CHAPTER THREE the time when Orsi happened to be looking for a young engmeer. ln Viale Ciro Menotti, Alfieri made the transition from two to four wheels under the guidance of Vittorio Bellentani. His first year at Maserati was dominated by influence from Bellentani, who had been brought in to do some development work 0 Ⅱ the six-cylinder sports/racing car in 1952 / 53. He was an ltalian engineer who had his diploma from a Swiss technical college and first attracted attention when he designed the Mignon motor- cycle for the Gueroni company in the 1930S. During the war he worked on machine tools for Enzo Ferrari. After leaving Maserati, Bellentani went back to Ferrari and helped develop the Jano- designed Lancia D50 V8 engine. Later he operated several businesses in Modena, ranging from an aluminium foundry tO a motoring accessory shop. Next, AIfieri worked for almost half a year under influence from Gioacchino C0101 Ⅱ bO , an outside consultant engaged to design the 250F. A daringly unconventional engmeer With moments of sheer brilliance, Colombo had worked under Vittorio Jano for many years at Alfa Romeo, from back in the days of the P2 up to the outbreak of World War 2. After the war he designed the first Ferrari V12 engines, and ⅲ 1950 went back to Alfa Romeo tO work 0 Ⅱ the development of the のな co Vo 厩 e. Having successfully launched the 250F for Maserati, C010mbo then contracted with Bugatti t0 design and develop a Grand Prix car and created the unsuccessful Type 251. Returning to ltaly when Roland Bugatti cancelled his racing plans at the end 0f the 1956 season, he joined MV Agusta t0 work 0 Ⅱ motorcycle engmes until his retirement. AIfieri did most of the engine design for the 250F , and at the age of 30 , he was given the title of 34
Chapter 1 A belief in a certain type Of car One of the most remarkable qualities of the Bora is that it came t0 be held in greater esteem after the end ofits production run than it was during its career. Few parallels exist in history. ln its class, it is possibly a unique case. Something analogous occurred with such dis- parate cars as the R011s-Royce Phantom III and the Fiat 500 T 叩 ol 0. Neither was fully apprec- iated while they were available, new, from the factory. But afterwards, mmor cults have sprung up t0 honour them. B0th the big British luxury car and the small ltalian economy car were creations Of the mid-thirties, and its was only about 25 years later that their particular genius and values were recognized. The Bora, having arrived on the motoring scene 1 Ⅱ amoremodern era, andbeing averyrecent casualty, could not be expected tO acquire similar status for many years, but the phenomenon Of changing times, with re-ordered priorities forced upon the whOle industrialised world, seems tO have accelerated the process Of enhancing the Bora's reputation and raising the consclousness Of its worth among car enthusiasts everywhere. lts true character was widely misunderstood during the years 0f its production-life. Paul Fröre was probably the first one whO sensed and was able t0 express the need t0 try and correct the 1 Above 観ん er 可 the 召 0 / れ g. G 〃 0 Alfieri, as he な da ツ , ca レ g んれ his わレ office 観Ⅳレ 0 し 0 ん am わ orgん Right First production-model 召 0r0. カ as springtime 〃 the Em 〃 0- omag 〃 0 region 可カ 0 ん e the BO went i 〃〃 rod レ c 0 8
MASERATI PERSONALITIES AND ASSOCIATES 0 Technical Director of Offcine Alfieri Maserati. Above 刃〃 g 〃 e compartment え the production-model 召 0r0 With his top assistant, Aurelio Pollio, he did れ祝 re 怩 0 概ん e size 可 the tackled the design of the Bora in October 1968 , ー / 8. There ) as 0 ″ ~ 〃 le r00 〃 ~ and in the summer of 1969 the first prototype was for ancillaries tested 0 Ⅱ the road. Maserati had Ⅱ 0 proving Left Coc ん可 the Bo test grounds and all test work was done 0 Ⅱ public 〃 ro e carried e 工ケ 0 roads. Maserati's chief test driver was an 1 Ⅱ - ~ 〃 Str リ〃 ~ e 〃 ta 0 〃 0 〃 d 0 ptece 0 / advice test drivers. ・ credible personality named Guarino Bertocchi. の 0 れ 7 ride the clutch' An expert mechanic S1nce early youth, he had J0ined the Maserati brothers ⅲ 1925 and worked 0 Ⅱ every raclng car the small factory ever took to the race track. He was one of that rare, brave breed of riding mechanics, went out as co-pilot in some events and developed his driving skills. His own driving style was calm and smooth, and he admired Varzi more than Nuvolari. ln 1949 he spent a couple ofmonths training Fangio tO drive on paved road circuits—the Argentinian had never driven 0 Ⅱ anything but dirt tracks before ! Bertocchi's role in the making ofthe Bora was a crltical one, 1 Ⅱ 1 れ ore senses than one. He was hostile to the idea of a GT car with a central 35
