I've been researching the "285bhp" Karif II for some time...
From what I can gather, the Karif came as standard with the 225bhp/250bhp (cat, non-cat) engine of the 228/222E. However, there was a "Performance Pack" Karif II option that would take it to 285bhp/290bhp (DIN, SAE). This was very rarely specified. It is briefly documented in the factory manual for the fuel injected cars.
Whilst the Karif II engine is down on power on the Ghibli Cup, it produces a heroic amount of torque. Hence some difference in the way performance is delivered when comparing different in-gear acceleration times. Turbo lag is also enormous, hence the 0-60 being a bit off. The Karif is a much lighter car than the Ghibli though.
Because of this, there's an extra page (hand typed) in the manual telling you how to drive the car slightly differently to take into account the turbo lag.
The engine upgrade was also theoretically available for the other cars in the range, although Maserati told me that they only upgraded two cars, my 222E and possibly a 430.
The extra page in my manual claims that my engine was dynoed at 290bhp, and Maserati told me that when it was new, it was "under 4.5 secs" to 60mph.
The original owner of my car traded it in for a new Ghibli, then traded it back again as the Ghibli was too slow in comparison!
What I will say, 20 years on from it's build, is that due to the light weight of a 222E, and the very short gearing, acceleration is incredible. But, it's very hard to drive, and very hard to access that extra power. You have to be in the right gear, at the right revs, with the right boost, on the right road, and in the right frame of mind, then you have to hang on tight! My car was fitted with 10" wide Shamal wheels as part of the upgrade in an attempt to put enough rubber down on the road.
The big advance of the 3200GT is that it is almost as quick, but the performance was acessable every day. You don't have to be in the mood for a fight to drive a 3200GT quickly. But, if you got out of my car and into a 3200GT it would feel slow.
My car is in bits at the moment, and I never seem to have enough time to fix my own cars up, but I'm sure that when I get round to putting it back together, regular visitors to my workshop will get a go in it and post some independent impressions of the experience!
I get 21mpg out of it too...
Mike Roberts