Merak

Introduced in 1972, this mid-engine 2+2 coupe was Maserati’s smaller, more practical answer to the oil crisis and a companion to the larger Bora. Styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro, it kept the dramatic wedge-shaped look of the brand’s contemporary supercars while adding a pair of small rear seats, made possible by using a compact V6 rather than a large V8. The car drew heavily on Maserati’s Citroën-era engineering, including components adapted from the French partnership, and it became an important bridge between the company’s exotic 1960s-70s sports cars and its later, more commercially oriented road cars. In 1976, Maserati added the more focused SS version, which reflected the model’s evolution into a sharper and more performance-oriented package. Later, the 2000 GT variant was created for markets where taxes penalized engines over two liters, broadening the car’s appeal and helping it remain relevant into the early 1980s. The nameplate remained in production until 1983, and Maserati’s own heritage materials describe it as one of the brand’s successful classic-era models, with roughly 1,830 built in total. Today it is remembered as a distinctive and historically important Maserati: less dramatic than the Bora in seating layout, but just as significant in showing how the brand adapted its mid-engine formula to changing market and regulatory pressures.