Some cars are ripe for modification, and some should be left alone. But in the middle of these polar opposites, a huge grey area lies. Maserati’s eighties coupé the Shamal is one of those cars that on the one hand retains a beautiful period form of its own – but is one that, with a slight touch of custom tailoring – shines all the more sweetly.
The Gandini designed car, which was launched in 1989, uses much of the same panelling as the Biturbo. But, hunkered more aggressively and with that Countach-reprising rear wheel arch, this oddly intriguing hybrid between everyman ride and super car has always reminded of as a Hyena (we can see a thread emerging here).
It was powered by a 3-odd litre V8 and could pull away to sixty in under six seconds, but, strangely to us, only around 400 of them were produced. Perhaps they fell two heavily between the two aforementioned stools. Those who wanted a pure Maserati would have geared up – and those who wanted to mod would have shifted down to something like a Lancia or a midrange Alfa.
Perhaps the resemblence to African carrion held the design back – but we hold it somehow close to our hearts…
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