1979 Maserati Merak SS

When World War II came to an end and peacetime resumed, the Orsi family, which owned Maserati, resumed the company's involvement in motorsports and simultaneously built series production sports and GT cars. Racing at such venues as Monaco, Le Mans, and even Indiapnolis later took a back seat as the company focused its attention on becoming a financially viable concern. By 1969, the Orsi family had sold out to Citroen, and shortly thereafter, Maserati introduced the V6 powered Merak in 1971, which shared Giorgetto Giugiaro's Italdesign styling and platform with the V-8-engined Bora.

Mid-engine placement and 'junior supercar' models had grown in popularity by the 1970s, with the Ferrari 308 GT4 and the Lamborghini Urraco. Maserati's top-of-the-line exotic supercar was the Bora, with its race-bred V8 engine. Since Maserati lacked the necessary funds to develop a new model from scratch, they sent the Bora back to Giorgetto Giugiaro's drawing board, asking ItalDesign to redevelop it into something less costly to build, but equally as attractive.

Giugiaro replaced the Bora's expensive stainless-steel roof panel and reconfigured the glassy rear canopy engine cover with a more conventional steel lid and a pair of flying buttresses to complement the sloping roofline over the rear deck. The front part of the Bora's bodyshell, up to the doors, was shared with the Merak, with minor changes to the front end, mainly the use of dual chrome bumpers on the Merak, replacing the twin trapezoidal grilles on the Bora.

The engine selected to power the Merak was the DOHC V6 powerplant Maserati had developed for use by Citroen in the SM. Citroen's ownership of Maserati at the time made the usage practical, cost-effective, and reduced development time. Various other components were sourced from Citroen's parts bin including the dashboard and instrument cluster (on left-hand drive cars), and the hydraulic systems. The right-hand-drive Meraks received the same dashboard as the Bora with a three-spoke steering wheel. The Citroen sourced components had a single-spoke steering wheel and oval instrument gauges inset in a brushed metal fascia.

The 2.7-liter Tipo C.114 engine was originally designed by Giulio Alfieri in 1967 for the Citroen SM. For the Merak, its bore was enlarged to 91.6mm but the stroke remained unchanged at 75 mm, resulting in a 2,965cc (3 Liter) displacement. The chain-drive double overhead camshaft, 12-valve unit had a 90-degree angle between the cylinder banks, and the lubrication system used an oil cooler and wet sump. It had an 8.75:1 compression and used three twin-choke Weber carburetors (one 42 DCNF 31 and two 42 DCNF 32). Initially, the engine developed 187 horsepower at 6,000 RPM and 188 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 RPM. The Merak SS version had 30 additional horsepower due to three larger 44 DCNF 44 carburetors and a higher 9:1 compression ratio. The Merak 2000 GT had a 1,999cc version of the engine with 168 horsepower and 137 lb-ft of torque.

This Citroen V6 engine was later modified with twin-turbochargers and used in the Maserati Biturbo, and later in the 1990s Ghibli.

The engine was installed longitudinally behind the passenger compartment, and mated to a five-speed, synchromesh Citroën transaxle gearbox through a single-plate dry clutch and a limited-slip differential.

Maserati's new junior supercar was called the Merak, after a star in the Ursa Major constellation. It made its debut at the Paris Auto Show in 1972, and remained in production through 1983, over a year after the Bora, with 1,830 examples produced. (Some sources state 1,666 examples were built, while others say 1,732).

In 1976, Maserati was taken over by Alejandro de Tomaso and by 1978, had abandoned the Citroen hydraulically-assisted brake system on the Merak and replaced it with the Bora's ZF five-speed transaxle and larger wheel and tire package.

Maserati Merak SS (Tipo AM122/A)

The Merak SS was introduced in March of 1975 at the Geneva Motor Show, entering production a year later. Along with the aforementioned 30 horsepower increase, the Merak SS was 50 kg lighter. Visual changes included a black grille between the pop-up headlights, a Maserati-designed upper fascia, a four-spoke steering wheel, and round instrumentation. Later examples received the three-spoke padded steering wheel of the Maserati Bora and a redesigned dashboard.

Maserati Merak SS destined for the U.S. received traditional hydraulics.

Approximately 1,000 examples of the SS were built by 1983.

