1974 Maserati Merak Coupe

Maserati's mid-engined supercar - the Bora - was followed-up by the Merak. It was launched at the 1972 Paris Motor Show and was a direct competitor for the Ferrari Dino 246 and used a stretched version of the Maserati-built four-cam V6 that had debuted in the Citroen SM. At the time, the Citroen company owned Maserati, so the Merak made use of the SM's transmission and power-operated, all-disc braking. Derived from a V8 engine designed by the great Giulio Alfieri, Maserati's V6 was increased in capacity from the SM's 2,675cc to 2,965cc for the Merak and developed 190bhp. Top speed was in the neighborhood of 152 mph. The car featured a unitary chassis and an all-independent suspension. Other features of the Merak included 2+2 seating and superior all-round vision thanks to its rear 'flying buttresses'.

A more powerful version, the 'SS', arrived for 1975, followed later by a 2.0-liter version - the Merak 2000 GT - introduced to take advantage of Italy's taxation rates for vehicles displacing less than 2,000cc.

Production of the Merak continued until 1983, after 1,832 had been built. Only 630 of these being the original version which had a production lifespan of 1972-1974.

Chassis no. AM122US1382
This is a numbers-matching Merak that has had only two private, San Francisco Bay Area-based owners from new. The first owner was Mr. William Bradley of Mountain View, California. It has the rarely seen European-specification chrome bumpers, direct from the Maserati factory in Italy. These bumpers replaced the much-disliked US 'impact bumpers' which did no favors to the attractive wedge-shaped GT.

The second owner was Frank Pepler of San Francisco, who had a complete engine-out restoration performed to Concours standards. The car was refinished in its original fly yellow color with its aluminum flying buttress rear roof pillars. Inside there is a black leather interior with a mouse hair dashboard. There is a Blaupunkt AM/FM radio, automatic antenna, clock, and power windows.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2013