Here’s a very different flashback from the 1980s, though, the story of this one-off, Maserati Merak that was coachbuilt by Swiss-based Carrosserie Saurer, began in the previous decade when the Italian firm was still under the ownership of Citroën (1968–1975).
Only a year after presenting the V8-powered Bora in 1971, Maserati followed-up with the introduction of the smaller Merak, designed to compete against Ferrari’s Dino 246. The Merak was fitted with a rear-mid mounted 190bhp 3.0-liter four-cam V6, a smaller displacement version of which was used in the Citroën SM. The 150mph (241km/h) Italian sports car remained in production until 1983 after 1,832 units had been built.
The silver-colored Merak pictured here is a 1975 model, but its transformation started in 1984 when it landed into the hands of Paul Saurer and his company, Carrosserie Saurer.
At the time, Saurer wanted to create his vision of a “hot” Merak using his company’s expertise in aluminum to craft a new body for the Maserati. Also, unlike most sports coupes of the era that were fitted with pop-up lights (including the original Merak), Saurer opted for a new set of fixed lamps placed behind a see-through cover – something we see in all modern sports cars today.
Saurer retained the original running gear of the Merak, with the car rolling on rare 12inch and 15inch Gotti 3-piece split rim wheels, shod in 345×35 bespoke manufactured tires to the rear costing around £600 a pop (about $900 or €700).
After Saurer completed the makeover of the car, it remained in a private Swiss collection until 1995 when it passed to a new owner in Spain, before it arrived in the UK in 2009. Now, its current owner has listed the car at the Silverstone Auctions hosted International Trophy Sale, which takes place in the UK on May 17. The coachbuilt Maserati is estimated to sell between £35,000 to £40,000, which comes to around US$53,000-US$61,000 €41,000-€47,000.
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