Newbie question; Ghibli II difference between 2.0 and 2.8

Alfaduden

New Member
Messages
28
Newbie question; Ghibli II difference between brakes/wheels 2.0 and 2.8

Hi.
I'm new here so please be nice :blushed:
I'm looking for a Ghibli II GT in Europe. Since I'm from Norway the market here up north is limited.
Now looking at both 2.0 and 2.8 I have noticed some differences. About the brakes: are all GT equipped with Brembo 4 piston calipers? As far as I can see only 2.0 have this. Is that correct? Also, wheels are different. 2.0 with 17" and 2.8 with older style 16"?

And, if anyone know of a Ghibli GT in good condition, please drop me a message!

Magnus
 

dickyb

Member
Messages
432
Hi Magnus

Welcome to SM.

To answer your questions:

There is very little difference between the 2.0 GT and the 2.8 GT other than the engine and related components. The 2.8 GT was available in both manual transmission and automatic whereas the 2.0 was manual only. All versions of the 2.0 have a 6 speed gearbox but only the GT version of the 2.8 has the 6 speed, pre-GT versions (first series and MY95/ABS have a 5 speed gearbox). The 2.0 develops 306bhp and the 2.8 develops 284bhp and they are quite different in their characters to drive. The 2.8 is easier to drive as it has more low down torque but the 2.0 is more fun to drive but you do need to rev it more to get the best out of it. The 2.0 GT is slightly rarer with 166 produced compared to the 2.8 with 212 produced.

All GTs have the same brakes, only the Cup version had the Brembo 4 piston calipers although a few GTs were fitted with them by special request and some have been retrofitted, but you'll find most have standard brakes. They are generally perfectly up to the job but uprated standard size discs and pads are available from companies like Tar Ox who also do a full conversion kit with bigger 310mm discs and either 6 or 10 piston calipers.

All GTs had the 17" 7 spoke wheel design as standard, the 16" wheels were fitted to pre-GT cars (first series and ABS models with different designs), although you will see a number of earlier cars with GT wheels fitted as they look better and give more ground clearance for the vulnerable diff oil cooler and engine sump.

Finding a Ghibli in good condition these days is very hard and narrowing down your search to a GT makes things a little harder due to the limited numbers produced, but if you can find one they are the best in terms of build quality and reliability. Beware of cars advertised as GTs that aren't, I've seen many. GTs began to appear in the latter part of 1995 but many earlier cars were not registered for some time after they were built so you will find non-GT cars that were registered in late 1995. The easiest way to tell is to look at the rear differential, if it has an oil cooler attached its not a GT, if it has a large tubular structure around and underneath it and no oil cooler then it is a GT. You can also look at the engine bay, the GT has the braided fuel pipe at the rear of the engine bay on the left side as you look from the front of the car (passenger's side on LHD), if its on the driver's side, its not a GT. Another clue is to look at the left side of the car (driver's side on LHD), if there is no dummy fuel filler on this side it is a GT, this was only applicable to the very last examples though so early production GTs from late 1995 will still have them.

Don't necessarily dismiss the earlier cars though, yes the build quality isn't quite so good and the diffs are not quite as strong but they rarely give serious problems. The early 2.0 cars tend to be very raw in their power delivery, are quite exciting to drive and are quite sought after in their home country.

The best advice I can give is to look for a car in southern Europe where the climate is less likely to have taken its toll on the bodywork. These cars are mechanically very strong if looked after correctly but the bodywork can be susceptible to rust irrespective of age or type, although GTs are slightly better in this respect. Don't use it in the wet or on salty roads and the bodywork should last ok. Germany and Switzerland are also good sources of cars, despite the climate not being very dry they tend to really look after their cars in these countries so you might find a nice one there. Try www.mobile.de

Its also worth checking out Enrico's Maserati site in the classifieds, there are sometimes Ghiblis for sale there in various parts of the world:

www.maserati-alfieri.co.uk

Here's a nice 2.8GT to get you started on your search:
http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-insera...veFeatures=EXPORT&categories=SportsCar&noec=1

Hope that hasn't caused too much confusion!
 

dickygrace

www.richardgracecars.co.uk
Messages
7,309
Good info DickyB, useful for me too. Welcome to the forum to Magnus too. I currently have a 1994 Ghibli for sale on my site but know of a great Ghibli GT too if you wish to know more, just email me.
 

Alfaduden

New Member
Messages
28
Hi Magnus

Welcome to SM.

