think about which gear it should be in and bogs down a bit before kicking down. Build quality is certainly leagues ahead of the earlier cars with an 'Evo', but is still not quite in the BMW-Mercedes league, they are not for just driving and still need plenty of money spending on them to keep them in good serviceable condition. I would advise buying the best condition 'Evo' you can find, and get on top of it as soon as possible, otherwise the small niggly faults can soon turn into nightmares. That said, the earlier Quatroporte represent great value for money, David currently has a Quattroporte V6 for sale on his site. I have driven the car and can,t get over how much car you can pick up for "Mondeo money". I hope this helps, contact me if you have any more questions. I attach some pics taken at the recent Auto Italia event. Kind Regards, Gareth."

Maserati Quattroporte V8 'Evoluzione' at Stanford Hall



Comment from Jonny in The Netherlands

"Hi there Enrico, Can you pass on a message to Gareth who wrote and sent some pics in on your latest page? "Nice wheels... :-)" They're Compomotive like my Ghibli's... I think this is the same guy that emailed my about my wheels. Looks like he went wider than my wheels though! Regards... Jonny."






From Johan in Belgium

"Hey, I am Johan from Belgium. I have seen on your site a Maserati 3200 GT belonging Lui. I want to find the carbon parts in the interior (see enclosed picture). Please can you help me to find them?? Thanking you in anticipation, Johan."






From the Maserati GranTurismo

"Gentlemen Maseratisti, Following the success of my launch, I am delighted to inform you that the entire 2007 production of the GranTurismo has now been sold. But remember, there's always 2008!! Saluti, Il GranTurismo."






From Jonny in The Netherlands

"Guys, As promised, I've edited and uploaded the video from last weekend's event. Please click HERE to view!! Cheers... Jonny."






From Miguel in Portugal

"Hello Enrico, I hope the trip to Italy was everything you wished for... Here are some photos of the 2007 Porto Historic Festival - Cicuito da Boavista - where we could see some great Maseratis. It was a magnificent weekend with great races and great people... I even had time to talk with two ex-pilots, Herr Jochen Mass and Mr. Derek Bell... The 250 F CM5 belongs to David Wenman. Magnificent!! The 4CM of Stefan Scholloweck did well on the track... The beautiful 200S of Roger Lucas, I don't have the words to describe the sight... Great cars and great races... Regards, Miguel."

The Maserati Tipo 200S









The Maserati 250F CM5















The Maserati Tipo 4CM		4C Monoposto #1120





The Maserati Tipo 4CM on track		The Maserati 250F CM5 on track (note the OSCA Tipo G)

The Maserati Sebring 1a serie



"Finally, Also a beautiful little Stanguelini from Madeira Islands..."

The Stanguellini Formula Junior



Stanguellini Formula Junior - Powered by a FIAT 1100cc engine






From Onno in Belgium

"Hi Enrico, A friend of mine took these pictures at "IAA 2007". What a beautiful car... Ciao Onno."

The beautiful Maserati GranTurismo and friend!






From Roger in the UK

Cooper-Maserati T61P 'Monaco'

"Enrico, I always thought that the rear light on the old Ford Cortina Mk I was a classy bit of design. Now I see it was recognised as such by the designer of the 1964 Cooper-Maserati T61P 'Monaco' seen recently at the Goodwood Revival! (see attached photos). Best regards, Roger."

The 1964 Cooper-Maserati T61P 'Monaco'		The rear light on the old Ford Cortina Mk I






From Jonny in The Netherlands

Maserati Classic & International 2007 - Holland

"Hi there Enrico, Hot off the press, here's a link to some pictures I took from the Maserati Club International event at the TT circuit in Assen (Netherlands). I hope I got the labelling correct? Let me know if you'd like a copy of any of them (or you can download them from the website). It was fantastic to see so many Maseratis together in one place and even better to see the majority of them out on the track! I even got the opportunity to get out on the track myself and get overtaken by the Ghibli Cup and the Barchetta! I asked the driver of the Barchetta if he needed some ballast in the passenger seat, but he was having none of it. That Cup looked familiar I must say. It was quick and the driver was pretty good... he and the Barchetta driver were pretty even on the track and the Cup was certainly quicker than my Ghibli (although I think I was braking later than him... was very impressed with my brake upgrades!). I've got some video footage... once I've edited it I'll send you a copy! Regards... Jonny."

Maserati Khamsin		Maserati Ghibli

Maserati Mexico		Maserati Indy

Maserati 3500GT with hard top		Maserati 3500GTI Vignale Spyder

Maserati Barchetta		Maserati Ghibli Open Cup

Maserati Sebring		A "wide-eyed" Maserati Merak

... and let's not forget this pretty little classic!

