50 years ago, at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1972, the Maserati Boomerang, one of the most extraordinary cars of the modern age, made its full debut.

A sleek, wedge-shaped concept, the Boomerang was (and still is) a jaw-dropping creation, one of many wonderful works – including other Maserati models such as the 1966 Ghibli and the 1972 Merak – that flowed from the pen of legendary car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro of the renowned Italdesign company.

A mock-up of the Boomerang had actually appeared at the Turin Motor Show in 1971, but the model presented at Geneva the following year was a fully functional, road-going, registered car, which used as its foundation the chassis and complete mechanics of the Maserati Bora – a production car that was another striking design from Giugiaro.

Power for the two-seater, rear-mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive Boomerang comes from a 4.7-litre V8 delivering 231kW through a five-speed manual gearbox, and although the car was never really tested for performance, Maserati claimed a top speed of 300km/h. The sprint to 100km/h was reportedly done in around six seconds.

Sharing its underpinnings with the Bora, the Boomerang has a steel monocoque with a steel subframe for the engine and gearbox. Suspension was independent double wishbone all round with coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers, and anti-roll bars. There are ventilated discs at every corner, power-assisted steering, and the car sits on 15-inch x 7.5-inch wheels.

Its astounding exterior appearance, with those massive windows and incredibly large and steeply angled windscreen, is matched by an equally unusual and exotic interior. Leather trim is used throughout, but standout in the cabin is the steering wheel and instrumentation layout. The wheel sits at the end of an enormous steering column and rotates on spokes that run around the edge of the column. All gauges and instrumentation are static and contained within the boundaries of the wheel on the column itself. A most unusual design.

Acclaimed at the time for its daring styling and design, the Boomerang would do the rounds of car shows and automotive events until being sold off to a private customer in the mid-1970s. Not surprisingly, when this remarkable, unique, machine does come up for sale, only those with the fattest of bank accounts need turn up for the auction. In 2015, it sold for a whopping €3,289,500 ($AU4.8 million). Worth every penny.

Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (April 2022) 

27 April 2022