Maserati 5000 GT: A Significant Automobile [Hardcover]

Maurice Khawam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0971521557 | ISBN-13: 978-0971521551

The design and development history of the Maserati 5000 GT has been traced and presented to eliminate the confusion that existed about this model. Both 450 S and Tipo 151 racing cars that shared engines with the 5000 GT are discussed and their competition results given.

All the information pertinent to the 34 cars has been logically grouped along with the list of their first owners. Additionally, the present owners of these prestigious machines give their impressions of the model and how they became involved with the world's first Super Car.

A chapter is dedicated to the design analysis of Mr. Tom Tjaarda that sheds more light on the eight designs executed for this automobile by the famous Italian carrozzieri.

The V8-based models that followed the 5000 GT are presented in a separate chapter that groups then into the road cars that went into production and those that remained as design concepts.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Maurice Khawam is an aerospace engineer and presently manages a technology development company in Southern California. He has written extensively in the field of commercial aircraft and published many books and white papers on the subject.

His main passion is cars and through the years has compiled a wealth of knowledge about them. He raced his own Formula Ford and later Formula 3 in Europe. He studied the engineering and development of racing cars from the last 4 decades.

Maserati has been the Italian manufacturer that captured his imagination, especially during the period when the factory was still actively racing. It is his appreciation of the great dedication and professionalism the factory team showed during the racing years and the fabulous models they produced after retirement from the sport that led him to write this book about his favourite model, the Maserati 5000 GT.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 124 pages
• Publisher: Mak Group (March 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971521557
• ISBN-13: 978-0971521551
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 11 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,688,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SpeedReaders.info Review, March 24, 2010

By 

Speed Readers (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Maserati 5000 GT: A Significant Automobile (Hardcover)

Unlike the voluminous literature on Maserati's racing cars, the firm's touring cars are most often relegated to a mere chapter in the multi-model marque histories. Author Khawam makes the case that the 5000 GT is such a significant car in terms of engineering and design that it deserves a stand-alone book--and set out to write it since none existed. As long as the model designation "5000" is still fresh in your mind, realize that only 5000 copies, individually numbered, of this book exist.

Beginning by setting the scene with a technical description and brief competition history of the V8-engined Maserati racecars and a summary of the economic realities that forced the cancellation of the racing program the book explains the resultant surplus of V8 motors. Little--too little--is said about the successful 3500 GT model other than making the obvious point that its beefed-up chassis became the basis for the 5000 GT. The book presents the whole design and development history along with technical specs. Aside from minor mechanical differences it is the custom coachwork by eight different stylists that distinguishes these cars from each other and also from other cars of the time. It is on this subject that the book advances the body of knowledge the most. Based on a thorough examination of factory records and correspondence with owners the author is able to describe each and every chassis in great detail and suitably illustrated. Throughout, most of the photos are not identified by chassis number and a reader with very specific interests would do well to start with Table 3 which lists all 36 cars by chassis number, body and date along with various other data points and is followed by several pages of notes cross-referenced to table entries.

Another key feature of the book is a comparative design analysis of each of the eight coachbuilders by the American designer Tom Tjaarda. He is eminently qualified to render such a critique. He not only worked for several Italian coachbuilders himself at just that time but was Ghia's head of design from 1968-1977.

Comments about 13 cars by their seven current owners and a discussion of the other V8-powered production Maseratis and concept cars up to the present day round out the book. Appended are a graphic representation of the 5000 GT family tree and, very clever, a map of the world indicating the trade winds and race tracks after which Maseratis are named. Also of note, the Forewords are by Adolfo Orsi, Jr. (son of Omar Orsi who became managing director in 1937) and Giulio Alfieri (d. 2002) who as chief engineer was a key figure in the development of racing and production cars in the 1950s and 1960s.

Full review at <speedreaders.info>. Copyright 2010, Sabu Advani.