Maserati Merak 2000GT

The Merak 2000GT was intended for the Italian market to comply with the newly introduced law that penalized cars with engine capacity exceeding 2,000cc by imposing a 38-percent Value Added Tax (VAT) against the usual 19% VAT. In November of 1977, at the Turin Auto Show, Alejandro de Tomaso introduced the 1,999cc version of the Merak - the 2000 GT. The V6 engine was de-stroked and de-bored to 80x66.3mm respectively, resulting in 168 horsepower at 7,000 RPM and 137 lb-ft at 4,000 RPM.

Only two color choices were offered, including gold or metallic light blue. These two-liter cars had black bumpers instead of the usual chrome, were devoid of the front spoiler (now optional equipment), and wore a black tape stripe located just below the mid-body character line.

By the time production ended in 1983, 200 examples of the Merak 2000GT had been produced.

Legacy

The Maserati Merak succeeded in the goal to mimic the Bora in regards to comfort and refinement, differing by engine size and the treatment to the engine cover. The 2+2 configuration provided occasional seating for the rear, increasing its usability. It was affordable, had a nimble and balanced chassis, attractive Giugiaro styling, and commendable driver and passenger accommodations.

by Dan Vaughan

Maserati introduced the Merak at the Paris Auto Show in 1972 as a junior supercar to its larger Bora sibling. Its 2+2 configuration, six-cylinder engine, and mid-engine placement made it civilized, usable, and affordable compared to the Seventies crop of Italian supercars. Its styling resembled its V8-powered Bora sibling, penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro's Ital Design studio in Turin, but without the Bora's rear clamshell, replaced by a flat decklid and flying buttress arrangement.

Breaking with tradition, the new Merak was named after a star in the Plough constellation. By the time production ceased in 1983, 1,830 examples had been produced.

From 1968 through 1975, Maserati was under the ownership of Citroen, allowing them to use the Citroen parts bin. The Merak's six-cylinder engine was a descendent of the 2.7-liter Tipo C.114 originally designed by Giulio Alfieri in 1957 for use in the Citroen SM. Bored out to 91.6mm, the Merak's V6 version developed 2,965cc and initially offered 187 horsepower at 6,000 RPM and 255 Nm of torque at 4,000 RPM. It used three twin-choke Weber carburetors (one 42 DCNF 31 and two 42 DCNF 32), and an 8.75:1 compression ratio. The V6 was mounted longitudinally behind the passenger compartment and used chain-driven double overhead camshafts, 12 valves, and a wet sump and an oil cooler. It had a 90-degree angle between the cylinder bank. The five-speed, all-synchromesh Citroen transaxle gearbox had a single-plate dry clutch.

Citroen's influence extended to the use of hydropneumatic systems on the Merak and early Merak SS. The pop-up headlights hydraulically actuated, and the braking system was hydraulically assisted and operated. Many of these components were replaced after 1976 when Citroen gave up control of Maserati.

The dashboards used on the Citroen SM were used on the early left-hand-drive Merak, with oval instrument gauges and a single-spoke steering wheel. Right-hand-drive Meraks had a three-spoke steering wheel and the same dashboard used in the Bora. In 1975 the interior dash was redesigned to eliminate some of the frustrations caused by the hard-to-read gauges and too many warning lights.

In March of 1975, at the Geneva Motor Show, Maserati introduced the Merak SS (Tipo AM122/A). It had a weight reduction of 50 kg, a black grille between the pop-up headlights, the adoption of three larger 44 DCNF 44 carburetors, a higher 9:1 compression ratio, and an increase in power to 217 bhp. The interiors had a four-spoke steering wheel and later examples received a redesigned dashboard and three-spoke padded steering wheel of the Maserati Bora.

The Maserati Merak 2000 GT was built exclusively for the Italian market to comply with new engine displacement taxation laws. Cars that exceeded the 2,000cc limit were subjected to a 38 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) compared to the usual 19-percent VAT. To comply, the engine was de-stroke and de-bored, resulting in a 1,999cc displacement and horsepower dipping to 168 hp. Only two color choices were available, including gold or metallic light blue. Approximately 200 examples of the 2000 GT were built by the time production ceased in 1983.

The Merak was Maserati's final mid-engine road car until the introduction of the MC12.

by Dan Vaughan