Timeless Classics: Maserati Ghibli Spyder

When it appeared almost 50 years ago, the Maserati Ghibli was a worthy rival to the Ferrari ‘Daytona’ and Lamborghini Miura. But how could Maserati hope to improve on such a desirable road car? By designing an open-topped version, the stunning Ghibli Spyder…

In the late 1960s, the original Ghibli was more expensive to buy than the celebrated Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona. And yet, as evidence of both its beauty and superb driveability (not to mention 170mph potential from its 4.7-litre V8 engine, in coupé form), it outsold the hugely admired Ferrari. The exquisitely designed grand tourer (said by many to be Maserati’s ultimate road car) was the work of stylist Giorgetto Giugiaro, while he was working for Ghia. It made its first public appearance at the 1966 Turin motor show, going on sale the following year.

The beheaded beauty

In 1969, Maserati built on the success of the Ghibli by putting the convertible into production, the Ghibli Spyder. Often, the removal of a roof destroys the driving dynamics of a car, but this proved not to be the case with the Ghibli. Although it couldn’t quite match the top speed of the coupé, the convertible Ghibli was renowned for its exceptional driveability, the well-balanced Spyder offering the less-than-expert driver the comfort of predictable handling, even when pressing on.

The Spyder was strictly a two-seater, adapting the rear passenger accommodation of the 2+2 coupé as stowage for the foldaway soft-top. Every bit as beautiful as the coupé, if not more so, the Spyder had the added attraction of extreme rarity, even in its day. Only 125 Ghibli Spyders were ever built, making it a prized collectors’ car today.

Spot the difference

Serious connoisseurs might notice that the pictured car has a few minor styling differences from other Ghibli Spyders – the recesses in the door panels behind the door handles, for example, or the lack of external fuel filler doors on the rear deck. This is because the car shown is not only one of the very few Spyders produced – it’s the very first one, as confirmed by a letter from Fabio Collina, the manager of Maserati Classiche, as well as Maserati-certified copies of the car’s order and delivery sheets. Chassis number 1001, this is the very car that appeared on Ghia’s stand at the 1968 Turin motor show and Maserati’s stand at Geneva in 1969. In October of that year, the car was sold to its first private owner and, after two changes of ownership, it was put into static storage in 1986, where it remained for almost 30 years. Its first public appearance in nearly three decades was at the 2014 Concours d'Elegance of America in Plymouth, where it won the Debut Award, swiftly followed by further concours honours later that same year.

This extremely special example of an already highly desirable model is to be offered by RM Sotheby’s at its Monterey sale on 13-15 August 2015. The estimate stands at $1.2 - $1.8M.

Photos: Darin Schnabel ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This article is part of the 'Timeless Classics' feature series that is presented and supported by our friends at RM Sotheby’s.

Celebrating 50 years of Alpina, with founder Burkard Bovensiepen

Exactly 50 years ago, Alpina was formed as a BMW tuner – a family spin-off from a successful typewriter manufacturer. Today, the company is integrated into the core of the Bavarian conglomerate; we spoke to founder Burkard Bovensiepen about the amazing journey of the family business…

“From a young age I was interested in cars, and I never had the intention of going into the family business of making typewriters,” recalls Bovensiepen. “I was able to convince my father to let me use a small outbuilding on his business premises, and first I modified my own car, a BMW 1500. There was only one tiny Solex carburettor, but it was otherwise a good engine – so I added dual-Weber carbs, which gave it a 0-60mph time of 13 seconds, three seconds quicker than the base model.”

So, how did a small entity such as the repurposed Alpina become intertwined in the inner workings of the Bavarian giant? “There was an element of luck and good timing, certainly,” recalls Bovensiepen. “When BMW launched the 1500, it released the 1800cc variant soon afterwards, leaving the early adopters quite disappointed; they would gladly have waited for the model with the extra 10 or so horsepower.”

A little bit of luck

“I managed to get a meeting with the head salesman, and convinced him that we could upgrade these cars – but insisted that the original warranty would remain in place. That was very important,” says Bovensiepen. He proudly shows us the original approval document from 1964, on which the future of his company was based. Today, many of Alpina’s modifications take place on the BMW production line itself, a process which has been integrated increasingly since the 1980s, not long after Alpina first gained recognition as a manufacturer in its own right.

