Founded in 1914 in the Italian city of Bologna by brothers Alfieri, Ettore and Ernesto, Maserati is one of the great names in automotive – forging a name for itself over more than a century by producing title-winning racing cars and high-performance luxury road cars.

It has created a fair few classics over the decades and from the mid-1950s through to the mid-1970s, it produced some very cool cars indeed. These included the elegant 3500GT from 1957, the equally smart 5000GT launched in 1959, the sporty Ghibli coupe of 1967, and the sleek Merak and Khamsin sports cars of 1972.

Sandwiched amongst these was the Bora, a two-seater coupe that is an important car in Maserati history and one which celebrates its 50th birthday this year.

The first mid-mounted rear engine road car in Maserati’s history, the Bora made its debut at the Geneva International Motor Show on March 11, 1971.

Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign, the Bora made quite an impression. Built to offer terrific performance, decent comfort and safety, it was initially powered by a 231kW, 4.7-litre V8 which was mounted lengthways on a subframe installed on the monocoque. Top speed was a tasty 280km/h.

The car’s distinctive features included retractable headlights, projecting differential on the rear axle, independent suspension on all wheels (for the first time in a Maserati), disc brakes, dry-mounted single disc clutch, 5-speed gearbox and telescopic suspension dampers.

Styling was very nice and equal to anything its Italian rivals at Ferrari and Lamborghini were producing. The low, slender front led over some elegant lines to a rear that ended in a Kamm or truncated tail. Inside, there were bucket seats; leather dash, door trim, centre console and rear bulkhead; and electric windows and air conditioning were standard.

Two years after its launch, the Bora became available with a beefed-up to 246kW 4.9-litre V8, and over its production years of 1971-1978 a total of 564 cars were built.

Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (May 2021)

31 May 2021