Maserati Merak (1974 – 1982) Review

The Maserati Merak was created to fight the Ferrari Dino, Porsche 911 and Lamborghini Urraco in the 'junior' supercar market. But more than that, it was also a useful vehicle for the brilliant engine it had devised for the Citroen SM, and which soon after its launch was failing to meet market expectations.

Its body was a lightly revised version of the Bora’s (losing its flush rear window in the process), and the engine was a lightly tuned version of the V6 tha the company also used in the ill-fated Quattroportte II. In  comparison to its contemporaries - the Ferrari 308 and Lamborghini Urraco P300 - it wasn't as fast as it might have been with just 190bhp. But the later 220bhp SS version did much to make amends.