Maserati Bora ???

Well, they are much easier to live with than having a wife and a mistress!

 

i owned one...they are wonderful on the road. a true gt car w/ performance falling between a 308 and a boxer.

get one that has had rust issues and repairs well documented.

 

This is -IMO- one of the best looking Boras today. Its chassis 117.430 a 4.7-Liter EU-version! Today in the US.

Ciao!
Walter
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1971 saw for the most part the introduction of the first generation of ultra high performance mid egine road cars by the Italian exotic car manufacturers (Miura & Mangusta aside). The Bora, the 365 GT4 BB, the LP 400 Countach, the Pantera and Iso Rivolta Varedo.

The Varedo never made it past the prototype stage. While they all had their issues, Countach was the wildest, the Boxer the fastest and the Pantera the most affordable. By far the best all around car was the Bora, The build quality was far superior to the other 3, it was more refined, more comfortable and the most reliable. (yes even though the Pantera had a Ford engine, the car was really under developed.)

If properly maintained the Maserati V8 is a low stressed and pretty much built proof. Biggest issues that the other cars don't have is dealing with the Citroen Braking system which isn't as bad as its rep (if properly maintained) but it does take some to time to get accustom to it. It was until years after the Bora ceased production (1977/78) that the Boxer, Countach and Pantera came close to quality & refinement the Bora had all along.

While it is not a priority in a midengine car, the Bora has probably the lowest noise level inside of every midengine car built until the NSX.

Joe

 

Fred , its a fantastic car and I agree totally with Joe`s comments on the previous post.
IMO the car to have is the early version with NO grill in the front bonnet and in EU-specs.

Yes, the car is a pefect all-rounder. Perhaps all its plus-points are the reason that ...the Countach LP 400 and the Boxer became more valuable today!
What really impressed me driving a Bora was the excellent handling although its a heavy car! Then the endless torque....! No doubt, its a great car!

Ciao!
Walter

 

If you have to ask you ARE a moron.

The question is which is most difficult to maintain. That's an easy one. The Bora.

 

What, you like the color?

Bob S.

 

Here's a point of reference for you. The Daytona is gorgeous and fast (not that much faster). It's worth a ton of $ by comparison. But if you want a good drive with precise if not race car handling (superior to the Daytona) then the Bora is a much better choice. Drive excellent examples of each back to back and if it's not an investment based decision you will chose the Bora.

Your biggest challenge will be finding one in good condition that's been set-up properly. A tough proposition that.

Bob S.

 

Not always.

 

yes!

Ciao!
Walter

 

My father and grandfather both had Boras. Can't really give you any first hand experience since I was only a little guy when they had the cars, but I remember my father working on his a lot. To a seven year old they certainly were fun cars to ride in though. I used to alway tease my father about how the car was made wrong since they put the engine in the trunk.

 

I got it exactly backwards. I meant the mistress of course.

 

I would just like to add that while perhaps not stylistically as sinuous as the Mangusta or Miura this was the car to own. It was the consummate supercar for it's day. The Bora would not disappoint, it was well thought out and you could drive it for hours. The best interior ergonomics of any car as well, you could actually pack a suitcase and go away for the weekend in this while doing 175. Not as brutal or obnoxious a Pantera or Countach it was as mature and as refined as money could buy. IMHO Maserati's best and one of Giugiaro's best efforts.

 

plus 1

 

...but with silly "green soup"!!!

Ciao!
Walter

 

Having owned one for 20+ years I totally agree with everything but the 175. Never going to happen. 160 is more than enough.

I wouldn't give all that much credit to Giugiaro for all those good attributes except for the shape which is very nice.

But these are also some of the very reasons why today it's not worth the same kind of money as the Countach, Muira or Boxer etc.

It's not wild or raw enough. Who actually drives a Miura anywhere for any distance these days. Pretty hard to compete with a Miura visually.

Bob S.

 

Exactly!!
Giugiaro started a fantastic on the front of the car with one of the best front-bumper-design of all times but as more as he comes to the end of the car the design turns to become a bit boring! A Bora from the back shows nothing really special.


Ciao!
Walter

 

The Bora is a very "Clean" design compared to its contemporaries. The enclosed rear tend to give it a heavy, broad shoulder look, that is really effected by the color of the car.

What is really interesting is that if you read the book on the Bora, Alfieri originally wanted to use a flat 12 cylinder engine in the car. But since that type of engine couldn't be used in any other car Maserati was building, they couldn't justify such an engine for just one model.


Joe

 

Joe,
from the B-column on to the rear, the car is simple and boring! The "broad shoulder look" you mentioned doesn`t work because the relativly small rear wheels/tires! The car is too discreet. Great for those people today but the collectors-value in the market thinks different today.

Now to the 12-cyl.-engine!
The truth behind that comment by Alfieri is that Maserati simply had no cash to develop such motor! He told me that about i year before he passed away. And Citroen didn`t want to spend any more money than needed to get the car on the road. Alfieri was a great designer - but sometimes he overstreched the company with his ideas (V12-carbs, V12-inj., V12-Cooper, 450S with its different capacity, V8-motor based on 2 Merak units, 4-valve-V8 and various other motors that made it only to prototype status!).

On some facts the Bora-/Merak-book is a bit outdated today!

Ciao!
Walter

 

Depends were you are - in the US or in EU. Perfect examples are going for Euro 75k-90k in Europe!

Ciao!
Walter

 

OK, alas I admit I have never gone 175 MPH in a Bora. As for the overall design and dimensions of the car I believe Maserati's intent was on creating a supercar that you could live with. Hence the swell in the body and the generous proportions. I do not own a Bora, but have some experience with them and was impressed with the way everything jelled in the car. Additionally it was not rambunctious but it did haul a$$ and was quite comfortable and very much a driver's car. Owning one is to be envied.