1974 Maserati Merak

Coupe
Chassis number: AM122US1382

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 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