ER Smogs

Posts Tagged ‘SM’

It was Citroën, which had taken a controlling interest in Maserati in 1968, who provided the inspiration, and the impetus, for the mid-engined Maseratis built in the 1970s. The Bora evolved around a 4.7-litre V8 engine, which Maserati had steadily been refining since the days when it had powered the lusty 4 ½ -litre two-seat racing sports cars. Mid-engined cars were not new to them (their first rear-engined ‘birdcage’ racing two-seater had been used in 1961), although they knew little about the unitary-construction techniques which went with them. The Bora, revealed at Geneva in March 1971 was at once a gamble and a technical triumph. Like other supercars to come from the Modena region (such as the soon to follow Ferrari Boxer and Lamborghnini Countach), it followed a predictable trend, with mid-mounted in –line engine, five-speed gearbox and transaxle bolted to it, and a wedge-shaped two-seater body.

            The performance- 160mph was a perfectly usable maximum speed-was sensational, and the road holding and response for experienced and skilful drivers was also superb. Not that the Bora was by any means an excuse for a road-going racing car, not by any means. Air-conditioning and electric windows were standard, along with adjustable pedals and many other creature comforts. Styling was by Giugiaro (Ital Design). Citroën influence, incidentally, was obvious in the fully powered braking circuits, with the zero-travel brake pedal.

            To supplement the Bora, Maserati next revealed the Merak, which once again owed its existence to Citroën. The kernel of the Merak was the V6 engine, a Maserati development which the Italian firm could never have afforded to put into production without a contract also to supply it to Citroën for their SM coupe, In effect the V6 engine (3 liters in the Merak but 2.7 litres in the Citroën SM) was developed from the ageing Maserati V8, but was very different in detail the overhead-camshaft drives, for instance, were taken up the centre of the engine, between one end pair and the centre pair of cylinders. The angle between banks, at 90 degrees, was unusual for a V6, but allowed the V8’s production tooling, such as it was, to be used in another application.

        The Merak itself looked virtually identical to the Bora, except in detail, but because the engine was substantially shorter than the V8, Maserati managed to insert a pair of almost useless ‘jump seats’ behind the existing front seats. Even with only a 3-litre engine installed, the Merak had a maximum speed of around 140mph, together with much improved operating economy. Maserati struck financial difficulties soon after their agreement with Citroën had been dissolved in 1973 and stopped trading for a time in 1975. With government finance, Alejandro de Tomaso made a take-over bid and restored the factory to activity during the year. Boras and Meraks were still being made at the end of the 1970s, in developed form, the Bora boasting a full 5-litre engine and the Merak more power than ever before. Some Citroën influence was still present – both cars having the Citroën brakes, the Merak having SM’s gearbox and the Bora having hydraulic adjustment to seats and pedals. The Merak incidentally, had inboard rear brakes (Citroën SM style) while the Bora’s were outboard. These two cars were joined by a new front-engined Quattroporte four-door saloon.

Robert B. Horseman

Have speeding ticket points on Winnipeg & Manitoba highways

Pointts Wpg -  Traffic Tickets Winnipeg are the traffic ticket infraction specialists and can assist you in appealing your RCMP – City of Wpg Traffic Ticket appeals – they are the points & MPI licence surcharge specialists