HURRICANE FORCE
The dramatic mid-engine Bora, named after the katabatic wind of the same name — a sometimes hurricane-force wind that blows off the Adriatic Sea — was the star of the show when it was officially unveiled to an enthusiastic crowd at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1971. The Bora, Maserati’s first and only mid-engine V8 supercar, known internally as the Tipo 117, was a response to the gorgeous Lamborghini Miura. It first saw daylight in the summer of 1969, as the Italian car manufacturer started testing the first prototype of the car.
Maserati commissioned Italdesign, Giorgetto Giugiaro’s burgeoning design company, to develop this new genre of Maserati, resulting in a body design that was indeed striking, with svelte angular lines showcasing its unique engine bay. It was totally covered in a glass canopy, emphasized by a low roofline covered in brushed stainless steel.
Giulio Alfieri, the co-designer of the legendary
