Maserati Merak – Restoration Project

Details

The Maserati Merak (model AM122) was introduced at the 1972 Paris Motor Show. The Merak followed in the footsteps of its ‘big brother’ the Bora and was one of the seventies junior supercars, much like Lamborghini’s Urraco and Ferrari’s 308 GT/4, that was going to tackle Porsche head one and be sold in significant quantities to underpin the cash flow of the company during the oil crisis.

Like the Bora the Merak was designed by Ital Design’s Giorgetto Giugiaro and its ancestry is obvious though there are many subtle but significant differences in the Merak’s design. The Merak was a 2+2 though its rear seats were best described as ‘occasional at best’. Its Italian competitors all ran V8 engines, however, Maserati opted to use a transversely mounted 2965cc V6 engine that had its roots in the Citroen SM. Given the company was owned by Citroen at the time it is not surprising that a number of Citroen components were used, including the engine as well as Citroen’s hydraulic systems and much of the interior. Interestingly when Alejandro De Tomaso acquired Maserati the car underwent a ‘make over’ of its interior which was well received at the time. In addition to the ‘standard’ Merak, Maserati bought out the Merak SS in 1976 which was lighter and had a more powerful engine and also the Merak 2000 in 1977 specifically for the Italian market which imposed a heavy tax on cars with engines greater than 2000cc capacity.

The formula made good sense and Maserati enjoyed much success with its Merak and 1,820 examples were built in a twelve year period from 1972 to 1983.

We are delighted to offer an Australian delivered factory right hand drive matching numbers example with a rare factory sun roof. The car has been off the road for some twenty years.

Many Meraks unfortunately suffered badly from ‘tin worm’ and body restorations can be extremely expensive with these cars. The good news is that the metal work is essentially done in this car. The car requires paint, mechanicals and assembly. The original interior is in excellent condition.

The car is complete and its original colour was “Azzurro Merak” (light blue) with a dark grey velvet interior.

 

 

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