Until then, Alpina had indeed operated as a tuning house, but one that had a completely different approach to its domestic adversaries such as Koenig and Gemballa. “In those days, the other tuners only cared about having the most powerful engine; the rest of the car was not very harmonious. With Alpina, it was always the complete package, and remains so today. We designed the cars to be used all year round as daily drivers, but to still have the performance of a weekend sports car.”

A Klasse win

But why BMWs – was it simply a case of geographic convenience, or were there further considerations? “I wanted to see what was on the market in terms of tuning parts. I bought a Fiat and took it to Nardi, a tuning house in Italy. On the way back from Turin, the engine lost power because the crankshaft bearings failed, so I had to take it all the way back to Italy to get it repaired,” Bovensiepen continues. “To me it was clear that Alpina had to provide very well-engineered parts of high quality, to stay far ahead of the tuners. Mercedes didn’t have a sporty image, so I wasn’t interested in those. Then BMW’s ‘New Class’ saloon was displayed at the Frankfurt motor show, and these proved to be the perfect platform.”

So, after 50 years, which was the standout model for Mr Bovensiepen? “Probably our B10 BiTurbo, which was based on the E34 5 Series. It had 360bhp from its inline-six, and could reach a top speed of more than 180mph. In terms of performance, it was similar to a Ferrari Testarossa, but wrapped up in an unassuming saloon body. Paul Frère declared it the best four-door saloon he had ever driven. We have an example in our collection of historic vehicles and, once or twice a year, I’ll attach the red [trade] number plates and take it for the weekend. Even by today’s standards, it’s bloody quick…”

50 years on...

It’s not only Bovensiepen himself who embraces the marque’s history; the whole company does so outwardly, as do so many car manufacturers these days. At the Geneva motor show in March, Alpina unveiled a pair of ‘Edition 50’ cars that embody the company’s long-held signature values: subtle styling, a surfeit of torque, and levels of luxury approaching those of a Bentley. Not bad for a company started in a tiny workshop in the quaint city of Kaufbeuren. What’s more, with fewer than 2,000 cars built per year, Alpina offers more exclusivity than Rolls-Royce and remains very much a family-run organisation.

Photos: Alpina

On 28 June, Alpina will hold an anniversary celebration at the firm’s headquarters in Buchloe, Germany.

You can find several BMW Alpinas for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

MACCO MOTORS FOXY LADY

Posted by Ross Sharp

Billionaire. Has a nice ring to it, usually. That is until images of gambling fat cats in pinstripe suits spring to mind. Each to their own and all that but we prefer human stories of endeavour, and shed based ones all the better. At Bike Shed London we met a bunch of awesome people, one being John Bloor. A chap who started his working life as a plasterer and in 1983 scraped together £150,000 to buy Triumph Motorcycles from the receivers. Let us all rejoice that the man must have infinite vision, unwavering determination and balls the size of planets. Last year one in every five new motorcycles bought in the U.K. was a Triumph and globally nearly 55,000 units were built and sold.

O.K. so this is starting to sound like some poorly prepared investor presentation but we have a lot to thank John and his team for. Without this modern base for customisers, builders and shed fettlers to work on a large void would exist in the current custom scene. The Bonneville and Scrambler are so frequent on our pages for very good reason, they’re a great bike, period.

Two other guys we met were Jose and Tito from Macco Motors in Cadiz, Spain. What they lack in comparative zeros on the bank balance they more than make up for in charisma and craftsmanship. They don’t just build Triumphs but when they do, the formula works and customers keep ordering more. The Foxy Lady was supposed to be a build for the guys to enjoy for themselves, but customers pay the bills so the spec changed to suit.

The donor in question is a 2010 Bonnie T100 EFi, that was offered in very good original condition. Jose and Tito don’t hold stock but prefer to find the right donor to match the owner’s budget and expectations. It’s now commonplace for a prospective customer to source a bike from their home market, ship to the builder of choice for the work to be carried out, and then ship it back, reducing the time and admin of re-registering the bike. Although here in the U.K. the DVLA are pretty well set up for importing and the process is electronic and simple. This Foxy Lady is bound for home shores but a sister bike will soon be sent across the pond to Miami.

