By the time the Maserati Ghibli left the factory in Modena, the company had been successfully building luxury supercars for more than a decade. At the heart of their designs were two outstanding engines: the 3,500cc six and the 4,719cc V8, both of which had twin overhead camshafts and provided enough power to sweep the six-cylinder Sebring and the sumptuous V8 Mexico four-seater coupe up to 138 mph at the driver’s command. First introduced at the Turin Auto Show in late 1966 as a two-door, two-seater coupe, the Ghibli was initially developed from the Maserati Mexico and, as a result, shared its stiff tubular steel chassis and its well-proven independent front and live rear axle suspension layout.
Weighing only 3,000 pounds, nearly 1,000 less than the Mexico, the car was clad with a sensationally exotic bodyshell of great elegance designed by Giugiaro and built by Ghia. The altogether pleasing Maserati Ghibli became a mainstay of Italian design until 1972 when series production was ended.
It may have been the Ghibli’s extraordinary Giugiaro shape, or perhaps the well-engineered drivetrain and motor that appealed to Mr. Frank Sinatra, as he became a Ghibli owner in 1972 when he purchased the silver example pictured. Mr. Sinatra owned the car until the late 1970s when it was sold to its second owner. The current owner reports that the car has logged just under 19K original miles. Notably, the Ghibli was registered with the trademark license plates that Mr. Sinatra’s cars were known to have, FAS IV, and it still retains them today.
The Ghibli is fitted with round tail lamps as opposed to the standard square rear lights that Ghiblis were delivered with. The origin of this change however is unknown. With its low mileage and spectacular provenance, this 1972 Maserati Ghibli is a rare find.