This month’s Gooding & Company Geared Online auction offers a compelling pair of vintage V8-powered Maserati GTs by the same legendary Italian designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro. The front-engine Ghibli represents 1960s design, and the mid-engine Bora flies the 1970s flag. Both have pre-sale estimates hovering in the $100,000 neighborhood, give or take. Both are listed at no reserve, which means both are going to new owners for sure. If you had to choose just one, which would you want?
Featured in the James Bond movie, The Spy Who Loved Me, the Lotus Espirit is a classic car that was once turned into a submarine. It was a badass-looking wedge-shaped road missile that captured the spirit of the mid 1970s.
“Glamorous” is not a word you hear to describe modern Italian sports and GT cars. It’s a bit of a bygone word in an era when car designers and marketers much prefer terms like “aggressive.” Indeed, the modern versions often seem styled with angry-looking visages, perhaps to frighten other motorists or small children. The Maserati Mistral, built from 1963-1970, wears a happy look up front. Times are different.
We’ve assembled our “12 Classics Cars of Christmas” with cars that inspire lust but won’t end up gathering dust in the garage. A few, admittedly, may also bring back Santa’s own memories searching in every store only to find all have been sold. We even included a few stocking stuffers for family enjoyment.
Named for a North African windstorm, the original 1967-1973 Maserati Ghibli blew through the ranks of Italian GT’s as a 150+ mph instant classic and – to most eyes — one of the most beautiful cars ever made. There is no questioning the original Ghibli’s place in the pantheon of motorized Italian masterpieces.
Want to lease a sexy, 60s Maserati? Everyone knows the ‘only ones’ you could want would be a Mistral or Ghibli, right? Both come as beautiful GT coupes or convertibles and are as sleek, fast and expensive as a thoroughbred vintage Italian should be.
