Maserati Khamsin

Information

Nicknamed The Khamsin from Hell

This Khamsin entered production in November 1977 as just another US spec car. Built as a 5 speed wearing Argento with Rosso interior it emerged from Via Ciro Menotti in February 1978. It was then trucked to port in Antwerp, placed on a ship named the Atlantic Causeway for its transatlantic journey to North America, arriving in Baltimore in mid-March.

During the long sea voyage the battery on the Khamsin had drained by time it arrived in Baltimore. The Khamsin along with other Maseratis of that era were full with Citroen Hydraulics from the time that the company owned Maserati. In the Khamsin it affected not only the brakes, but the steering & clutch as well. In order to have all three of those systems working the engine must be running. This is so crucial to the movement of a Khamsin that the ever mindful final inspector at Maserati even placed a warning sign on the dashboard against moving the car without the engine running.

However they made one small mistake when they placed the sign in the car. It was written in Italian! Unfortunately, the dockworkers in Baltimore didn't understand Italian and proceeded to push the car off the boat, down the ramp, backwards. As the 3,800 lb car gained speed going backwards down the ramp, the driver soon realized that besides not being able to steer the car without a Herculean effort, he didn't have brakes. Bending the brake pedal in a vein attempt to stop the car, it slammed into a concrete barrier at the passenger's side rear, destroying the rear vertical glass, bumper, lights, tire, and wheel, crumpling the rear quarter panel and putting a gouge in the body stretching to the front wheel arch.

After its repair from the welcome bash, the car was placed into demo service. In May of 1978 came a call from Car & Driver requesting a Khamsin for a cover article in the September 1978 issue 'Go Fast, Turn Heads, Break Hearts'. Of course it was this Khamsin that got the call. The article was not exactly a favorable review of the Khamsin, which ended with the car being left immobilized in the Red Ball Garage in NYC.

Upon its flatbed return to Baltimore, the engine fired instantly, however upon placing it gear, the car did not move. Once on a lift the problem became immediately apparent, it seemed that one of the rear half shafts had completely snapped off and the other was twisted almost to the same point. The conclusion was that the driver had been doing burnouts in the parking garage, holding car in place with the powerful Citroen Hydraulic brakes, bringing revs up high, dumping the clutch, and then releasing the brakes.

After its repair, it made its way to former Maserati & Lamborghini Importer Bob Grossman's dealership in Nyack, NY. It was sold to Joel Kim Associates of Pomona, NY on June 30, 1978 with 317 very rough miles on the odometer. The next 8 years found this Khamsin bouncing around the tri-state area with a stop a dealership in Great Neck before ending up as part of bank repossession in Livingston, NJ. Now with 24,000 miles on it, it sat outside for 2 years until May of 1987, when it took up residency at Joe's home.