AUTOMOTIVE - VINTAGE: Maserati's Refined Mid-Engine GT

One of the first projects started after Citro?n acquired Maserati in 1968 was the development of a mid-engine sports car. While the company had been one of Italy's first manufacturers to produce a mid-engine race car back in 1961, Maserati had to leave road-car honors to the likes of Lamborghini and DeTomaso with such cars as the Miura and Mangusta, respectively.

Styling was key for any Italian sports car at the time, and to an extent still is, so Maserati called in the help of one of the best in the business for the design of the new car: Giorgietto Giugiaro. Having recently set up shop for himself under the Italdesign banner, Giugiaro had previously worked for Maserati as head of design for Ghia with the Ghibli as his finest work.

The Giugiaro-designed Bora was unveiled at the 1971 Gevena Motor Show. (Photo: Wouter Melissen) Maserati asked Giugiaro to combine the mid-engine layout with the creature comforts and luggage space of a conventional Grand Tourer.

Nearly two years in the making, the new Maserati Bora was finally launched at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show. Giugiaro's design combined the some classic Maserati elements with the lines of the Alfa Romeo based Iguana show car first shown at the 1969 Turin Motor Show. The subtle wedge shape was dominated by a brushed stainless-steel roof and a sizeable engine cover that included a substantial amount of glass. Pop-up headlights were fitted, which gave the Bora a very clean look.

Under the skin, the Bora sported a central monocoque chassis with subframes front and rear to support the suspension and drivetrain. Like the rest of the car, the suspension was thoroughly modern with double wishbones and coil springs all-round.

Parent company Citro?n provided its superb high-pressure hydraulic power brake system. The first cars were fitted with solid discs, which were later replaced by internally ventilated examples. In similar vein the early recirculating-ball steering was substituted by rack-and-pinion.

Bora was powered by a 4.7-liter aluminum V8 that produced 210 horsepower and propelled the aerodynamic car to 74 mph. (Photo: Wouter Melissen) The Bora's mid-mounted engine was Maserati's familiar twin-cam V8, which had originally been developed for the company's great sports racers of the 1950s. In the Bora specification, the all-aluminum engine displaced just over 4.7 liters and featured single-spark ignition. Breathing through four Weber carburetors, it produced around 310 horsepower, transferred to the rear wheels by a five-speed manual gearbox. The very potent engine and slippery body enabled the Bora to achieve speeds of up to 174 mph.

Although introduced early in 1971, Bora production did not start in earnest until the end of the year. Compared with its rivals, the new Maserati was remarkably comfortable and quiet, and at the same time had very competitive performance figures and characteristics.

As the first cars rolled off the line, development continued and in addition to the earlier changes, a slightly larger version of the V8 was added as an option in 1975. At 4.9 liters, it produced both a little more horsepower and torque, and most importantly, it was already homologated in the United States.

At the end of 1972, Maserati's French importer Thepenier requested a competition version to race in the Tour de France and at Le Mans. Two cars, fitted with a dry-sump, high compression version of the 4.9-liter V8, were prepared by the relatively small staff in Modena. Built to Group 4 regulations, the car was immediately competitive, but its career was cut short due to homologation problems as well as financial issues.

When properly sorted, the Bora could have formed a real threat for the Ferrari Daytonas and Porsche 911s.

Source: http://automotive.speedtv.com/article/vintage-prototype-maserati-bora-racer/

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