MASERATI

Bora

The Maserati Bora was born shortly after Citroen took a controlling interest in Maserati in 1968, when the Modena firm finally decided to answer the mid-engined revolution already led by the Lamborghini Miura and De Tomaso Mangusta. Developed under the internal code Tipo 117, the Maserati Bora was the company's first ever mid-engined road car, and a prototype was running by mid-1969 before the finished car was revealed at the Geneva Salon in March 1971. Styling came from Giorgetto Giugiaro at Ital Design, whose crisp, low wedge with its distinctive brushed-steel roof and screen pillars gave the Maserati Bora a timeless, understated elegance very different from its flamboyant rivals. Behind the two-seat cabin sat a quad-cam V8, initially 4.7 litres producing around 310 horsepower and later a 4.9-litre version with about 320 horsepower mainly for the United States. Thanks to its Citroen ownership, the Maserati Bora featured remarkable high-pressure hydraulics operating the pop-up headlamps, the adjustable pedal box, the driver's seat and the tilting steering column, bringing a level of refinement rare in a supercar of the period. Built as a genuine 280 km/h grand tourer with proper luggage space and civilised manners, the Maserati Bora suffered when De Tomaso took over in 1975, and production ended in 1978 after just 564 cars, of which 275 had the 4.9-litre engine and 289 the 4.7. Rare and beautifully made, the Maserati Bora is now a prized collector's Maserati.