Last year, Maserati celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Bora sports car, the luxury brand’s most beloved classic. While some brands offer the fastest cars and others lean towards luxury, Maserati is among the few brands that offer their customers the best of both worlds. Since its inception, the Ferrari division has continued to be the go-to brand choice for anyone wanting a taste of the best sports cars. It is the brand that is associated with millionaires and public figures around the world, and probably so. Its trident-shaped logo alone demonstrates what the brand is: Elegance, Strength and Luxury.
Maserati is no stranger to the racing community. It’s part of the brand’s heritage that dates back to the very beginning. The brand was an active nameplate in the racing segment. It competed against Lamborghini and Ferrari before Maserati became its division in the late 90s. The history of the Maserati Bora begins in the late 1960s. The racing segment was at its peak. Sports cars have shrunk and lost considerable weight to support Lamborghini Miuras and De Tomaso Mangustas. The marque developed a two-seater mid-engine sports car concept in 1968. Ferrari was also on the verge of launching its own mid-engine sports car.
Development of the Bora began in the last quarter of 1968, with its prototype released the following year. The Maserati Bora made its official debut at the Geneva Motor Show in 1971, as another masterpiece by Giorgetto Giugiaro. The brand discontinued the Maserati after the 1978 model year, after 7 years of production. During its production run, approximately 564 units of the Bora came out of assembly.
Even after 5 decades, the Maserati Bora is still among the unique classic sports cars, thanks to these amazing features.
The Maserati Bora has a unique exterior styling
Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign, the Maserati Bora was exceptional equipment. Its construction consisted of a steel monocoque frame and a steel body. It also came with a steel subframe that held the engine and transmission components in place. Its design inspired the Maserati Bora, which again was also designed by Giorgetto. It’s the same designer behind the Ferrari 250 GT SWB Bertone, BMW 3200 CS and Aston Martin DB4 GT Bertone ‘Jet’, among others. The Maserati Bora had an aerodynamic design, with tilting headlights and a sleek grille. It also featured sporty tires and a large rear hatch that gave access to the powerful V8 engine.
The elegant interior of the Maserati Bora complements the exterior
The interior of the Maserati Bora was upholstered with high-quality leather. The brand designed the Bora as a 2+2 coupe, meaning it was originally intended to carry rear occupants. Even despite the mid-engined configuration. It had rear seats, which were basically in the form of a bench seat. But the back seat didn’t offer much space, which made it only suitable for children. The front seats offered so much practicality. Up front, the Bora had a luxurious instrument panel, which housed the driver-focused gauges, and 3-spoke steering wheel. While the vehicle was years behind in terms of equipment, it still offered a lot of practicality and a touch of technology.
The Maserati Bora offered two powertrain options and claimed excellent on-road performance
One feature that transformed the Maserati Bora into a respected sports car was performance. The power for the classic car came either from two powerful V8 engines. Previous models contained a 4.7 liter engine. This pioneering engine produced up to 310 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 325 lb-ft at 4,000 rpm. With it, the Maserati Bora continued and dominated the drag strip, threatening its opponents. In 1973, the marque introduced a new, more powerful V8 engine to the Bora lineup.
Unlike the initial engine, the larger option gained additional notches at both ends. It now offered a peak of 330 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 335 lb-ft at 4,000 rpm. Soon after, the larger engine became the standard choice. Either way, each engine was mated to the same ZF 5-speed manual gearbox to drive the rear wheels. Besides the power specs, the engines weren’t much different. They both featured 4 downdraft Weber carburettors and a DOHC valve train. For better performance, the Maserati Bora featured state-of-the-art independent suspension. It also had telescopic suspension shock absorbers and coil springs.
The Maserati Bora is still a cheap Maserati today
The Maserati Bora is a reasonably priced vehicle, and among the best classic Maserati sports cars you can find. For this legendary Maserati Bora, produced from 1971 to 1978, expect to pay an average of $154,810, according to classic.com. It depends on its mileage and condition, so you may find models priced above or below that price.
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