CHAPTER SIX teristics. Alfieri had the know-how and the means t0 make the Bora handle any way he wanted—it could be made to twitch like a Porsche or plough through the curves like a Thunderbird. Prud- ently, he chose the golden mean—a prevailing understeering characteristic, WhiCh assured rest- ful driving for owners of average skill, but could easily be overcome and pushed through neut- rality intO oversteer by an expert. Cornering with the Bora was routinely un- eventful, right up to the lateral g-loads that would have caused problems for some other powerful cars that did not have the benefit of the same thorough chassis engineering. AIfieri gave a 10t of thought to protecting the moderately skilled driver from his own natural instincts. For instance, the average driver WhO findS himself entering a curve at excesslve speed, will try to resolve the situation by backing 0 the accelerator. This instinct is stronger than any- thing in his expenence and there is a certain logic in it. IftOO much speed is the problem, for heaven s sake don't add more speed. The professional driver, on the other hand, feels safer by pouring 0 Ⅱ the coal, and steering his way out of the situation as best he can. He knows that's the best way to keep the car balanced and retain directional co Ⅱ trol. Trying t0 slow down ln a curve can upset the car's attitude and balance tO the point Of going out Of control. That's what AIfieri had to guard against. lt had never been a concern with Tipi 63 , 64 , or 65 , the racing prototypes. But in V1ew Ofthe Bora's clientele and their presumed uses for the car, yes, there was a risk tO protect them from. As a matter Of fact, this consideration played right intO another one, that demanded a chance for the expert driver tO provoke oversteer at will. Alfieri solved it by throttle effect. Stepping on the 94
DeveIoped concurrently 田ん the 召 0r0 , the をな 0 BB ended レ盟 as 0 different んれ d 可 car, ん greater em. 盟ん as な 0 れ performance will shed some light on the birth ofthe Bora, and a 10t more on the background to the Merak. lt was at the Geneva Show in March 1965 , that Citroén s president, Pierre Bercot, had his first meeting with Ad01f0 and Omer Orsi. Pierre Bercot was an ambitious leader, then 62 years 01d , but full ofplans for Citroén s expansion. He was a lawyer by traimng, and specialised in econom1C matters before he joined Citroén in 1937 t0 work on administrative and manufacturing re- organisation. He had held a seat 0 Ⅱ the board 0f directors since 1950 and was made president in 1958. Adolfo Orsi was then the maJority shareholder of Maserati, effectively controlling the company with virtually unrestricted power. He was 15 years older than Bercot, and head of a small industrial and real-estate empire in Modena, created through his own intelligence and en- terprise. Back ⅲ 1937 he had purchased the 18
CHAPTER THREE mvestment funds on its OW Ⅱ . With a production capacity somewhat short Of 1000 cars a year, Maserati simply could not afford tO run a big research and development department. ln compensation though, Maserati had its human resources—skill, experlence, lmag- ination, and dedication. Mistakes were rare. Miscalculations were almost out Of the question. What might have seemed like mere guesswork would often turn out to be accurate within the tiniest margin Of error, for such was know-how 0f the Maserati engineers. ResponsibiIity for the Bora rested 0 Ⅱ 0 Ⅱ IY one man however, and it is time tO salute GiuliO Alfieri. Soft-spoken, of medium height, with clear eyes and a ready smile, he hOlds firm opmions and wastes Ⅱ 0 tlme 1 Ⅱ making deciS10ns. He iS now than he used t0 be, a victim 0f middle-aged spread, for which the cure is diffcult tO practise in EmiIia-Romagna, the food-loving province around Modena, With Parma 0 Ⅱ one side B010gna on the other. Maserati, as a make Of car, orlginated Bologna ⅲ 1926 , and Giuli0 Alfieri was born ⅲ Parma in 1924. They were united in M0dena in 1953. Alfieri graduated from the Milan POIY- technic C011ege in 1948 , and got his first j0b that year in the steam turbine section Of the Tyr- rhenian Naval Shipyards at Genoa. He left marine envlronment in favour Of motorcycle, mrcraft, and industrial engines, slgmng up for an engineering j Ob with lnnocenti in 1949. Moving to Milan, he worked under the direction of lng. Torre, wh0 assigned the develop- ment oftwo- and four-stroke engines t0 Alfieri and later transferred him tO the experimental depart- ment. Here he went tO work 0 Ⅱ racmg engines for motorcycles. ln those days lnnocenti was seriously involved 30