1951 SIATA 750 Sport Spider TIPO 300BC "The ravishingly beautiful racing body was designed by Mario Revelli de Beaumont and built by Nuccio Bertone." ("www.pilotessa.com)

And here's a link to a movie clip with Jonny on the TT Assen track with his Ghibli!






From Miguel in Portugal

"Hi Enrico, After a few more months I'm writing back just to inform that everything is okay and that 'Italia Exotic' is doing fine. I've been very busy with some interesting cars to work on. Besides my Shamal, I've been doing some work on a '93 Spyder 4v and some 3200 GTs. I'm expecting the first Ghibli Cup in Portugal. That came from Belgium to Spain, and now to Portugal... At the same time, some Ferraris too. I've a lot of new experiences that I would like to write about, to help some owners who sometimes face a few 'funny things' with their Maserati. I've a lot of very good photos of the last Historic Festival in Porto where some very good Maseratis raced. It was a great weekend here in July. I'll send them to you very soon. For now, I beg you to post this issue regarding the spark plug rubber sleeve - Beru - that was used from '91 on the Shamal and '92/'93 in all Biturbos up to the the use of direct ignition... We all know that Maserati must have been a funny place to work, back in the 90's. I say this because they had the time to make some interesting things. Take this as an example. I'm currently performing a major job on my Shamal, a few days ago I took out all the ignition cables... all but one, cylinder number 3, that was completely 'stuck' to the spark plug. When I tried a little torsion movement I heard a click inside the rubber sleeve connected to the spark plug. Of course I had broken it!! I had to break the whole thing to remove the remainder of the sleeve. Since I was about to remove the rocker covers, to change the rubber seal, destroying it was not a major problem. Well, since Maserati only sell the full set of ignition cables at an astonishing price, I was a little sad about this, but life goes on... When I looked at the rubber sleeve I noticed that the last 3 digits of the Beru reference had been removed. ...Well, I like mysteries... The Beru reference was 0 300 332 ***. I looked at the '93 Spyder and removed one of the cables. They are the same, only the length of the cable is different... And there it was, the complete Beru reference: 0 300 332 ???. So, the first funny thing is... In 1991 Maserati didn't have the exclusivity from Beru for the ignition leads so, the last 3 digits were removed. But in 1992 and 1993, Beru gave Maserati the exclusive rights to that reference so it was no longer removed. I called the Beru dealer here in Portugal, and there was no reference to [0 300 332 ???] in their aftermarket catalogue. But, I already (almost) expected this!! I dug a little more and found a Beru rubber sleeve with the reference [0 300 332 ???]. From my own experiences, usually when a partner 'gives' a car maker exclusivity for a part, they tend to change a digit from the original part... I sent an e-mail to Beru Germany to ask for the 0 300 332 ??? or the part that substitutes that. And, 'voilà' Beru confirmed that reference 0 300 332 ??? is the same as 0 300 332 ???... This rubber sleeve also fits the 2.0-litre 20v and 3.6-litre V8 Audi engines. So, the second 'funny thing' is that for only EURO 40, I can get the part and fit it myself. For those of you who are unaware, ignition cables are a very important component for correct engine performance. Over a period of time, they suffer from the very high temperatures that they sometimes have to endure. When opting for Beru leads, Maserati did well, since they are one of the finest makes on the market, far superior to the earlier 'Bougicord' leads fitted to the 2.24v. Remember, that this is a part that you must remove every 10,000kms on the 2-litre and Shamal engines to change the spark plugs... So, over time and with the heat, IT IS NOT VERY DIFFICULT TO BREAK ONE INTERNALLY whilst removing it!! The silicone cable slips into the rubber sleeve far easier with the aid of a fine machine oil, or equivalent, and then the top end is screwed into the tip of the connector inside the rubber sleeve which is of a 'saw-tooth' type. So, if you break the rubber sleeve of the spark plug on your Maserati, contact a Beru dealer quoting part number: 0 300 332 ??? or internal Beru reference: ZLE ??? One final piece of advice! It's a good idea to apply some Beru grease 0 890 300 029 (costing around EURO 7) to the ceramic part of the spark plug. This way, no matter how long, or how hot it will get, you will always be able to remove them out without stressing... the component or YOUR MIND! Hope it was a valid issue... Regards, Miguel."

The Shamal's broken ignition lead		The shattered cap on the ignition cable

The Shamal's spark plug extension		The broken spark plug extension

The last 3 digits erased from the Beru spark plug extension		The last 3 digits erased from the Beru ignition lead





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