Classic Maserati: from straight-sixes to V8 grand tourers
Maserati’s modern road-car line begins with the 3500 GT, built from 1957. Its twin-cam straight-six, derived from racing, was clothed in a Touring Superleggera coupé body or as a Vignale Spyder; the 3500 GTI then adopted Lucas mechanical fuel injection. These cars call for the same eye as a great British or German tourer of their day: structure, corrosion, and carburettor or period injection systems.
With the 1967 Ghibli, drawn by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Ghia, the four-cam V8 moved to the front of a long coupé, and later a Spyder. The Bertone-designed Khamsin carried the front-engined V8 tradition into the 1970s. On these classics, the workshop checks the family’s known points: cooling, oil tightness, Weber carburation, and the condition of the body and underside.
Bora, Merak, Khamsin: the Citroën hydraulics
During the years when Citroën controlled Maserati, several models received a high-pressure hydraulic system derived from the French marque. On the mid-engined V8 Bora it operates, among other things, the brakes, the pop-up headlamps and the adjustable pedal box; the mid-engined V6 Merak, with its occasional rear seats, inherited it on its early versions; the Khamsin even uses it for its steering.
The system runs on a specific mineral fluid that must never be mixed with ordinary brake fluid. Pump, accumulator sphere, pipes and seals are checked methodically: the wrong fluid or a tired accumulator is enough to make braking uncertain. This is one of those cases where knowledge of the model matters more than tooling.
From the Biturbo to today’s Maseratis
Launched in the early 1980s, the Biturbo opened a large family of coupés, saloons and Spyders powered by a twin-turbocharged V6. The 3200 GT, drawn by Giugiaro and recognisable by its boomerang tail lights, took up the principle with a twin-turbo V8. Then came the 4200 GT and Spyder, the Quattroporte V, the GranTurismo and the GranCabrio, with naturally aspirated V8s, followed by the Ghibli and Levante with twin-turbo V6 engines and ZF automatic gearboxes.
The MC20 marks a new chapter: a Nettuno twin-turbo V6 designed by Maserati, a carbon-fibre tub and a dual-clutch gearbox. Each generation has its own procedures; they are set out, model by model, on the page dedicated to Maserati servicing.
Restoring a classic Maserati in the South of France
A full restoration of a Maserati starts with an inspection and an estimate detailed item by item, and can go as far as a bare shell. Trim and upholstery are made entirely in our workshop, true to the original or in a combination of your choosing, and the origin of each part — original, equivalent quality or reconditioned — is stated on every estimate.
On a recent Maserati, repairing an automated clutch or a gearbox follows the same logic: diagnosis first, then targeted work. The clutch has its own reference page. A first opinion is possible from photographs and video, before the car is moved.