Maserati - Maserati Merak
Introduced in 1972 the Maserati Merak had as its basis the Bora, using much of the Bora bodyshell but with the shorter 3 litre Maserat V6 engine the Merak could be a 2+2. This was the 3 litre version of what was in the 2.7 litre Citroen SM. There was much Citroen technlogy in these cars, apart from the dashboard being the same as the SM. While the Merak was mid engined, as were other competitors, what stood out was the shorter engine allowed it to be mounted transversely.
A considerably lighter and more powerful (higher compression larger carburettors) version of the Merak was the Maserati Merak SS which became available from 1976. The extra 30hp came from higher compression larger carburettors. De Tomaso, after taking over Maserati, introduced a 2 litre Merak 2000GT for Italian consumption which with 170bhp was still useful enough, the idea being to save 20% afforded by the reduction in car tax for under 2 litre cars. The Merak stayed in production until 1983.
Maserati Merak original tyre fitment :
- for the Maserati Merak and Merak SS front tyre 195/70VR15 and rear tyre 215/70VR15. Today the fitment would be 205/70VR15 on the front replacing 195/70VR15 no longer available, with the same factory size 215/70VR15 at the rear. Blockley produce both these high speed rated tyres, with the same matching tread pattern.
- Note that the Maserati Merak 2000 had a different set up which had front tyre size 185/70VR15 and rear tyre 205/70VR15
See full details of all three of these high speed rated, period correct Blockley tyres below:
