• 1972 Maserati Bora
• One of the most beautiful cars of the 1970s; a Giorgetto Giugiaro masterpiece
• Extensively refurbished by McGrath Maserati in 2021
• Detailed invoices totalling more than £50, 000

Originally built in December 1972, this beautiful Maserati Bora is chassis number AM117/ 432, and it left the Modena factory in the elegant colour combination of Celeste with a Senape leather interior. The 4. 7-litre example was then dispatched on 26 March 1973 to dealer Walter Bordese, based in Turin’s Piazza Adriano.

Having spent a number of years in the collection of an Italian enthusiast – and then a French owner who took it on a 1000-kilometre tour of France with the Maserati Club – the Bora was bought from renowned specialist McGrath Maserati by another dedicated fan of the legendary marque. He had previously owned competition machinery such as the 250S and the fabled 250F Grand Prix car, and intended to use the Bora for international touring.

He therefore entrusted it to McGrath Maserati, which proceeded to go through the entire car with a fine-tooth comb. The invoices for the work total more than £50, 000 and include an engine rebuild, plus an overhaul of the suspension and differential. The stylish Campagnolo wheels were refurbished, ethanol-compatible fuel lines were fitted, the air-conditioning system was serviced, and a set of original tools was sourced.

The Maserati was then driven from England to Switzerland and completed more than 1500 trouble-free kilometres. Its owner enthused about the driving experience, echoing period road tests that praised the Bora’s combination of sharp styling, epic performance, and surprising long-distance practicality.

Superbly presented in very similar shades to its original colour combination, this Maserati Bora is offered for sale in exceptional condition and with no expense having been spared in terms of its maintenance. It also has an extensive history file containing details of the work carried out by McGrath Maserati, plus old invoices and MOTs, and copies of previous Italian and French registration documents.

Model history

When the Maserati Bora was introduced at the 1971 Geneva Salon, it was a landmark model for the historic Modenese marque. Not only was it Maserati’s first mid-engined production road car, it was also the first to use monocoque construction and independent suspension all round.

It was styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign, and its elegant lines won universal approval. Installed behind the driver was Maserati’s proven 4719cc, quad-cam V8 engine. Running on a quartet of Weber carburettors, it produced 306bhp and drove through a five-speed ZF transaxle.

Ventilated discs were fitted all round and, with Maserati then being owned by Citroën, the braking set-up benefitted from the French company’s pressurised hydraulic system, which also powered the seats, the adjustable pedal box and the retractable headlamps.

As a high-performance Grand Tourer, the Bora fell into the category of ‘reassuringly expensive’ and in the UK it cost £12, 100 when specified with the optional air-conditioning and Autovox radio/ cassette unit. ‘While a proportion of that must go towards the privilege of being allowed to purchase such exotic styling,’ wrote Clive Richardson in Motor Sport, ‘the rest is carefully applied to assembling a formidable amount of engineering sophistication upon four wheels.’

The Bora covered the 0-60mph sprint in just 6. 5 seconds, with Richardson noting that ‘overtaking manoeuvres are achieved by a simple thrust on the throttle, and in the instant it takes to blink, the obstruction has gone.’

Doug Blain was equally impressed when he drove one for Car magazine. Having opened by stating that, ‘I want to make it quite clear that the Bora is one of the finest fast cars ever built’, he concluded by saying that that it ‘now takes over as the most desirable car in the world in which tackle a high-speed continental journey.’

A 4. 9-litre version was offered from 1973 onwards, and production of the Bora came to an end in 1978 after 564 had been built. Before the marque’s 21st century renaissance, it was seen by many as the last great Maserati.