I have a real soft spot for the Maserati Bora. Something about those ‘70s lines and dishy, dished wheels simply do it for me. And while at the Le Mans Classic last week, I was keeping an eye out for one to ogle. And I did find one and ogled away to my heart’s content. But I also saw the Bora’s brother there, too – a car I am not as familiar with – and it struck me how handsome that was as well, but different. When you think about it, it looks like a Bora that someone forgot to fit all the glass panels to at the back. Yet it works just as well.  

Actually, it works very well considering the Merak managed to squeeze an extra set of (small) rear seats into a car that was exactly the same length and had exactly the same wheelbase as the Bora. 2+2s don’t always manage to pull such neatness off. Maserati managed this, of course, by ditching the Bora’s 4.7-litre V8 and using instead the V6, bored-out to 3.0-litres, from the Citroen SM. Citroen, at the time, had a controlling interest in Maserati, and the Merak also used some of the SM’s transaxle and hydraulics, which operated elements such as the pop-up headlights and brakes.   

The idea was financially sound. Making use of economies of scale by building two models using many shared parts in the structure, plus an engine that was shared across two brands. This meant Maserati could deliver a car that was not just more practical for the customer, but cheaper, too – meanwhile the company would make lots of money to ensure its survival. Well, best-laid plans…

One reason for their visual similarities was that both the Bora and Merak were designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. The intention of using largely the same structure underneath – and taking advantage of the economies of scale – didn’t work out, though. The two cars do have the same front structure, but only up to the doors. The Merak ended up with a very different rear structure that diluted any manufacturing cost savings. Then Citroen went into financial meltdown, and was forced to offload Maserati in 1975. Alejandro de Tomaso took over after that and the Bora was canned was in 1977, with less than 600 sold. The Merak soldiered on until 1983, by which time 1,830 had been made.

The Merak’s 190hp V6 was outgunned by the Dino 308GT4 in a straight line – the Merak could only manage 0-60mph in a brisk but not eye-widening 7.5 seconds. But the quad-cam V6 was a sensational unit, nonetheless, delivering a thrilling wail and vibrant power past 3,000rpm, but also a good degree of flexibility at the tacho’s lower reaches. It’s also generally reliable if well looked after, but if things do go wrong the strip down and rebuild cost could detonate your wallet. The sodium-filled exhaust valves are a particular weakness, and if they snap that tends to sound Last Post for the motor. The good news is most of the mechanical parts are still available, and even the bits that you might think would be a headache, such as the Citroen hydraulics, are easily dealt with by a knowledgeable specialist.

None of that should be an issue with this car. The advert says it’s an ‘excellent and fully restored example’ and it looks it. The restoration was 20 years ago, mind, but the ‘Merak has been enjoyed sparingly [since] and the mechanical and cosmetic condition both remain in the same excellent standard today’. And at less than £50k for a classic Maserati, it seems like decent value for something that you’re likely only to see rarely – at events like the Le Mans Classic. And if you’re there with this car one day, I’ll be the fella ogling it.