1975 Maserati Bora 4.9 US #898 just listed at Fantasy Junction. Looks pretty original and a little "crusty"
Doubtless someone has kept records of the Bora sales in recent years, including hard(-ish) data regarding former owner, location of seller, prices, other... Shame that kind of data table never seems to get published, or even charted. Secret tabulations remain hidden, private. Fear of sharing? Only soft data and gossip seems to bubble up, and then piecemeal. Seems like a lot of California long-time owners have been selling off in recent years. Miss 'em. Cars & Coffee locally never seems to have two of us at once, though there's still more than just mine in the neighborhood, I feel certain. Meraks, also. Just not being driven enough. This AM in Enderle Center Tustin, still drawing a crowd tho'. "Vintage Maserati Drivers Club" locally is thin on the ground these days it seems. Your choice as to what 'vintage' is meant to modify. --NE
THANKS. Nice to have something. Guessing at dates by prices is fun, but would love to have more complete, and of course in searchable format spreadsheet. Ask for the moon? Seems I recall a certain Euro' member was tallying EVERYthing it seemed, by VIN# etc., but... "private use only?" Certainly not obvious to me yet as to locating same... maybe I need to enhance search skills. NE
Worldwide Auctioneers - 1975 Maserati Bora 4.9 - The Houston Classic Auction Strange, the description says chassis #688, which was the gooding car that sold at amelia. But it also says #930. Car is different that the Goodng car though
The crossmember picture shows 930. It has white seats but black dash and door panels. Was that an option?
The engine compartment looks very original as in untouched. That's dark blue right? Repainted. Front seats painted white as well. Can't tell about the original color or condition of the rest of the interior. Check with the factory ... That engine cover looks very correct to me and in good condition too!
1972 Bora auction tomorrow 13.06.2015. Pretty color; best year; good spec. Guide price USD 295K. Beautiful Bora For Sale by Auction (1972) on Car And Classic UK [C624777] Enjoy.
What's best about 1972? Meanwhile here in the uSA we had this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1974-Maserati-Coupe-/161722683135?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140211132617%26meid%3D9b5f0f73c91944309df072928ad43c1c%26pid%3D100085%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D271694141919%26clkid%3D6811681618444065680&_qi=RTM2067270&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=xq6q285om3Rv8iR3kMWEu8XtmAg%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc followed by this now @ $210K (reserve not met) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Maserati-Coupe-Bora-4-9-/161730745871?vxp=mtr Why the sudden bump by 30K? Looks like the same exact bidder too. Weird
In a nutshell: Lowest weight of all the species; smog free 4.7 litre engine with different cam timing, 6,000 rpm rev limit; without air pumps and/or catalytic converters; factory euro headers with sports exhaust; Alfieri intended gear ratios (including original GT 3.77 final gearing); at least 15-20 mph higher top speed (depending what one uses for a redline); elegant Giugiaro designed stainless steel bumpers; no funny cutout indicator lights; no afterthought & useless black front grill; euro H1 headlights and of course the magnificent unmuffled sound of the Maserati V8 as God intended...the list goes on. The 1972 is a very different car. Ask FGM; as he once said to me "the earlier the better for the Bora". Sorry. Thanks.
Nutshell is a good adjective ... That's a whole lot of nothing. Any European Bora came exactly like that except if you took a 4.9 and the difference between the 4.7 and 4.9 is grossly exaggerated. One could always order the final drive ratio you preferred. My 77 came already set to the European cam timing and ANYONE can do that if it's not. The US cars like all US cars from Italian manufacturers came with those sidelight markers though I have heard that eliminating them is good for at least 20 mph so perhaps that explains it ... H1 headlamps are bulb change. OMG knock $50K off the price. Until 75 a US car could easily put on the euro bumpers but us owners with 75 and older DO have a much bigger job. But nothing you listed is exclusive to 1972. Some the things you list do apply to 75 and later USA Boras and other than the bumpers most are easily changed if one wants to. Really, why do you post such worthless puffed up BS? You are really misleading people who do not know better about these cars. Sorry indeed. and several other years as well ...
Sorry I hit a nerve. Brilliant response basically saying that one can change or modify anything and everything on a 1978 US spec hybrid to make it look like an original 1972 factory euro Bora. Yes. you can do all that BUT your chassis number still says you are a wannabe. That is why that 1978 is worth a 100K less to a knowledgeable collector. Pay attention to what you are buying next time! The floor is yours. But your late US SPEC chassis number will haunt you forever. Regards.
Right. Your 1973 Euro Bora is very similar to the 1972 and is also a magnificent car. Would be proud to own it. Enjoy.
