335 hp, 4,930 cc DOHC V-8, four Weber 48DCNL carburettors, ZF five-speed manual gearbox, independent front suspension with coil springs, double wishbones and anti-roll bar, rigid rear axle with radius arms, semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes. Wheelbase: 2,550 mm

• Maserati’s RHD 1970 Earls Court Motor Show car

• Exceedingly rare RHD SS Spyder, indicating 76,000 miles

• Fully documented history in hands of Maserati aficionados

• Repainted in original Fly Yellow as part of extensive 1980-82 restoration

The Maserati Ghibli is unquestionably one of the most attractive sports cars of the 1960s. Its 335 horsepower, 4.9-litre DOHC V-8 could power it to almost 160 mph—appropriate for a car named after the winds that howl out of the Sahara into coastal Libya in the spring and can last for days.

Designed by Giorgetto Giugaro, who was then working at Ghia, the Ghibli coupé swept back from a low, full-width grille with pop-up headlights to a steeply angled windshield and fastback roofline with a Kamm tail. Convertible Spyders featured a disappearing top, and a hardtop was optional. A five-speed ZF manual gearbox was fitted, and a three-speed Borg-Warner automatic transmission was optional. The Ghibli debuted at the 1966 Turin Motor Show and proved to be a tremendous success for Maserati, as it outsold its two biggest rivals, the Ferrari Daytona and Lamborghini Miura.

A total of 1,274 Ghiblis were built between 1966-73, but only 125 were Spyders. Only 25 Spyders were SS models with the larger 4.9-litre engine, and even fewer were right-hand drive. Reducing the production numbers still further, only one was the 1970 Earls Court Motor Show car, and this is it: an RHD SS (for the bigger 4.9-litre engine) convertible finished in Fly Yellow.

Maserati’s own paperwork confirms that Ghibli chassis 1229, a right-hand drive 4.9 SS finished in Giallo and with Borrani wire wheels, was manufactured in September 1970 for ‘Salon Di Londra’ (the Earls Court Motor Show). After being displayed on the Maserati stand, the factory-built Spyder was sold by importers MTC Cars on 1 February, 1971 to a Dr. Collins. Collins had the factory add power steering in 1972 and changed the colour of the car to silver.

The ownership trail is clear and well documented. Chassis 1229 was subsequently owned by J.J. Baynes of West Byfleet in Surrey, then M.D. Schimmel of Highgate in London between 1975-1983, by which time the mileage had risen to 25,000.

During this period, the car was restored in the workshops of marque specialist Bill McGrath. His seven pages of notes and four-page invoice detail extensive work carried out from March 1980 to May 1982, which included a return to the proper original shade of yellow and re-covering the seats in Connolly leather. The next owner was Maserati Club Secretary Michael James Miles of Andover, Hampshire, who also compiled a detailed record of work carried out between 1983-1996.

This Ghibli has carried its share of valuable UK license plates, being registered at one time or another as YLL 8, 5000 MM, 405 MM and, perhaps most appropriately, GIB 4929. Since 1997, the top end of the double-overhead camshaft V-8 engine has been overhauled (no small task), and the total mileage from new for this exceedingly rare, right-hand drive, ex-Motor Show Ghibli Spyder SS has risen to just over 76,000.