One component that is subject to the budget constraints of mass manufacturing in a competitive global market is the forks. Gold anodised Scando-suspenders suggest quality to the masses but the associated costs of fitting such exotic parts wouldn’t yield the aforementioned sales figures, so the Bonneville leaves Hinkley rolling on a perfectly good set of conventional forks, fit for the majority of real world situations. Custom customers are a bit more demanding so a pair of upsidedowners were liberated from a Ducati Monster 1100 EVO, complete with Brembo radials, Free Spirits triple trees enable simple fitment, and look the business black anodised matching the painted fork legs. They might not be gold either but the rear shocks are by Öhlins and fully adjustable.

To give that second Brembo disc a home a Thunderbird hub was laced to a 19″ rim and the spindle re-machined, this thing should stop on a Peseta. Metzeler Tourance dual sport rubber grip well in all conditions and come with just the slightest whiff of off-road without screaming faux-scrambler. The tall front wheel, squat forks and de-cluttered cockpit give a hunkered-down, beefy look. We like that. Biltwell bars with LSL clubman grips, a single mini speedo, race levers and a Bates headlight sit well alongside the stock switchgear.

The Triumph subframe is an easy one to plug the ends and leave as is, but it always looks infinitely neater to run a loop to keep the job tidy, a kick up helps visually and allows the rear fender to nestle higher up for a bit more clearance. The guys opted for real farmyard leather for the saddle, rather than the futuristic alternative, which should become supple and marked with age. You can’t put a price on real patina.

The fuel tank was stripped bare and re-coated in matt black, with the side sections receiving just a few layers of lacquer and a gold pin stripe. Subtle and classy for one, but also the raw scallops of steel help to shrink the sometimes bulbous Bonnie tank.

The sweeping yet sectional stainless exhausts were designed and fabricated by Roberto from GR Exhausts. In a bid to steer clear of the more obvious and classic reverse megaphones Roberto has integrated oval versions of their GP end cans. The raw finish of the super neat welds help add that all important new but used look to the finished bike. Not only that, it’ll sound fantastic with the baffles pulled.

The Foxy Lady is now loose on U.K. roads, ready for the British Summer, which I think was here between 10:37 this morning and 13:19 this afternoon, I do hope the new owner enjoyed himself.  It might sound a touch pretentious laying thanks at the feet of a shrewd business man for the steady stream of fantastic custom Triumphs we’ve seen over the last few years, but seriously, look at the pictures above. Spreadsheets, bank managers, bore-mongers from Brussels and the press probably would have seen a radiator fitted to this icon some time ago. We are very, very glad John didn’t listen.

Jose and Tito will take on builds of other marques but as demonstrated here, completely nail the Bonnie and Scrambler. To reach the guys head to the Macco Motors website, follow the progress of other builds on the Facebook page or wistfully daydream on Instagram.

As usual, fantastic photos by Sergio Ibarra from Semimate agency.

via the bike shed

A summer solstice celebration with the Mercedes W123

Rather ominously, the longest day of the year has now passed. Why not take a leaf out of this young lady's book, and get out and enjoy those summer evenings before the nights draw in...

Rendezvous

Here's another series of photos from our friends at Cool & Vintage, this time of a sunset soirée with an original Mercedes-Benz W123 230E. One of the most rugged and durable cars ever built, the sandy shores are no match for this Merc. And we’re sure its famously soft suspension and high-density steel body can more than handle the young lady clambering all over it. What are you waiting for? Mercedes or not, those summer evenings won't hang around for long... 

Photos: Cool & Vintage

Million-dollar deals, Matchbox Ferraris and fireflies at Art Basel 2015

A billion-dollar market, an art playground and a research laboratory – these are just some of the attractions at this year’s Art Basel…

Billion-dollar market

Not only is Art Basel the world’s largest exhibition of 20th and 21st Century art, it also acts as a barometer for the art market. In 2014, for example, the global art market was estimated at around 51 billion euros – some seven per cent higher than the previous year, thanks in part to the central bank’s zero interest-rate policy. Just a few kilometres away from the fair, the Gauguin painting from 1892 – said to be the most expensive painting in the world, having sold recently for 300m US dollars – can currently be seen hanging in the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen. Among the many VIPs who attended the two-day preview this week were numerous ‘super collectors’, such as hedge fund billionaire Steven A. Cohen, who allegedly bought a bronze sculpture by Alberto Giacometti for 141.3m dollars at a Christie's sale in the Spring – a new record price for a sculpture…

