Maserati – Bora Turns Fifty

When it comes to Italian cars, it’s safe to say that passion for internal combustion is what fuels them. Generally speaking, Italian cars are not just cars. They’re more than that. They are expressions of automotive passion and celebrations of speed. Let us not forget that it is the country that gave us Ferrari, Lamborghini and of course, Maserati. There’s no denying the first two are brands laden with heart and passion, but Maserati was on another level. Its cars were not cars, they were an assault on the senses. A celebration of raw, unabashed speed. Sadly though, because Maserati wasn’t as big as those other names, it was also a company often in turmoil, which of course had an effect on its cars. Like the one we’re celebrating here – the Bora.

Built from 1971 to 1978, the Bora was the car to hopefully put Maserati firmly back on the map. With Citroën’s controlling interest in the company, the money was there to build a mid-engine sports car that would take the fight to the likes of the Lamborghini Miura and the De Tomaso Mangusta. It would also go toe-to-toe with the new mid-engine offering from Ferrari.

Giorgetto Giugiaro was called in to style it, and style it he did. It was a sleek, bullet-like machine that produced a drag coefficient of just .30. The car’s distinctive features included retractable headlights to prevent aerodynamic drag, projecting differential on the rear axle, independent suspensions on all wheels (for the first time in a Maserati), disc brakes, dry-mounted single disc clutch, 5-speed gearbox and telescopic suspension dampers.

The approach was futuristic, with a low, slender, almost tapered front styled to cut through the air, while the front grille included two rectangular air vents with a Trident in the centre. The perfectly sleek sides were centrally divided by a thin black rubber trim, while the rear ended in a Kamm or truncated tail. The result was a trend-setting, streamlined car perfect for the rock-and-roll spirit of the ‘70s, which is still delighting fans today.

The engine was the tried and tested 4,719 cc V8 producing 310 horsepower at 6,000 rpm (to be joined by the 4,930 cc unit two years later), mounted lengthways on a subframe installed on the monocoque. With lineage that can be traced back to the 450S racer, these engines were lightweight (built from aluminium), they were advanced (hemispherical combustion champers, four chain-driven cams) and they were free-revving and raw. Engines with soul and heart. Not ‘just’ engines. For petrol that found their way into the chambers, it was akin to a lottery win. The finest way to be compressed, ignited and turned into exhaust!

The Bora turned fifty last week, which seems impossible when looking at it. The design, the advanced features, they could all be from a car much, much newer. To think of them as being fifty seems odd, but that’s Maserati for you. Never one to do things the easy way, it was a company that pushed into the future with brave new ideas. But alas, the Bora wasn’t to be the legend the company had hoped. Sales were less than impressive, and in the end fewer than 600 Boras were built. 275 were the 4.9, 289 the 4.7. It was a crying shame, but the world simply wasn’t ready for it, it seemed.

But all was not lost. The years have been kind to the Bora, which is now one of the most valuable and highly sought after classic Italian sports cars out there. It is lauded as being one of the most beautiful cars in the world, and as such, those who don’t own them covet them. It might have been built in small numbers, but those numbers are passionately protected. Of course, this means that finding one is hard work. Those lucky enough to own one seldom wish to sell. But don’t fret, as the Bora left an interesting and familiar legacy. Namely the Merak.

The Merak was, at a glance, a Bora. Certainly, it was largely the same chassis and body. However, instead of the big V8, the Merak instead came with a V6. And that’s a good thing, because let’s face it, the Italians have form when it comes to building V6 engines as well. The SS version, which is arguably the one to have, had a 2,965cc V6 derived from that of the Citroën SM. It was free-revving, it featured a 90 degree bank angle, chain-driven double overhead cams and 12 valves. It was a throaty, powerful little unit that brought over 200bhp to the Merak’s lightweight frame.

While the Bora may indeed be a hard thing to find, you can get some of the magic by buying a Merak. Far more than 600 were built, and as such, it’s wholly a more achievable proposition. How achievable? Well, see the yellow Merak SS pictured here? It’s a project, which needs to be assembled (the hard work like paint and body has been done) and it could be yours. It’s currently on Car & Classic Auctions with a very achievable reserve some £100,000 less than a Bora equivalent.

If you want to celebrate fifty years of the Bora, buying this Merak, which is in effect a legacy of the Bora, is not a bad way to go at all.