The most undervalued classic sports car?

B

Belfry

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193
I’ve been watching quite a couple of nice examples of the Merak SS make around £50k on online car auctions. I am amazed by the low prices these command in comparison to their competitors in the day namely the Lamborghini Urracco and Ferrari 308GT4. They were comparable back then, the Maserati looks amazing and the 220bhp 3.0litre sounds and goes beautifully. The interior with the ‘Bora’ dash is classic 1970’s Italian supercar. I have an SS an it really is a lovely thing to hustle with it’s light weight and wonderful chassis handling. I live on the North Norfolk coast and I’ve had some very enjoyable early Sunday mornings threading the Merak down the Coast road.

Apart from the top gear hatchet job 15 years ago, is there good reason that it is so undervalued compared to other 70’s supercars? What am I missing? I am genuinely perplexed.
 
Nibby

Nibby

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2,105
I’m guessing it’s because Ferrari and Lamborghini have stuck to making supercars more or less where’s Maserati haven’t since then the 70s (until now with the MC20) and that’s not helped the desirabilty of the brand. Even I’ve been able to afford a car with the Maserati badge so personally I’m not complaining.
 
dickygrace

dickygrace

www.richardgracecars.co.uk
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Belfry said:
I’ve been watching quite a couple of nice examples of the Merak SS make around £50k on online car auctions. I am amazed by the low prices these command in comparison to their competitors in the day namely the Lamborghini Urracco and Ferrari 308GT4. They were comparable back then, the Maserati looks amazing and the 220bhp 3.0litre sounds and goes beautifully. The interior with the ‘Bora’ dash is classic 1970’s Italian supercar. I have an SS an it really is a lovely thing to hustle with it’s light weight and wonderful chassis handling. I live on the North Norfolk coast and I’ve had some very enjoyable early Sunday mornings threading the Merak down the Coast road.

Apart from the top gear hatchet job 15 years ago, is there good reason that it is so undervalued compared to other 70’s supercars? What am I missing? I am genuinely perplexed.
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How good were they at £50k? I’d reckon they’d require work if sold for that sort of money. I have one I’ll be listing this week at £67950, but it’s a very good car.
 
Ewan

Ewan

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6,825
A £50k 308 gt4 is likely to be a better condition car than an equivalent priced Merak. And far easier to maintain with better parts availability and more specialists. As far as I’ve seen £60k is about the top for the 308, but we’ve seen Meraks up at £90k (and still be unreliable even then!).

A good Merak is a beautiful and lovely thing, but I wouldn’t agree it’s less valuable than the equivalent 308.

Uracco is arguably a littke more again, but would be my favourite of those three options.
 
Cyclone1

Cyclone1

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531
Ewan said:
A £50k 308 gt4 is likely to be a better condition car than an equivalent priced Merak. And far easier to maintain with better parts availability and more specialists. As far as I’ve seen £60k is about the top for the 308, but we’ve seen Meraks up at £90k (and still be unreliable even then!).

A good Merak is a beautiful and lovely thing, but I wouldn’t agree it’s less valuable than the equivalent 308.

Uracco is arguably a littke more again, but would be my favourite of those three options.
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But is the Merak rarer than a 308? If so then maybe this drives the higher used value of one in “decent” condition?
 
allandwf

allandwf

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10,995
Very very roughly,Ferrari - Maserati- Urraco , all variants 3 - 2 - 1 . Merak falls roughly in the middle.
 
zagatoes30

zagatoes30

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20,977
Does the Merak not suffer from too many Citroen inspired idiosyncracies ?

They do look stunning, probably better than both the Ferrari and Lambos but I am a big fan of the GT4 I think it is a lovely looking car
 
allandwf

allandwf

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10,995
zagatoes30 said:
Does the Merak not suffer from too many Citroen inspired idiosyncracies ?

They do look stunning, probably better than both the Ferrari and Lambos but I am a big fan of the GT4 I think it is a lovely looking car
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Suffer may not be the correct word, but yes very Citroen influenced, even more so the early ones with the oval dials etc.
 
P5Nij

P5Nij

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2,522
My problem is I love all three equally, the Merak, Urraco and 308GT4, I'd have any of them in a heartbeat given the funds. Merak prices do seem to vary a lot though, compared to the other two.
 
allandwf

allandwf

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10,995
P5Nij said:
My problem is I love all three equally, the Merak, Urraco and 308GT4, I'd have any of them in a heartbeat given the funds. Merak prices do seem to vary a lot though, compared to the other two.
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You have a Merak and a Merak SS, ( Italy also had a 2.0l tax break model,) and a Urraco P250and a P300 ( 2.5 and 3.0 litre.) Not sure what different GT4 models there were, you don't buy any of them for speed.
 
dickyb

dickyb

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433
allandwf said:
You have a Merak and a Merak SS, ( Italy also had a 2.0l tax break model,) and a Urraco P250and a P300 ( 2.5 and 3.0 litre.) Not sure what different GT4 models there were, you don't buy any of them for speed.
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There was also a Urraco P200 which was made for the Italian market and had a 2 litre version of the V8.

There was an Italian market version of the 308 GT4, also with a 2 litre V8 and was called the 208 GT4. There was also a 2 litre version of the 308 GTB and GTS which had a pathetic 155bhp! Later resolved with the GTB Turbo and GTS Turbo. Unfortunately the 208 GT4 never got the turbocharged engine.
 
midlifecrisis

midlifecrisis

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16,251
For the record a 1971 Indy achieved a similar price to the Merak.

Indy EKH487K with 30,074 miles on the clock.
www.carandclassic.com

1971 MASERATI INDY 4.7 For Sale By Auction

Estimate: £52,000 - £57,000. La Dolce Vita. Style. Passion. Elegance. These are the carefree ideals that informed the evolution of the I...
www.carandclassic.com www.carandclassic.com

Merak FIL343 with 21,483 Miles
www.carandclassic.com

1982 Maserati Merak SS RHD For Sale By Auction

Lovely Clean ConditionLots of Original PaperworkGenuine, Original ExampleLots of Money Spent. Described by Autocar as "outstandingly good...
www.carandclassic.com www.carandclassic.com
 
P5Nij

P5Nij

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2,522
dickyb said:
There was also a Urraco P200 which was made for the Italian market and had a 2 litre version of the V8.

There was an Italian market version of the 308 GT4, also with a 2 litre V8 and was called the 208 GT4. There was also a 2 litre version of the 308 GTB and GTS which had a pathetic 155bhp! Later resolved with the GTB Turbo and GTS Turbo. Unfortunately the 208 GT4 never got the turbocharged engine.
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Lambo only made 66 P200s and I've never seen one for sale anywhere!

Visually I think the Merak, Urraco and 308GT4 are all stunning to look at in the metal.
 
dickyb

dickyb

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433
P5Nij said:
Lambo only made 66 P200s and I've never seen one for sale anywhere!

Visually I think the Merak, Urraco and 308GT4 are all stunning to look at in the metal.
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