Maserati Karif
Encyclopedia
The Maserati Karif is a luxury coupé
produced by Maserati
between 1988 and 1992. It was designed to be luxurious but also sporty and agile to allow the driver to "feel like a racing driver again or for the first time". The Karif uses the same shortened chassis as the Zagato
-bodied Maserati Spyder model, leading to a somewhat truncated look in the sideview. It was met with mixed reviews as it did not live up to expectations of another Bora
.
In a reversion to Maserati's earlier naming practices, the car was named after the wind
called "Karif" which blows South West across the Gulf of Aden
at Berbera
, Somalia
.
The Karif had an engine it shared with the Maserati Biturbo
, the AM473, a 2.8 L
V6 engine with 3 valves
per cylinder. It produces 285 bhp at 5500 rpm which can take the car from 0-97 km/h (0-60 mph) in 4.8 seconds and up to a top speed of 255 km/h (158 mph). Other sources claim 248 bhp, and 224 bhp for the catalyzed model.. With these lower power outputs, claimed top speeds were 233 and 230 km/h (144.8 and 142.9 mph) respectively.
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
produced by Maserati
Maserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
between 1988 and 1992. It was designed to be luxurious but also sporty and agile to allow the driver to "feel like a racing driver again or for the first time". The Karif uses the same shortened chassis as the Zagato
Zagato
Zagato is a design consultancy and engineering services company situated just outside Milan, Italy.The company's premises occupy an area of , of which are covered....
-bodied Maserati Spyder model, leading to a somewhat truncated look in the sideview. It was met with mixed reviews as it did not live up to expectations of another Bora
Maserati Bora
The Maserati Bora is a Maserati two-seater coupe powered by a V8 engine mounted amidships. Produced from 1971 to 1978, it had a top speed of .-History:...
.
In a reversion to Maserati's earlier naming practices, the car was named after the wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
called "Karif" which blows South West across the Gulf of Aden
Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden is located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen, on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and Somalia in the Horn of Africa. In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which is about 20 miles wide....
at Berbera
Berbera
Berbera is a city and seat of Berbera District in Somaliland, a self-proclaimed Independent Republic with de facto control over its own territory, which is recognized by the international community and the Somali Government as a part of Somalia...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
.
The Karif had an engine it shared with the Maserati Biturbo
Maserati Biturbo
The Maserati Biturbo is a sports car introduced by Maserati in 1981. The Biturbo is a two-door, four-seater notchback coupé featuring, as the name implies, a two-litre V6 engine with two turbochargers and a luxurious interior.The car was designed by Pierangelo Andreani, an engineer from the De...
, the AM473, a 2.8 L
Litre
pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...
V6 engine with 3 valves
Poppet valve
A poppet valve is a valve consisting of a hole, usually round or oval, and a tapered plug, usually a disk shape on the end of a shaft also called a valve stem. The shaft guides the plug portion by sliding through a valve guide...
per cylinder. It produces 285 bhp at 5500 rpm which can take the car from 0-97 km/h (0-60 mph) in 4.8 seconds and up to a top speed of 255 km/h (158 mph). Other sources claim 248 bhp, and 224 bhp for the catalyzed model.. With these lower power outputs, claimed top speeds were 233 and 230 km/h (144.8 and 142.9 mph) respectively.