Photo: Maserati
The 1971 edition of the Geneva Motor show was a treat of eye-candy for everyone who participated, as it represented the backdrop for several good-looking Italian sports cars that have since made history.
Most people remember the two undisputed stars of the event, a yellow Lamborghini LP 500 prototype at its first public appearance and the magnum opus of the Miura lineage after five years of production, the SV.
Often overlooked because of the two Raging Bulls, the Maserati Bora also had its birthday during the Swiss event.
In fact, exactly 50 years have passed since the 11th of March 1971, when the Geneva Motor Show provided the stage for the unveiling of Maserati’s first mid-engine production car.
Like other Maseratis of the era, such as the Mistral, the Bora was named after a wind. Volkswagen later used the name on a compact sedan, but the origin of the name is also from a wind found in areas near the Adriatic Sea.
The Bora was the first mid-engine Maserati production car and the first Trident model with four-wheel independent suspension.
ItalDesign’s Giorgetto Giugiaro was tasked with designing the spectacular-looking model while Giulio Alfieri was in charge of the engineering underneath the low and slender sports car.
The Bora’s distinctive design and technical features included retractable headlights, disc brakes on all four wheels, a 5-speed transaxle transmission from ZF, and a limited-slip differential.
Two engines were available over the car’s lifetime, with 564 Boras produced in total from 1971 until 1978, when it was discontinued. Only 275 were fitted with a 4.9-liter V8, while the first 289 units packed a 4.7-liter version of the same engine.
Highly futuristic-looking for its time, the car paved the way for the rebirth of the Maserati brand in the 1970s, despite the financial problems it battled after Citroën sold the carmaker to the ill-fated De Tomaso company in 1975.
Exactly half a century later, the MC20 has some pretty big shoes to fill in the Maserati mid-engine road car lineage, especially when it comes to design. Still, its creation wouldn’t have been possible without the existence of its grandfather, the beautiful Bora.
Often overlooked because of the two Raging Bulls, the Maserati Bora also had its birthday during the Swiss event.
In fact, exactly 50 years have passed since the 11th of March 1971, when the Geneva Motor Show provided the stage for the unveiling of Maserati’s first mid-engine production car.
Like other Maseratis of the era, such as the Mistral, the Bora was named after a wind. Volkswagen later used the name on a compact sedan, but the origin of the name is also from a wind found in areas near the Adriatic Sea.
The Bora was the first mid-engine Maserati production car and the first Trident model with four-wheel independent suspension.
ItalDesign’s Giorgetto Giugiaro was tasked with designing the spectacular-looking model while Giulio Alfieri was in charge of the engineering underneath the low and slender sports car.
The Bora’s distinctive design and technical features included retractable headlights, disc brakes on all four wheels, a 5-speed transaxle transmission from ZF, and a limited-slip differential.
Two engines were available over the car’s lifetime, with 564 Boras produced in total from 1971 until 1978, when it was discontinued. Only 275 were fitted with a 4.9-liter V8, while the first 289 units packed a 4.7-liter version of the same engine.
Highly futuristic-looking for its time, the car paved the way for the rebirth of the Maserati brand in the 1970s, despite the financial problems it battled after Citroën sold the carmaker to the ill-fated De Tomaso company in 1975.
Exactly half a century later, the MC20 has some pretty big shoes to fill in the Maserati mid-engine road car lineage, especially when it comes to design. Still, its creation wouldn’t have been possible without the existence of its grandfather, the beautiful Bora.
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