Anyone with Ghibli 2 (1992-1998) experience?

Just the race car Cup version Evo Series II (which I own) which is nothing like the street version. Parts have gotten scarce and incredibly expensive. I drove a street version of the Cup car once and it's OK. It didn't blow my doors off though. The interiors are nice and comfortable. The Getrag 6 speed (same as BMW used) suffers from shift gate inaccuracy which can be cheaply improved by any good after market BMW shop familiar with same problem. The 2.8L motors will have a bit more torque and a more linear turbo response. The 2.oL cup cars turbos are made of unobtanium so most people end up putting the turbos from the V8 on them.

 

Meh ... the body is still based upon the original Biturbo which I also own and have for 33 years.
Gandini updated the styling and some of that is bolt on cladding.
Front end of the frame comes so pulling a motor directly forward is possible but still not as simple as might sound. The power steering rack has to be dropped. Once apart you dare not move the car
The side frames in the engine compartment where it meets the body directly opposite the turbos crack so watch out for that. Yes the the LSD is a ZF unit with two gear ratios available because of the automatic. The ABS is three channel Bosch, two up front one in the rear. It did save my arse once at the track. AFAIK the interiors are top flight. Mine didn't come with anything but the original dash.

 

I'm thinking of selling my 89 228 5 speed. Blue/Grayish/oyster leather. Nice driver condition. Atlanta area.

 

Well that's a really gorgeous car inside and an easier motor to maintain but it's not going to drive like the late Ghibli will. Still a lot of fun though.

 

If you do, would you PM me the details, miles, and a few photos?

Steve

 

I had two ghibli, a 1996 GT 2000cc and a japanese CUP (they had a version of the Ghibli cup with a 2800 tweaked engine). I did sell the GT a few years ago.

The GT, especially in Nero siderale, was an understated car, quite discreet.

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The interior was a very nice place to be, with very good quality leather almost everywhere.
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The 2000cc engine performed very well, and was impressive when you climbed in the rpm. Brake were effective.
I never felt insecure when driving this car, and it was quite reliable.

The 2800cc cup is a different beast. The max HP was the same (306 for the GT, 305 for the 2800) but the torque curve was really different with 43,5kgm@3650rpm! You don't have to wait for the power delivery. The final gear ration is lowered too (compared to the original ghibli 2.8), by 6%.

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The soundtrack is different, but my car comes with a different exhaust.
The interior is still very nice, sportier, but still comfy.

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All in all, I think the 2800cc engine (even in it's normal form, you don't need the tweaked version) is the best engine.
More torque and better sound. But I can understand the appeal of the 2000cc (153ch per liter !).

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One thing is certain, my ghibli is the most impressive and intimidating car of all my other maserati. (even compared to my 3200gt assetto corsa or MC Victory).
The car is light, agile, stays on the road when it doesn't rain and always a pleasure to drive (and it's possible to do long distance too).

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If you have the opportunity to buy one, I'm sure you'll not be disappointed.

The ABS came standard in 94.
The GT are the most advanced with the upgrated differential, they are the most expensive too in Europe (except the cup).

 

Good summation.

That gas filler on the cup car had a terrible flaw on the open cup versions. Even just from the washings I gave mine after track events water would get by that seal and there was no drain hole. It eventually rusted one. We fixed that when the car was repainted.

 

That one looks very nice. Is is it 2.o or 2.8? Where do you live?

 

It's not clear indeed, but if you want I can contact the seller for more informations, I'm from Belgium (french speaker).

Verde opale is quite rare, I believe 3 or 4 ghibli were done with this exact combination (green on green), and a couple of quattroporte 4 too.
It's an unusual color, love it or hate it kind. Plenty of pictures of verde opale ghibli in this publication from the german biturbo club https://pubhtml5.com/jvay/osyk/basic (not the same car tough)

This one looks splendid, but a 2800cc too : https://www.automobile.fr/Voiture/x/vhc:car,cnt:,pgn:0,pgs:0,srt:,sro:,dmg:/pg:vipcar/311101595.html
(previously imported from Japan)

 

You might think about who's going to work on this for you. I've done my 84 2.5L 3 valve engine once top to bottom. I've done the 95 2.ol cup motor two times.
The 3V engine is a lot easier to work on. The 2.0L has Nikasil coated aluminum liners which are a lot more complicated if you need to repair one. There is ABS on this car but it's not the most modern version and there's no traction control of any kind. So it's down to your driving skill and road conditions. These cars pirouette quite easily, especially if you get that boost timed wrong with the loud pedal in a turn. It's a much more challenging car to drive at the limit. If you want to tune the ECUs don't bother with the guy in Germany, his tune was rubbish on my car. Find a Ferrari shop that has a chassis dyno and tunes F40s. It's the identical pair of ECUs.

The 2.8L cars have 2800 cast in the vale covers.

 

Manuals you can get. There are knowledgeable folks on Biturbozentrum located now groups.io. Several real engineers are on there one from Mclaren who owns a cup car street version though most the good engine stuff on these cars is contained in the older posts. I haven't checked lately but the last time I did the parts had gotten quite expensive, more than modern Ferrari or Maserati. Scarce too. The parts for the 2.5 & 2.8 3V cars is much better.

 

I had one for a short while a few years ago before selling it to a good mate of mine who still daily's it today. As everyone already said, parts can be scarce and expensive, it will need regular attention but generally reliable if properly upkept and exercised. The reputation it has in the wet is true though, my mate spun it in the rain shortly after he bought it and he is no boy racer type, it does bite if you're not careful!

 

I was a whisker away from buying a 2L in Italy, just outside Modena before covid, but could not locate a auto shipper I trusted, and the dealer that had the car was demanding 'refundable fees' that made no sense so a deal was ultimately not struck. Speaking with a couple owners then, all said the same thing: Turbo lag is massive but power is good once on-spool. They also mentioned the weak back end. The owner also had a Shamal and said the Shamal behaved the same way!

 

The turbo lag on the 2.0L CUP cars is very different. The steering rack has also been modified. These cars have early roller bearing IHI turbos on them so they spin up very quickly but you still need to keep the revs up like at about 4K and that's not always the easiest thing to do on a track while negotiating turns because @ 4K in the proper gear , say 3rd, the car is a GD rocket ship and if you get a little too hot the rear will be meeting the guard rail soon.
Slicks really help with that as does the LSD but that's not going to work on a street car.

The turbos on the Shamal and 3200GT are much more sluggish but they do produce more boost.