To answer your questions:

There is very little difference between the 2.0 GT and the 2.8 GT other than the engine and related components. The 2.8 GT was available in both manual transmission and automatic whereas the 2.0 was manual only. All versions of the 2.0 have a 6 speed gearbox but only the GT version of the 2.8 has the 6 speed, pre-GT versions (first series and MY95/ABS have a 5 speed gearbox). The 2.0 develops 306bhp and the 2.8 develops 284bhp and they are quite different in their characters to drive. The 2.8 is easier to drive as it has more low down torque but the 2.0 is more fun to drive but you do need to rev it more to get the best out of it. The 2.0 GT is slightly rarer with 166 produced compared to the 2.8 with 212 produced.

All GTs have the same brakes, only the Cup version had the Brembo 4 piston calipers although a few GTs were fitted with them by special request and some have been retrofitted, but you'll find most have standard brakes. They are generally perfectly up to the job but uprated standard size discs and pads are available from companies like Tar Ox who also do a full conversion kit with bigger 310mm discs and either 6 or 10 piston calipers.

All GTs had the 17" 7 spoke wheel design as standard, the 16" wheels were fitted to pre-GT cars (first series and ABS models with different designs), although you will see a number of earlier cars with GT wheels fitted as they look better and give more ground clearance for the vulnerable diff oil cooler and engine sump.

Finding a Ghibli in good condition these days is very hard and narrowing down your search to a GT makes things a little harder due to the limited numbers produced, but if you can find one they are the best in terms of build quality and reliability. Beware of cars advertised as GTs that aren't, I've seen many. GTs began to appear in the latter part of 1995 but many earlier cars were not registered for some time after they were built so you will find non-GT cars that were registered in late 1995. The easiest way to tell is to look at the rear differential, if it has an oil cooler attached its not a GT, if it has a large tubular structure around and underneath it and no oil cooler then it is a GT. You can also look at the engine bay, the GT has the braided fuel pipe at the rear of the engine bay on the left side as you look from the front of the car (passenger's side on LHD), if its on the driver's side, its not a GT. Another clue is to look at the left side of the car (driver's side on LHD), if there is no dummy fuel filler on this side it is a GT, this was only applicable to the very last examples though so early production GTs from late 1995 will still have them.

Don't necessarily dismiss the earlier cars though, yes the build quality isn't quite so good and the diffs are not quite as strong but they rarely give serious problems. The early 2.0 cars tend to be very raw in their power delivery, are quite exciting to drive and are quite sought after in their home country.

The best advice I can give is to look for a car in southern Europe where the climate is less likely to have taken its toll on the bodywork. These cars are mechanically very strong if looked after correctly but the bodywork can be susceptible to rust irrespective of age or type, although GTs are slightly better in this respect. Don't use it in the wet or on salty roads and the bodywork should last ok. Germany and Switzerland are also good sources of cars, despite the climate not being very dry they tend to really look after their cars in these countries so you might find a nice one there. Try www.mobile.de

Its also worth checking out Enrico's Maserati site in the classifieds, there are sometimes Ghiblis for sale there in various parts of the world:

www.maserati-alfieri.co.uk

Here's a nice 2.8GT to get you started on your search:
http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-insera...veFeatures=EXPORT&categories=SportsCar&noec=1

Hope that hasn't caused too much confusion!


Thanks for good info. So just to get that straight, four pot brembos were an option regardless of 2.0 or 2.8, GT or not.
For seven, eight years ago I drove a verde opal Ghibli GT with the 2.0 engine. After that I was sold. Now I have a Alfa Romeo GTV V6 Turbo, but this is most likely sold as a guy are coming later this week to pick it up.
I drive a lot on trackdays so I need a car that is as though as possible (as Italian cars can be at least). I also know that a cheap car often end up being expensive!

I have locked myself to a GT with manual transmission, and I have no rush finding one as winter is lasting till March here in Norway...
I have a budget of max 20.000€, but preferably around 12-15000€.
Here is some that I have in sight:

http://www.segundamano.es/palencia/maserati-ghibli-ghibli-2p/a61963070/?ca=0_s&st=a&c=4
http://www.blocket.se/malmo/Maserati_Ghibli_GT___Samlarbil_till_hostpris_56940886.htm?ca=23_11&w=3

This is a good example of a car that confuses me with old style wheels and such:
http://http://www.autoscout24.se/Details.aspx?id=254086092&cd=635516608570000000&asrc=st

http://http://www.autoscout24.se/Details.aspx?id=245082614&cd=635476907630000000&asrc=st

http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-insera...maxPrice=20000&negativeFeatures=EXPORT&noec=1

http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-insera...maxPrice=20000&negativeFeatures=EXPORT&noec=1
 

Ewan

Member
Messages
6,757
A 2.0 lt 6 speed manual LHD GT is a lovely thing. Just find a good one with no rust, especially around the bulkhead.

