1973 Maserati Merak

The car we offer is a red 1973 Maserati Merak, chassis n. AM1220686 with less than 80.000km on the odometer. We know for sure that this car was already registered in France in 1992 and the lack of any administrative dues for its import lead us to believe that this car was, in fact, delivered new in France.

This red Maserati Merak stands out for the quality and lack of rust of its bodywork thanks to its ideal storage conditions. The only paint defects we were able to assess are on the front of the car, in the form of minor scratches and some drips caused by a respray. The front hood and the right pop-up headlight are poorly aligned, with uneven left-right panel gaps. The front split bumper, which sits on either side of the trident emblem, is well preserved and the chrome plating doesn't seem to need any attention, just like the front pop-up headlights and lower side indicators and running lights. As for the rest of the chrome plated parts, like the rear bumper, rear view mirrors and door handles are well preserved. Moving on to the rear of this Maserati we can say that nothing looks out of place and the taillights are in good nick, save for some patina and minor discoloration. The 4 tail pipes that exit at either side of the low, black grille are still shiny despite some very minor oxidation.

The paint on the beautiful Campagnolo alloy wheels is almost mint and their articulate design aptly contrasts the clean-cut lines of the Merak's body.

This car's cabin, unlike the bodywork, shows some signs of ageing despite being in overall decent conditions. The black leather front and rear seats have some cracks and signs of creasing, with the padding slightly worn. Some of the stitching also appears to be a bit loose. The same can be said about the door cards, which are intact but partially faded and creased. On the other hand both the white headliner and sunvisors appear well preserved and a thorough cleaning should be all that's really needed to make these parts look almost as good as new. The dashboard, which is comprised of a Jaeger branded speedometer and rev meter plus another round bezel that encases all the warning and service lights Maserati could come up with, is well preserved and easy to read. The odometer, which sits on the top half of the speedometer, currently reads 78251km. Part of the front dash, near the passenger side footrest, seems to be missing. The OEM radio, which sits to the left of a well preserved one-spoke, Citroen derived steering wheel, looks fine like the rest of the switches and levers which are in overall good condition despite some discoloration and patina accrued over the years.

The engine bay is clean and rust free, with each component well secured in its right and proper place. The last service, we date back to 2008, must have included the replacement of many parts given how fresh and new everything looks. The spare tyre, which sits on top of the mufflers, only has some superficial rust while the compact V6 engine, the airbox, the spark plug leads and other hoses surprised us for how clean and almost mint they look.

The undercarriage looks ok, with some superficial rust spots in the usual places still kept to a minimum thanks to an antirust treatment this car seems to have been subjected to over the years which, combined with its storage conditions, really helped with the car's steel body preservation. The suspension parts seem fine with no major defects in sight, save from a pretty liberal respray of the front right wheel well and all the suspension components. The reason for said respray are unknown to us so feel free to investigate them and let us know should you discover anything!

This Maserati Merak is a 1973 model year, chassis n. AM1220686 and is red in colour. The odometer reads 78251km but, as with any old car, we cannot warranty its accuracy. We know that this car was in France in 1992 and the lack of any administrative dues for its import lead us to believe that this car was, in fact, delivered new in France. Since the car covered only 100km after the last major service in 2008 we'd like to suggest that its new owner takes this into account before taking the car on any kind of road trip.

The Merak is an often-forgotten sportscars by collectors and enthusiasts alike given how Ferrari and Lamborghini often stole the stage back then. Despite this, and the fact that early models such as this one adopted many off-the-shelf Citroen hydraulic parts, we believe that this small sportscars from Maserati should find a new owner capable of appreciating its beautiful design, which was penned by a young Giugiaro for Italdesign and for the quirky 90° V6 engine ( unlike most V6 where the banks are angled at 60°), itself a feat of ingenuity built by shortening the successful 4.7L V8.

Price estimate for this Maserati Merak: € 45.000 - € 55.000.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with the seller in Dijon, France. To arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.