Maserati Merak at the Providence car show

Lea, the boys, and I had a great time hanging out at the 2015 Village of Providence Car Show on Sunday. It gets a little bigger every year. We saw lots of cool stuff, and it’s wide open. Anyone with something s/he wants to show is welcome.

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The show was heavy on modded late model performance cars—lots of blown Mustangs and what-not—but there was a decent contingent of survivors, too. My single favorite car was this Maserati Merak:

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If there was anything listing what year it was then I missed it, but judging from what has to be a U.S.-specific hideous line-destroying front bumper and the dedicated Fasten Seat Belts lamp on the instrument panel, I’m going to guess this is a ’76 or ’77.

Only 1,830 Meraks were produced. It is essentially a “decontented” Maserati Bora, which many people consider the finest street car Maserati ever produced. The Bora was V8-powered, and had a fully faired-in rear with a glass backlight. The Merak was powered by one of two V6s, and used these simple and much-less-expensive buttresses to preserve the roofline from greenhouse to deck:

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My favorite thing about the car is that it’s not a trailer queen. It’s clearly cared for, but it’s also clearly enjoyed. It was driven in, and it’ll be driven home. Love it:

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2 thoughts on “Maserati Merak at the Providence car show”

  1. Man, my kids would have loved to have seen these cars! I drive a 2012 Quattroporte daily…would love to see a vintage one like this on the road sometime!

    Reply
    • The Quattroporte is a beautiful car, Dave! Very cool! For sheer sex appeal in the sedan department I might give an ever-so-slight nod to the Fisker Karma, but your car is so much more usable. (Karma is tiny inside, and plus, they tend to spontaneously ignite.) 🙂 Certainly wouldn’t glance at a Panamera. “Uh, yes, could you show me something in a Cayenne that Godzilla stepped on?”

      Reply

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