As much as we love a good barn find, a Maserati Merak is not a car we would want to find in dilapidated condition. Unless you have unlimited resources and a true passion for these cars, it would be much smarter to start with a nice example like this. This Maserati came out of a long term collection and is ready for the next owner to service and enjoy. Find it here on eBay where bidding is currently at $20k with about a day left!
The Merak was built to compete with the Ferrari Dino and Lamborghini Urraco. Not bad company! It seems wrong to use the word “economical” when talking about Italian supercars but Maserati seems to have been the most economical of the bunch because it used a compact 3-liter V6 in place of its competitor’s V8s. Does anything look familiar under here?
If you named the green orbs, then you’ve probably looked at a Citroen or two. The French company owned Maserati when this car was built and they used some of their crazy hydropneumatic technology on it. Their system powered the brakes, clutch, and popup headlights. Unfortunately, it didn’t receive a “magic carpet ride” suspension. That dash looks familiar though…
The “flying buttresses” and Campagnolo rims really made the Merak look special. It may not have a high-revving V12 or a prancing horse on the hood but I’m sure this Italian exotic could provide a lot of the exotic car excitement for a lot less money. What do you think – would you like to have this “economical” supercar in your garage?
Those “green orbs” are hydraulic accumulators. Similar to ones used on aircraft. They hold hydraulic pressure in case of system failure.
Nice car, BTW.
Looks pretty good, especially with the Euro bumpers. But please fix the wheel gap.
Auction ended early due to a error in listing.
I wonder what that could be.
That often means there was a deal reached outside of eBay.
Steve R
Where is it located, Jesse?
Reminds me of the Top Gear episode on budget supercars … where Jezzer, of all people, drove the Merak … as always, should be used as a warning.
My dream garage includes a Merak, a Bora and a Ghibli of this vintage. Yes, I’m a glutton for punishment. Beautiful car, thanks for posting it.
The Dino has a V6 as well. And wasn’t officially a Ferrari.
This looks really nice. I believe I’m probably too tall for it though.
Hi Paul,
You’re partly right. Dinos originally were V6 – the 246 model but when the Merak came out it was competing with the the next generation – 308 Dino Ferrari and that was indeed a V8
The Merak in Florida that was featured here in February is still available. The price is now down to $24,900 from $29,900. It’s been taking up space on the lot for 6 months — I bet $20k would take it.
https://www.thoroughbredmotorsfl.com/details/used-1975-maserati-merak-ss/54114441
Ended: Jun 02, 2020 , 8:39PM
Current bid:US $26,200.00
Reserve not met
[ 25 bids ]
Item location:
Fallbrook, California
It’s not an SS, so that makes this one a 2.7 L engine, right?
It’s basically a Citroën. As Maserati belonged to Citroën at that time.