One of my favorite current cars about which to dream is Maserati's Gran Turismo S. It's a beautiful car, and the addition of the 4.7-liter version of the Maserati/Ferrari/Alfa Romeo V8 out of the 8C Competizione is reported to make up for the lack of grunt experienced in the "normal" Gran Turismo. It looks to be a new step in the resurgence Maserati has been experiencing in recent years and in most ways is the kind of car they should have been producing for years.
That being said, I have a few small problems with it, not the least of which is that engine. I understand that economies of scale mean that it's easier for Fiat to base Maserati's new beginning on Ferrari's 430, but it irks me just the same. Maserati is a marque with a history as proud and evocative as any in Italy, and to have it share it's bloodline with a brand that was once its greatest rival is just a little sad. I love the new cars, and I'm glad that Maserati have finally found the capital to produce beautiful machinery again, I only with it were theirs. My second problem is the gearbox. I have no doubt that it is improved over earlier versions of the Cambicorsa but it should not be the only transmission option available. A Maserati is not a racing car, and need not emulate current racing machines. A six-speed, complete with clutch pedal would be nice.
And so it is that I find myself wishing once again that the US market had been recipient to that most elevated of the much derided Bi-Turbo lineup, the Shamal. the Bi-Turbo was not in itself a great car, though in many ways not as bad as rumor and history would suggest. It was an attempt, twenty years ago, to bring Maserati forward into the 80s with a car that could be made profitable at a time when the company's aging lineup of super GTs had it lumbering dinosaur like toward extinction. The new, twin-turbocharged V6, from which the model took it's name was a brave departure, and a considerable expense, for new owner Alejandro De Tomaso. The cars were unreliable though, and soon garnered a reputation for leaving owners stranded in ways that the BMWs they had traded in had not. The Bi-Turbo was effectively the end for Maserati in the American market, and even in Europe it was seen as a farce and Maserati became nothing more than an off-beat choice for those looking for something out of the ordinary.
That changed somewhat in 1989. After years of grafting on camshafts and valves, and increasing the displacement of the Bi-Turbo, Maserati uncorked what many at the time thought was the car the Bi-Turbo should have been all along. The Shamal would incorporate a new engine, still based heavily in Bi-Turbo design, but now a V8 of 3.2-liters (basically a Bi-Turbo 90-degree V6 with two cylinders added) that, along with being balanced dynamically, generated 325bhp and 318 lb-ft of torque. That grunt was sent to a modified version of the Bi-Turbo's trailing arm rear end (struts at the front) via a six-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential termed "Ranger" by Maserati. That grunt may not sound so high today, but remember, this was in the days when even GT cars could be made reasonably light weight; the Shamal came in at 3,124lbs (the Gran Turismo weighs over 3,900). the results must have been electrifying. Here, as if from nowhere, was a true performance GT from one of the most respected badges in automotive history. 
Along with performance figures that put it firmly in the game (0-60 in around 5.0-seconds when a super car could do it in maybe 4.0, top speed north of 165) the Shamal featured a re-style of the basic Bi-Turbo shape by none other than Mr. Super car himself, Marcello Gandini, it even had the signature rear-whee larch cut-outs to prove it. Never a pretty shape, the Shamal is none the less a looker, with interesting proportions and bold, boxed arches. Only details like the (functional) spoiler at the base of the wind screen detract. The cabin was luxurious in the 80s Maserati mold, featuring that signature lemon-shaped clock in the center of the dash; almost every other surface was covered in wood or leather.
Best of all, this new Maserati Gt handled in a no holds barred, tail out kind of way. It was what is chauvinistically referred to as a "mans car" and it took a firm hand to steer it from the rear when all that torque hit the wheels. Here was Maserati's answer to a decade of criticism, a stunning GT that hit almost all the right buttons, and which, of course, was made in very limited numbers. It would be up to the later, V6 Ghibli to take Maserati's fight to the likes of Porsche, but that's another story. In all, only 369 Shamals would leave the factory before production was halted.
Of course I've never driven one, never even seen one in fact, but it remains one of the cars I most covet; one of the cars I'd import myself, just to sit it in my living-room on display. These cars deserve better though. They're made for crushing continents and deliver what must be a very special experience. They are also among the last Maserati GTs made before the total Fiat takeover and the "sale" to Ferrari, and thus are some of the last true Maseratis. today's cars are more advanced and their suspension design is certainly better in concept, but they don't rate as highly in handling, and I can't help feeling like something has been lost in the translation from Maserati, to mini-Ferrari.Perhaps Performance Car Magazine summed it up best in period with this wrap-up on the Shamal, "Challenging looks, storming performance. Superb." Still fancy that Gran Turismo S? Alas, I've no other choice but to do so...
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