First of all this is not about my car and I did not say you can make everything look like a euro car though one certainly can try if that's the intent. But most of what you listed as significant differences are not. Some aren't really differences at all like the cam timing. This is about YOU spouting a bunch of utter rubbish but nice failed attempt at trying to deflect from the fact that you came on here and proceeded to misinform everyone that a 1972 Bora is somehow very unique and then made performance claims which can never be substantiated either. Notice that someone posted that your description was identical to his 1973 MY so is his Bora less valuable than your supposed ideal of a 1972 MY? Nothing is haunting me. What ever gave you that idea? If you are what is supposedly an knowledgeable collector lord help them. I think Ivan qualifies as a knowledgeable collector of Maseratis and he bought a very late Bora. So should he take out a ghost policy to avoid being "haunted"? The fact is that all Boras regardless of the MY are amazing cars. Some people WILL prefer not having USA side marker lights but that certainly is easy to address. Some will prefer to not have the rubber bumpers and I won't argue with that. It's a big change to take on. Some will not care for the vent in the hood, probably the hardest to address. Everything else is minor and matter of tuning the car. ALL of them had mufflers. But for you to try and denigrate other peoples cars is contemptible in my view. Especially when a lot of what you wrote was rubbish anyway. Stick to the facts and quit trying to slander other folks cars with terms like wannabe. Perhaps this book will help. Image Unavailable, Please Login
No disrespected intended to anyone or any car. Facts, however, are facts. To quote: "top speeds were ...155 mph for US spec Boras' and up to 174 mph for rhd and European spec cars without smog controls." Please see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maserati_Bora Regards.
You certainly have a funny way of not trying to disrespect someone. Calling them a wannabe and implying their car is worth half of yours, that they need to pay attention to what they buy, and their car that they love will haunt them forever. No couth at all.
You should probably not believe everything you read. Even Maserati's own data show 175mph... at 6250 RPM, 750 RPM above the maximum sustained engine speed. At 5500 RPM, the speed is 154. Even so, these are just calculated numbers. To believe the top speed, you'd have to believe that the car is RPM rather than power limited, which is very rare. One of the few road tests I've seen that actually measured top speed says that the test 4.7 would not exceed 5600 in fifth - 157mph. I can't recall any test that confirmed the claimed 170. Neither version is quick by modern standards, so I'd actually prefer lower gearing and Euro tune to help the acceleration a little.
I think it's best to put this discussion to bed. You've amply demonstrated your knowledge and made your opinion known. Can we all move on to a discussion about the red example currently on eBay? I think that's far more interesting. Notice that in one shot the car is in a shop with two other Boras that really look nice as well. We've come a very long way from the days of mostly ratty looking Boras that sold in the mid $20K. I think the red example while having some obvious things not quite original looking such as overly glossy rocker panels and wheels that are finished wrong is none the less a very nice example. It looks like in the latest appearance the bidder who got it up to $180K last time now has it up to $205k but reserve is still not met. A shill or the real thing?
Yes that's how I felt as well. Mine does a respectable, for back then, 0-60 in 6 seconds and will redline @ 140mph. THAT is enough top end for most anyone. I drove a friends Boras with the European final drive ratio and a proper tune in Nevada @ 160mph for many miles chasing a Turbo Porsche and that was @ 6,500 ft elevation so perhaps a bit more is available at sea level. But it was tapped out so 170 mph seems dubious. Mine always ran right up to 140 mph quite smartly so if the engine could have been run reliably @ 7K I think it would have been more than a match for the Ferraris at the time. It's a very slippery automobile at high speeds, it just wanders a bit ... Too bad they never offered an enhanced performance street version of the car just to shut up the nay sayers ... But one thing none of the rest have is the the terrific ride, comfort, relatively low noise and bank vault like feel of this car.
That is exactly right. The Bora top speed is RPM limited NOT power. Please remember that the 310 bhp power peak is achieved at 6,000 rpm. Writing in Autosport (14 June 1973) the then very highly regarded John Bolster took the 4.7 Bora to its power peak at 6,000 rpm which equates to 168 m.p.h. and had this to say: On that inspirational note, as said by staatof, let's move on to greener pastures on ebay and the Zurich auction today. No offense intended, none taken. Regards to all. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The red Bora appears to be a very nicely detailed and mechanically sorted Bora. If I were seriously considering the car I would want to see the factory build sheets that come with the car as the Seller stated. They will confirm if red is the correct paint and tan the interior color, engine and transmission numbers, etc. The seats have been redone, which is a slight minus as they are very difficult to replicate and the racing belts need to go, though a minor issue and easy to correct. I don't know if the current bid of $205k is a shill or not, but this car appears to be worth every bit of that and then some.
I would love to know where you all are getting you cars up to max speed and rpms. That's really not an option in these parts unless you go track your car. I assume that's what you mean?
Nevada over 20 years ago. But I believe you can probably still do that there in certain spots. I used to drive to the Silver State Race in Ely from SF and once we were into Nevada and well out of Reno the rest of the open road drive was actually a lot more fun than the race itself. It is a risk though ... I have had the Bora on a NASCAR track (Pocono) but there's not enough room to completely top out like there is in Nevada. A different sort of fun and far safer. I think I got the car to 130 very briefly on 78 once here in NJ years ago but it's completely impossible now, not to mention quite illegal and not worth it.
