Maserati Bora
Encyclopedia
The Maserati Bora is a Maserati
Maserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
two-seater coupe
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
powered by a V8 engine
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
mounted amidships
Mid-engine design
A mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine between the rear and front axles. Another term for this is mid-ship.-Benefits:The mid-engine layout is typically chosen for its relatively favorable weight distribution...
. Produced from 1971 to 1978, it had a top speed of 174–177 mph (77.8–79.1 ).
History
Shortly after CitroënCitroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
took a controlling interest in Maserati in 1968, the concept of a mid-engined two-seat sports car was proposed. Lamborghini
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini , is an Italian car manufacturer. The company was founded by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques like...
and De Tomaso
De Tomaso
De Tomaso Automobili SpA is an Italian car-manufacturing company. It was founded by the Argentine-born Alejandro de Tomaso in Modena in 1959. It originally produced various prototypes and racing cars, including a Formula One car for Frank Williams' team in 1970. The company developed a reputation...
already had the Miura and Mangusta whilst Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
were known to be developing their own mid-engined contender. Initially known as Tipo 117 and later the Bora, the Maserati project got underway in October 1968 and a prototype was on the road by the summer of 1969. Shown in its final form at the Geneva Salon in March 1971, the first customer cars had been delivered before the end of the year. Maserati struggled after being bought by De Tomaso
De Tomaso
De Tomaso Automobili SpA is an Italian car-manufacturing company. It was founded by the Argentine-born Alejandro de Tomaso in Modena in 1959. It originally produced various prototypes and racing cars, including a Formula One car for Frank Williams' team in 1970. The company developed a reputation...
in 1975, and the Bora was discontinued in 1978.
Design
MacPherson strut
The MacPherson strut is a type of car suspension system which uses the axis of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in modern vehicles and named after Earle S. MacPherson, who developed the design.-History:...
based front suspension, but this was abandoned for production because, installed in combination with very wide front tires and rack-and-pinion steering, the strut-based solution produced severe kickback. For the production cars Maserati reverted to a more conservative wishbone front-suspension arrangement.
Citroën's advanced high pressure hydraulics were adopted to operate the ventilated disc brakes, the brake, clutch and throttle pedal box, the driver's seat and the retractable headlights. Wheels were 7.5 x 15 inches (381 mm) Campagnolo light alloy rims with distinctive removable polished stainless steel hubcaps in the earlier automobiles and Michelin XWX tyres.
Engine-wise, Maserati decided to install a subtly uprated version of their familiar DOHC 90° V8, displacement having been 4719 cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 93.9 x 85 mm. Mounted longitudinally, compression was set at 8.5:1 and with four Weber 42 DCNF downdraught carbs and electronic Bosch
Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...
ignition, the Bora could boast 310 bhp at 6000 rpm. Great attention was paid to reducing noise and vibration, the engine and five-speed ZF transaxle being mounted on a subframe attached to the monocoque
Monocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
via four flexible mounts. Additionally, the aluminium engine cover came trimmed in deep-pile carpet and the window between the passenger's compartment and the engine bay had double-glazing for noise suppression, a feature ahead of its time. The body was created by Giorgetto Giugiaro
Giorgetto Giugiaro
Giorgetto Giugiaro is an Italian automobile designer responsible equally for a stable of supercars and several of the most popular everyday vehicles driven today...
for Ital Design, fabrication of the all-steel panels being contracted to Officine Padane of Modena.
The Bora was an interestingly designed car. Standing 1138 mm high, perhaps the most distinctive details were the brushed stainless steel roof and windscreen pillars. Inside, the bucket seats, dash, door trim, centre console and rear bulkhead were trimmed in leather, electric windows having been standard, most cars also getting air conditioners. The steering column was tailored for rake and reach, the driver's seat being height adjustable only. Instead, high pressure hydraulics moved the pedal box, consisting of the brake, clutch and throttle pedals, forwards and backwards by around three inches (76 mm) , a first such application in the world for a production car.
Weighing in at 1520 kg (around 180 kg heavier than the Ghibli), top speed was 165 mi/h whilst 0-60 and 0-100 took 6.5 and 14.6 seconds respectively. The first Boras were delivered to customers in late 1971, only minor production changes being gradually phased in thereafter. These included front lids hinged at the front, pop-up headlights with rounded inside corners, a rectangular front lid-mounted grille and finally, matte black louvres on the sail panels. From 1973, as the 4.7-litre engine hadn't been homologated in North America, Boras destined for the United States were fitted with emissions-equipped 4.9s similar to those found in US-bound Ghiblis. Output was 280 bhp at 6000 rpm, only 30 bhp less than the Euro-spec derivative, changing the zero to sixty time to 7.2 seconds and the quarter mile to 15.2 seconds.
Production ran from 1971 to 1978, 524 Boras eventually being built, 289 of which were 4.7s and the remaining 235, 4.9s.
The Bora had a twin, the Merak
Maserati Merak
The Maserati Merak was an Italian sports car introduced in 1972, essentially a junior version of the Maserati Bora. It substituted an all new Maserati designed quad-cam V-6 motor for the Bora's larger V-8, resulting not only in a lower cost, but room for a small backseat and better handling due to...
, which used the same bodyshell and a smaller Maserati V6 engine, also used in the Citroën SM
Citroën SM
The Citroën SM is a high-performance coupé produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1970 to 1975. The SM placed third in the 1971 European Car of the Year contest, trailing its stablemate Citroën GS, and won the 1972 Motor Trend Car of the Year award in the U.S. in 1972.-History:In 1961,...
.