Maserati Kyalami

Maserati Kyalami at a glance

For the brand's other cars see the Maserati catalogue; our history of Maserati covers the change of ownership in the 1970s.

A new owner and a car on a budget

Alejandro de Tomaso acquired Maserati in 1976. To save development costs, he based the first new Maserati of his ownership on a car that his own company already built: the De Tomaso Longchamp, a four-seat coupé designed by Tom Tjaarda that had recently proved unsuccessful.

Wikipedia describes the Kyalami as the first new Maserati of the De Tomaso era. It was launched at the Geneva motor show in 1976. Its name refers to the Kyalami circuit in South Africa, where a Cooper T81 with a Maserati engine had won the South African Grand Prix of 1967. The Kyalami took over the role of the Mexico, the four-seat V8 coupé that Maserati had built until 1972.

From De Tomaso Longchamp to Kyalami

Pietro Frua redrew the Longchamp for Maserati. The two cars are hard to tell apart at first glance, yet according to Wikipedia they share no body panels.

The more important difference is under the bonnet. The Longchamp used an American-sourced Ford V8. The Kyalami received Maserati's own quad-cam V8, the same family of engines used in the Quattroporte III.

Wikipedia notes that in recent comparison tests the Kyalami outperformed the Longchamp, mainly because most Kyalamis have a manual gearbox.

Engines and gearbox

Both engines are 90° V8s from Maserati's own range, with four overhead camshafts, Weber downdraft carburettors and dry-sump lubrication.

Maserati claimed the same top speed for both versions. A five-speed ZF manual gearbox was standard. Buyers could ask for a Borg-Warner automatic with three speeds instead, though few did so: the manual dominates the production. The source gives no torque or acceleration figures, so none are quoted here.

The closely related Quattroporte III saloon used the same engines but was fitted with an automatic gearbox built by Chrysler.

Dimensions and weight

The Kyalami rides on a wheelbase of 2,600 mm. It is 4,610 mm long, 1,870 mm wide and 1,320 mm high, and its kerb weight is 1,670 kg. With the 4.9-litre engine that works out at about 8.1 kg per kW, against about 8.6 kg per kW for the 4.2. The body is a notchback with a separate boot and four seats.

Compared with the Mexico it replaced, the Kyalami is shorter and wider:

Convertible prototype and conversions

Carrozzeria Frua also built a convertible prototype of the Kyalami, but Maserati rejected it, and no open version entered production. Later a German tuning company converted at least two cars into convertibles. Both had the 4.2-litre engine.

Sales and the end of production

The Kyalami was not a sales success. Over eight years only 210 cars left the factory, and Wikipedia says that the model was "quietly discontinued" in 1983. The source does not name a direct successor. From December 1981 Maserati's range was built around the smaller and more affordable Biturbo, a twin-turbo V6 coupé that De Tomaso had planned to widen the brand's customer base.

Legacy

The Kyalami shows how Maserati worked in the late 1970s: instead of a costly new design, the company reused an existing structure and gave it a Maserati engine and a new look by Frua. With only 210 built, it remains a rare car today.