Guide price: £170000 - £190000. <ul><li>A rare, right-hand drive, automatic, 1972 Ghibli with reportedly only 9,500 miles from new</li><li>Recipient of a full bare-metal respray and in generally fantastic condition throughout.</li><li>Accompanied by a very impressive history file and recently fully serviced by McGrath Maserati </li><li>Superbly finished in gleaming Graphite Grey with fabulous Tobacco hide </li></ul><p> </p><p>There is certainly no disputing its tremendous impact. By any standard, the Ghibli was the most memorable Maserati of its time. More than four decades after its late-1966 debut, there are those who say it still is and, as road tests at the time proved, it was also a real performer. But for many, it was enough to simply gaze upon this vision in steel in abject admiration. It had been conceived in 1965-66 by Giorgetto Giugiaro, who was then Head of Design at Ghia, so it was no wonder that the world's motoring press sat up and took real notice of this remarkably gifted young Italian. Lines flow seamlessly from nose to tail, the proportions are perfect, and the result is a grand tourer of classical beauty. Even the bonnet line has been kept remarkably low and sleek, with the smallest of clearance bulges, the whole thing is a masterclass in car styling.</p><p>The car's underpinnings, however, were a bit more mundane sharing its basic chassis and running gear with the Quattroporte saloon and Mexico coupe although, having been designed as a two-seater GT, the wheelbase was reduced by 3.5 inches from the Mexico's. The chassis was tubular, stiffened by pressings, foldings, and fabrications, and it had to make do with a simple live rear axle on semi-elliptic leaf springs, however, like the Mexico it could boast disc brakes all-round. If none of this seemed very exciting, particularly next to its obvious competitors like the Ferrari 275 GTB and Lamborghini 400 GT, nobody seemed to mind, and it didn't hurt the car's performance or reliability one bit. Power came from 4719cc, DOHC V8, fuelled by 4 42DCNF/9 Webers and producing 306bhp. The standard transmission was a ZF five-speed unit but an automatic gearbox was available to special order.</p><p>Alas, all good things must come to an end. The Maserati Ghibli's demise came in 1973 with the introduction of its direct successor, the Khamsin which, whilst technically more advanced, wasn't nearly as inspiring to look at. 1,274 Ghiblis were built in total but, sadly, there still aren't enough to go around.</p><p>Finished in the stunning combination of Graphite Grey with Tobacco hide, this, very rare, low mileage, right-hand drive, Maserati Ghibli is fitted with an automatic gearbox and air conditioning. We understand the car has only covered 9,500 miles and is accompanied by a very impressive history file showing that it has clearly been very well maintained by its loving owners. In more recent years the decision was taken to take it back to bare metal and coat those long, lean flanks with some fresh paint and the results are spectacular. It has recently enjoyed some time at respected specialists McGrath Maserati and has been brought up to our vendor's exacting standards in exchange for around £12,000. </p><p>Offered with the aforementioned history file containing details of the work carried out over the years by notable specialists, Silverstone Auctions are very proud to offer this wonderful example of Italian exotica and we welcome any pre-sale inspection. </p><p> </p>