Tony’s Take: What is it with Bonhams? Why would they put a car online without any description? One assumes the auction house will eventually tell us more about this drop-dead gorgeous 1970 Maserati Ghibli 4.7 Spyder By Ghia. Meanwhile, a little internet sleuthing reveals . . .
This is the same car sold in 2021 when it was . . . black? Yup. Back in November, Sotheby’s sold the Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed two-seater for $672k.
Equipped with twin-choke Weber carburetors, the Ghibli 4.7 Spyder’s V8 is good for 335 hp, powering the car to a [theoretical] 168 mph. [The more powerful and rare Spyder SS holstered a 4.9-liter powerplant.]
Maserati built just eight-three 4.7-litre Ghibli Spyders. This example is one of only twenty-five left-hand drive cars, one of an unspecified number of LHD’s equipped with a manual gearbox (Yankees preferred a slushbox).
This Ghibli also comes complete with factory air conditioning, power steering and a Becker Europa radio. And here it is!
According to the description, an owner in Ontario, Canada repainted the Ghibli “where it was enjoyed for several years prior to being restored [at a cost of $85k] to its present black-on-black color scheme.” So who repainted it yellow? That’s insane!
Less insane: “The standard Ghibli wheels were replaced with a set of original Borrani wire wheels. These wheels were sourced through Carlo Borrani himself, who agreed to sell the then-owner four of the last 12 handmade wheels at a cost of approximately $12,000.” Yeah baby!
Sotheby’s also said the Ghibli’s “believed to have been driven 50,000 km [31k mi] from new at time of cataloguing.” Since then? * crickets * So a great car with unknown miles and a big yellow question mark. Bonhams hasn’t published an estimate yet, but there’s plenty of useful intel.
Past three transactions
| Auction House | Date | Miles | Price |
| Bring a trailer | 4/6/22 | 40k Miles TMU | $765,000 |
| RM Sotheby’s | 11/19/21 | 50,000 km | €646,250 ($728,986) |
| Goodings & Co | 3/4/22 | TMU | $687,000 |
High, low over five years
| Highest Sale | Lowest Sale | Average |
| €708,125 $873,684 2/7/18 52k miles | £398,750 $514,241 9/24/19 35k miles | $693,962 |
So let’s take the average, add in strong demand and peg this one at $750k – $850k. Downside: Would the new owner pay to put the car back in black? Stranger things have happened.
| Make | Maserati |
| Model | Ghibli 4.7 Spyder By Ghia |
| Year | 1970 |
| Total Produced | One of only 25 LHD European examples |
| Number of Owners | na |
| Mileage | na |
| Condition | ★ ★ ★ ★ |
| Price When New | na Inflation Calculator |
| Highest Previous Price | €708,125 $873,684 (2/7/18) |
| Auction House | RM Sotheby’s Paris |
| Auction Date | 1/2/23 |
| My Prediction | $750k – $850k |
| Hammered At |
