With clever spoiler work by Marcello Gandini, the Maserati Shamal made the most of the air resistance, but with all its 326 horsepower it had no answer to the commercial headwind. Nowadays it inspires a certain desire and its rarity increases its collector value. By the way, don't underestimate its impact on brand history in the XNUMXs.
Text & photography: Aart van der Haagen
Some cars already start to tell their story when you let them affect your senses. You see, hear and feel that Maserati had to operate within tight financial constraints during the development of the Maserati Shamal in the late 1980s. As if you are given the unique opportunity to test a prototype, where you tell yourself that you should judge the imperfections mildly.
Wavy strips and panels, buttons that you can almost see behind through the surrounding cracks, a slightly twisting carriage with a creak here and there and an unfortunately mounted steering wheel that tilts slightly backwards, just like in a van. With grandiose bucket seats, ubiquitous leather upholstery, an elm wood gear knob and of course the noble Maserati timepiece, the Maserati Shamal tries to justify its new price of 228.000 guilders (1992). While you can immediately see from the spectacularly elaborated body with ragline spoiler work how much he wanted to compete with the exclusive sports cars of his time.
Ironic
You cannot simply transform an offshoot of the Biturbo family into a car that fits the profile of a supercar for the public. That was precisely the sore point of the lightning-fast Maserati Shamal: it did not distance itself enough from the volume series. Much more expensive than the 222s and the like, a lot faster too, but not that dazzling sports car with a flashy and graceful appearance.
However, the full headwind came from the ailing economy, fueled by the Gulf War from August 1990. How ironic is it then that the Shamal was named after a hot wind in Mesapotamia, which covers part of present-day Iraq? Perhaps Maserati unintentionally cast a curse on the Maserati Shamal. However, there seemed to be no problem when company owner Alejandro De Tomaso presented the new flagship to a select group of guests on December 14, 1989.
Shadow of itself
Enthusiasts and purists still mourn the demise of Bora, Khamsin, Mistral and classic Ghibli. As far as they and many other critics were concerned, the illustrious brand with the trident was no more than a shadow of itself, although in fact no one could ignore De Tomaso's wise decision to shift course to turning volumes. The old strategy of small numbers and – hopefully – reasonable margins could not make a living, and such a policy also made the manufacturer vulnerable to economic downturns.
In that respect, history sadly repeated itself with the Shamal, which was the first Maserati in a long time to try to join the supercar league, but was never able to make any commercial progress. Only 369 units between 1990 and 1996 did not make the accountants happy at all. Yet not all effort seemed to have been in vain, because the model indirectly paved the way for a definitive return to the sports car segment with the later 3200 GT. Not only in terms of image, but also in terms of propulsion. The 3,2-liter V8 engine with two turbos had its origins in the Maserati Shamal.
You will find the full report on the Maserati Shamal in the July issue of Auto Motor Klassiek. Hurry, because next Tuesday it's time for the next issue.