CHAPTER EIGHT At first Citroén intended to close the plant at the end ofMay, 1975 , but then relented and agreed t0 assume all liabilities incurred in keeping the plant in operation up tO the 30 June. Omer Orsi, with Giulio Alfieri and the sales director, Ald0 Turrusio, tried tO negotiate with the 0 伍℃ ial recelvers 0 Ⅱ one hand and the workers 0 Ⅱ the other, seeking a way tO keep Maserati in business. Alfieri even tackled new projects, starting with TiP0 124 , a 2 十 2 coupé with ltal Design styling. Production was maintained, but at a slower and slower rate. Worried about losing their jobs completely, the workers began de- monstrating for rescue by the ltalian government. Moving fast behind the scenes, lining up fresh finance quicker than a civil servant can find his date stamp, was the wily Argentinian, Alejandro de TO Ⅱ naso. ln mid-August, the situation was resolved. Maserati was taken over as a jOint subsidiary Of De Tomaso ( 30 per cent) and a state-sponsored investment organisation, GEPI ( 70 per cent). De Tomaso already had a recovery plan in mind, and his own ideas about who would have the task of implementing it. Orsi, Alfieri and Turrus10 were not included. Recounts Alfieri : el had a true filial love for Maserati—up t0 a certain moment. The lawyers called me ⅲ and t01d me I had 15 minutes t0 get out ofthe factory'. The order came, ofcourse, from Alejandro De Tomaso. The date was 25 August 1975. After more than 22 years with the firm, that was Alfieri's reward. AIfieri later 」 oined Lamborghini as general manager. Turrusio found a position outside the automobile industry. Omer Orsi resigned himself to the real-estate business and died in 1981. Maserati's new general manager was a young engineer named Aureli0 Bertocchi (son Ofthe test 116
CHAPTER SIX Whenever S01 e little car somewhere, maybe a mile up ahead, began crawling past a truck, Bertocchi would lift 0 the accelerator and turn 0 Ⅱ the quartz-iodine headlights. He would start flashing the high beams long before touching the brakes. One bad side effect of the concealed headlamps is that it takes t00 long a time to get them open for the light-flasher to be effective. One has tO anticipate the situation and raise the lamps ahead of time. Once he stepped 0 Ⅱ the brake pedal, the anchors went intO action With overwhelming authority. There was no fuss, Ⅱ 0 nose-dive, Ⅱ 0 darting left or right, Ⅱ 0 feeling of discomfort, and Ⅱ 0 threat to the driver's control over the car. lt just slowed down, quite simply, as if held by some insuperable magnetic force in the roadway. The hydraulic and servo parts of the brake system were Of the Citroén type, where the braking force is not proportional to the amount of pedal travel but rather to the pedal effort. 、Ⅵ 1 ⅱ e braking, Bertocchi would almost casually select the right gear for getting back to speed, heel-and- toeing with unfailing smoothness, getting the Bora ready to leap ahead and disappear over the horizon 0f the drivers who had just been over- taken. Bertocchi had driven faster when I rode with him once in the Ghibli. That was earlier in the day, and we did not need the brakes nearly as often. But the Bora's brakes took everything in their stride, even the incident when a small truck unexpectedly swerved intO the fast lane t0 pass a bigger truck. Again, the Bora just slowed down. The brakes proved fade-free throughout this punishing ride, With Ⅱ 0 appreciable increase in pedal pressure after repeated hard use. Nor did they ever lose their balance. The stability of the Bora, regardless of speed, 88
CHAPTER ONE 、 AS [ 貸 AT レ From the first Bora press release, the こん ree -4 リ ar r rear し e ) 0 / the Bora emphasized its wide stance 0 れ d lo ん e 愈ん 10 第 : を : を遥第 ⅢⅢり ⅢⅢ ITAL ロ ESIGN failure Ofthe car tO get 0 Ⅱ the same wavelength as its natural following, when he wrote in 1973 ethe Bora 1S perhaps the most underestimated Of the world's exotic cars'. That opinion IS Ⅱ 0 Ⅵー gen- erally recognised tO have been correct, and the Bora is indeed beginning tO assume its deserved rank as a genume masterpiece Of engmeermg and design. Finally, the Bora is respected for what it was, instead Of always being questioned by a broad section Ofthe public as t0 why it wasn't something else. Each individual had read into his view ofthe Bora some particular characteristic that he wanted tO see in it. Call it misconception, call it
future Ford would put up a 10t of money to get Tomaso started 0 Ⅱ building important numbers of the Pantera, or that American Motors would engage the talent Of Giotto Bizzarrini tO design and develop an AMX in a similar envelope using the AMC V8 engine. As the true engineer that he is, GiuIio Alfieri decided to go back to basics, and methodically analyse all options for new-model layout and architecture. He did れ ot need much time. Within a few days, whilst still carrying out all his normal duties, he had completed an analysis ofthe layout possibilities for new Maserati models. The choice was narrowed down tO three configurations. 1. The Citroén solution, with front wheel drive and the engine mounted behind the front wheel axis. 2. The emidships' engine solution, with rear wheel drive and the engine mounted ahead of the rear wheel axis. 3. The classical solution, followed by Maserati since the beginnlng, with front-mounted en- gme and rear Wheel drive. Bora frame was えれ gra d ん the わ Od ツ s ケレ己リ尾 form 0 ん g んな g レれ . T んなな the rs 〃 r 祝 0 い〃 e 24