Back to the classics

Naturally, Art Basel focuses on trade, with 284 galleries from 33 countries offering works from over 4,000 artists. According to insurer AXA Art, the combined value of these works comes to 3.4bn dollars. And, despite clients’ discretion, nothing could hide the small ‘sold’ indicators on many pieces during the preview days. Given often absurd price hikes and speculation in the market, we overheard some dealers explaining that they would only sell pieces at moderate prices to those who would not return the work to the market again in the near future. Even Mark Spiegel, the Director of Art Basel, was keen to emphasise that this wasn’t some bazaar for billionaires, setting a more conservative tone for 2015’s event. This could be seen on the ground floor of Hall 2, where c.1900 classics and post-War art from names such as Picasso, Giacometti, Magritte and Bacon promise sustainability and stability in the market. Inevitably, contemporary artists such as Cy Twombly, Marlene Dumas and Takashi Murakami continue to dazzle with multi-million-dollar sales. 

Room for ideas

Those travelling to Basel not to buy, but for the special art experience, were not disappointed. Take the over-sized works in the ‘Art Unlimited Sector’, for example. At the entrance to the hall, visitors were greeted with an installation by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who piled up 760 bicycle wheels forming several towers. Elsewhere, Berlin-based Julius von Bismarck presented a rotating bed and desk, and Shilpa Gupta created an impressive monolith of singing microphones, reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Space Odyssey’. Finally, David Shrigley’s somewhat idiosyncratic interpretation of Michelangelo’s ‘David’ invited visitors to be part of the production. 

Design icons, from petrol stations to wristwatches

This year also marks the tenth edition of the Design Miami/Basel large-format exhibition, held in an opposite hall. On the ground floor, the American hotel king André Balazs curated an exhibition with examples of modular architecture. Next to this, Jean Prouvé’s mock-up ‘Filling Station’ featured a VW Bulli with camping facilities and a pre-fabricated house built in partnership with Ikea. In addition to the great furniture in the exhibition, the galleries' own stands captivated collectors with more unusual pieces such as the GDR toy animals by Renate Müller. Even watch enthusiasts were catered for at Design Miami/Basel this year, with ‘Le Collection’ Heure documenting Steve McQueen in the movie ‘Le Mans’, a Patek Philippe by Andy Warhol, plus the Rolex Daytona chronograph worn by Jackie Stewart and David Brown. 

Matchbox Ferraris and charcoal ice cream

At Art Basel, there are also several mobile fairs and off-location parties and events. Those looking for alternative, young and inspiring artists should head to the former Warteck Brewery, or schedule a tour along the Basel city-centre nature trail. Stop by Davide Balula’s ice cream place, where he aims to infuse the ice cream with flavours such as dirt, charred wood and river, or make your childhood dreams come true with Vik Muniz’s life-size Matchbox Ferrari.

Reflect and stay

It’s hard to switch off from Art Basel – even on the journey home, Facebook and Instagram feeds were still full of items from the show. This year it was the sponsors who really captured our imagination, forcing us to linger and explore that little bit longer. For Rolls-Royce, British artist Isaac Julien transformed the Basel Church of St. Elizabeth with a video installation from an Icelandic cave. A short walk further, and the restaurant Noonh had been taken over by BMW, which showed the result of a creative collaboration with Swiss designer Alfredo Häberli. It also announced the winner of its Art Journey competition, the prize going to Samson Young from Hong Kong. 

Tactful fireflies

The most beautiful exhibit at Art Basel 2015, though, simply had to be Audemars Piguet’s ‘Synchronicity’ installation, created by Robin Meier and curated by Marc-Olivier Wahler. In a huge, dimmed, tropical-climate tent in the Basel Volkshaus, Meier had created an orchestra, with LEDs synchronously bouncing off fireflies in astounding harmony around the heads of the visitors. It’s surprises like that which make Art Basel really worth attending. 

Photos: Art Basel / Design Miami / Liste / Audemars Piguet / BMW / Rolls-Royce / Classic Driver