Looks particularly good in dark metallic green.
 

dickyb

Member
Messages
432
Thanks for good info. So just to get that straight, four pot brembos were an option regardless of 2.0 or 2.8, GT or not.

This is a good example of a car that confuses me with old style wheels and such:
http://http://www.autoscout24.se/Details.aspx?id=254086092&cd=635516608570000000&asrc=st

http://http://www.autoscout24.se/Details.aspx?id=245082614&cd=635476907630000000&asrc=st

Sounds like you have a pretty good knowledge things and having owned a Ghibli in the past I'm sure you're aware of many of the potential issues so apologies if some of this is old news to you. The only version which had the Brembos as standard was the Ghibli Cup, there weren't many official options on the Ghibli but Maserati were able to accommodate certain customer requests such as the Brembos if they were requested. A few cars were also fitted with sunroofs at the factory although this was never officially listed as an option, I have only ever seen 2 cars with factory sunroofs. One Italian customer asked for a special modification to the bootlid which can just be seen in this picture, you can just see the swage line running across the width just above the rear lights, this is believed to have been the only car produced with this feature:

roberto_ghibligt-11.jpg

The car in Sweden looks excellent, as Ewan says metallic dark green is a really nice colour on these cars, particularly Verde Tundra. The price is very reasonable for such a low mileage example.

The Spanish car is also very nice although the price on Autoscout is 19900 Euros whereas on segundamano its 9200 Euros, could be a mistake somewhere. If it were me, I'd have to lose the cream steering wheel centre and return to the original black.

Might be my computer but the Autoscout links for the car you mention with old style wheels don't work for me.

Good luck with your search, keep us updated with how you get on and if you need any more information there is plenty of expertise on this site.
 

Alfaduden

New Member
Messages
28
Sounds like you have a pretty good knowledge things and having owned a Ghibli in the past I'm sure you're aware of many of the potential issues so apologies if some of this is old news to you. The only version which had the Brembos as standard was the Ghibli Cup, there weren't many official options on the Ghibli but Maserati were able to accommodate certain customer requests such as the Brembos if they were requested. A few cars were also fitted with sunroofs at the factory although this was never officially listed as an option, I have only ever seen 2 cars with factory sunroofs. One Italian customer asked for a special modification to the bootlid which can just be seen in this picture, you can just see the swage line running across the width just above the rear lights, this is believed to have been the only car produced with this feature:

View attachment 25350

The car in Sweden looks excellent, as Ewan says metallic dark green is a really nice colour on these cars, particularly Verde Tundra. The price is very reasonable for such a low mileage example.

The Spanish car is also very nice although the price on Autoscout is 19900 Euros whereas on segundamano its 9200 Euros, could be a mistake somewhere. If it were me, I'd have to lose the cream steering wheel centre and return to the original black.

Might be my computer but the Autoscout links for the car you mention with old style wheels don't work for me.

Good luck with your search, keep us updated with how you get on and if you need any more information there is plenty of expertise on this site.

Thanks for valuable info. I have never owned a Ghibli, just driven one as a friend of mine had one. :)

The one in Sweden are of course "almost" sold, but I will try to grab it... Or just wait for another good example...
He told me about two issues. Leak from steering rack and a small drip from diff... Other than that the car is very good. I like owners that speak directly and don't hide things like that till I come and see the car.

I will report back and ask more if needed!
 

Christopher

New Member
Messages
18
If you're looking abroad, also try the Swiss market. There's usually a decent amount of cars available here, and they tend to get looked after well. The Swiss MOT is a fair bit stricter than the UK version, any rust or oil leaks and it will be failed. There's currently two 2.0 and two GT's, along with a few of the more common 2.8 models:
http://www.autoscout24.ch/fr/voitur...0,0&nav=8&vehtyp=10&yearfrom=1991&yearto=1999
Not sure what the import taxes for Norway would be though, although if you buy from a dealer you can probably de-tax it (VAT is 8%).
 

Alfaduden

New Member
Messages
28
I have located two GTs in Italy. Both silver. One early 98 with dark blue interior and one mid. 95 with black interior. Both GTs as I can see out of pictures. Braided fuel line to the left (passenger side in LHD countries), diff and so on...

If I establish contact with both owners on e-mail I will order plane tickets and have a look... :)
I had a look at a local GT in Bordaux Victoria yesterday. Owner vill not sell, but I had a look to see if I could recognize some of the details that makes the GT special and to see if the seat and position of the seats suit me :)