'62 Maserati 5000GT

Try and engage you brain AND your eyes this time. The comparison was between the Bora/Khamsin and the BB. Go back and read my posts again you've got it all snarled up.

 

Whatever: the beauty is on the eye of the beholder

 

No not whatever. I never compared the Biturbo of the 1980's to anything. He said that the BB and TR are breathtaking to look at whereas Maserati had nothing like that. They certainly did when the BB first arrived, the Bora, Merak and Khamsin but by 1984 that was all over with.

 

Bob, I had got it. Was joking.
BBs and TRs are beautiful but Boras and Khamsins too.
Then tastes might differ, and fortunately so that we do not have only cavallinos, or tridentes!

 

Walter complains plenty about Maserati being treated like a second class citizen. It doesn't help if he feeds that narrative.

 

But fact is fact. Or as a US-dealer Maserati/Ferrari once told me: "Money talks - Bullsh*t walks"
And as we are talking about the position of classic Maserati in the market, its -unfortunately- a fact, that Ferrari is lightyears away from Maserati! The reason for that -IMHO- I described in one of my previous posts.

And -don`t get me wrong here- I absolutely like the Khamsin...I had one by myself for some years. If this car would have come without the green soup from France, the car would be in much better, higher, position in the market. And as of the Bora: very discreet and civilized its a great touring car...but a bit boring from the B-column to the back. Look at the Bora Group IV and you clearly see, that this would have been the better way of further development to make that car more desirable.

 

What part of the Group IV is it you think would have made it more desirable?

 

Flared rear wheel arches is what he means but I disagree, too boy racerish, too Lambo show offish for most Maseratisti.

 

Is this it Walter?

 

Without going that far with flared wheel arches, I think that some more offset on rear wheels (and maybe wider rear wheels) would fit better.
There seems to be plenty of space to be filled without rubbing on the fenders.
And no flaring would not make it boy racerish

 

Mine wore 245/60-15 ZR Michelin XGTs and Goodyear gatorbacks with stock rims for most of the time I was driving it. I utilized 1/4" spaces and 235s at the front WO spacers.
I even had Goodrich R1 255/50-15 ZR track ties on it with no rubbing at the track. Those were fantastic.

 

Do you still have pictures of it ?
I would be very interested in that, as I find that the tires on the Bora are too far in (same as on the Miura P400/P 400S).
The Bora must look really good when the tires are flush with the body.
I would just suggest if we can move this topic to the Bora thread.

Thanks very much

Kind regards

Zdenek

 

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Of course you could not transform everything the Group IV had 1:1 to the road version. But a little more aggressive, exotic look would have helped Maserati to sell more Bora.

 

So just the look of the car, no bump in HP?
I think bigger tires, perhaps wheels AND 400 HP with the appropriate chassis tune would have done a lot but Maserati was in trouble almost the entire time that car was being produced. The tires and wheels wouldn't have been a big deal but 400HP out of that engine operating in the body design would have been very problematical IMHO. Heat being the big issue.

 

Some owners of the Bora put -later- bigger wheels and tires on it and the car looks much better.

 

I'll have to look. Most of my decent photos are on film.

 

A little more hp would not made it a worse car!

 

Yes there was this German or Swiss who had a yellow one in period that was quite modified.

Of course there are the two Group 4 evocations of my friends Bernard in France (matt black shown at Retromobile last year) and Johan in Sweden (red) see below.

Both of these have serious reworked engine the Swedish car has bespoke camshafts and pistons, it was made to have as wide as possible a torque band and is not peaky at all, a pusycat in traffic but when it goes it is fantastic!
The other one though totally unrelated is also a work of art.

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THREAD VEERING OFF TOPIC ...
Wow those rears must squeak on the brillant ridges pressed into the inner wheel well areas when going over a bump and cornering. The R1 Goodrich 255s do on mine. The ones on this car are huge.

 

With only around 500 Bora made, I would NOT do this kind of "Group IV"-modification on such a rare car!

 

...too huge!

 

Back to 5000GT...

 

This segment should be relocated to the Bora thread if possible.

 

When fairly decent ones were only $30K some of us thought about it as a fun track car modification to show up some of the Ferraris and Lamborghinis at the track. However my much modified 84 Biturbo was already doing that ...