CHAPTER EIGHT driver). Guarino Bertocchi had brought him to Maserati after completing his education, and the young Bertocchi worked 0 Ⅱ Alfieri's staff for many years. But father and son left Maserati soon after the Citroén takeover. Aurelio Bertocchi became general manager Of De Tomaso AutO- mobili, and the father simply transferred his job to De Tomaso, doing for the Pantera, Longchamp, and Deauville what he had been dOing for countless Maseratis. His retirement changed very little in his activity. lt was mainly a bookkeeping change, as he went from being an employee tO becoming a pensloner. But he con- tinued to do work as usual, until he was killed in a stupid accident, riding as a passenger when a would-be customer crashed the demonstration car. 第を当第第ーー 【第第 - ~ 第交第 ~ 第戔タを第ー ~ 第第 ( 「第のを ~ 第宀 118

を、を一を Maserati works in Bologna from the three brothers Ernesto, Bindo, and Ettore Maserati. Orsi moved it to Modena in 1940 , and after the departure 0f the Maserati brothers in 1946 , he placed his son Omer in charge of the day-to-day operations Of the Maserati car company. Omer Orsi was 1 れ ore Of a benevolent supervisor than a dynamic and forceful captain of industry. He allowed great freedom of action to his directors, respected their judgment, and was always con- scious of the fact that it was his father who had the final word in all important decisions. The conversation during the Geneva meeting was mostly concerned with Maserati's prospects. Bercot was well informed 0 Ⅱ the subject of Maserati's faltering finances, its resources, and its capacities. He treated Maserati and the Orsis with great respect, and they dealt with him openly and honestly. Bercot revealed to them that Citroén was planning a grand touring car. Soon 19

MASERATI PERSONALITIES AND ASSOCIATES 1 Ⅱ motorcycle racing, and Alfieri was called upon tO supervise a serles Of tests at the air-autodrome in Modena. Here he became acquainted with a lawyer, CamiIIo Donati, wh0 was legal counsel t0 Maserati and introduced him tO Omer Orsi, just at Stirling Moss s ん 0 祝 s film 可 the V8 engine his イ asera 450S , ん G レ 0 れ 0 Bertocchi 観 his side, be ル尾 the start 可 the 7957 外石〃 e 石 g 〃 0 Styling sketch for the rod リ c 0 〃 model. The real え〃 g came ~ c 尾 d close こん e designer s image 31

AcknowIedgements NO historian writes in isolation, and this is partic- ularly so when he is writing a development story of an ltalian car. Jan Norbye has been receiving kind assistance from Offcine Alfieri Maserati SpA in Modena now for many years—it has and is greatly appreciated. For this b00k further help was given by ltal Design close to Turin. A wealth of photographic help came from the late Peter Coltrin, collated and added to with his own work by Jean-Francois Marchet. The current UK importer of Maserati cars, Modena Conces- sionaires Ltd 0fWest Bromwich through the good omces of Keith Kent and Christine Hawthorn, went out Of their way tO Offer anything and everything to ensure good photography. Further contributions came from the author, Rob de la Rive Box, Richard Crump, Mirco Decet, Photo Junior, Corrado Millanta and Tim Parker Collection. 133

CHAPTER SIX happen until you have absorbed intO your own nervous system and motor functions the extent Of the car s capabilities and developed an awareness of its limits. After this intimacy with the car has been attained, the task 0f driving it enters a new dimenslon Of enjoyment. Before I ever took the wheel of a Bora myself, I had been on a test ride with Bertocchi in one of the Bora prototypes. With a patience that belied his hurry on the road, he spent a seemingly endless time, with two mechanics who had already given the car a full check, wiping 0 the windscreen once 1 ore , opening the headlamps and cleaning the glass, adjusting the mirrors and getting the seating position just right. No warm up of the engine, though. Later, I understood why. lt warms up automatically, 0 Ⅱ the way through the city traffc, from Viale Ciro Menotti to Via Emilia Ovest, past the air- autodrome and out towards the De Tomaso factory. By the time he got to the autostrada t011 gates, the engine had reached normal operating temperature. Up to now, Bertocchi had driven with all the calm of a baker who has finished his last loaf of the day. He continued placidly through the spiralling feeder lanes and int0 the right lane 0f the autostrada. Then he gave it the gun, winding out in second and third, propelling us ahead and intO the left lane, gaining speed faster than a jetliner rushing towards take-off. The acceleration figures were obtained 0 Ⅱ later occaslon, with a production-model Bora, also with Bertocchi at the wheel. From standstill, it reached 50mph in 4.5 s, still ⅲ first gear. The first to second change must be made before 55 mph t0 prevent over-revving. The 0 ー 60 mph acceleration was6.9s. Thecargott075mphin8.8sand80mphin 10 s flat, all in second gear ! 84

CHAPTER THREE engme, and went out Ofhis way tO demonstrate tO visiting Journalists that his cornering speed was just as high in the front-engine Ghibli. He preferred to drive the Ghibli, feeling comfortable with that big engine and 10 Ⅱ g hood ⅲ front ofhim, rather than the Bora, where he sat closer to the road and much closer to the nose of the car. His dislike for the Bora may have caused delays in the development period. His eagerness tO find fault with it, however, was of great benefit, for nothing that he found inferior to the Ghibli escaped his criticism. Alfieri could not have had a more conscientious and competent ally, Ⅱ 0 matter how opposed t0 the cause, than Bertocchi. L00k- ing back on their fertile disagreement, Alfieri makes a simple statement tOday : Bertocchi had his own opinion. I cannot say that he was wrong, within the framework Of his personal criteria for judgment'. lt is not certain, however, that Bertoc- chi fully understood what Alfieri was trying to Bertocchi tested small 〃 ~ Od えれ ca 0 れ S 乞れ 9 レえ C ん runs 0 〃 the 外グ ode 〃 0 0 - autodrome before ん g the car 0 リ t for 0 longer drive

MASERATI PERSONALITIES AND ASSOCIATES achieve in the Bora. ln developing the Bora, AIfieri made it a high priority tO conserve all the advantages Of the front-mounted engine, particularly with regard tO n01Se and vibration. With the engine more or less inside the body, that is a much more diffcult task than when the engine sits up ahead, separated from the passenger compartment by a bulkhead. Forget the top speed,' Alfieri had once told Bertocchi, eWhat we want is quiet performance. The body design was contracted out to ltal Design 0f Moncalieri, a Turin suburb. Since Alfieri had determined that the Bora should have a 1 れ 0 Ⅱ ocoque structure, bOdy engmeering became a subJect for close co-ordination between ltal Design, Maserati, and Offcine Padane of Modena, a prominent builder of tourist coaches, who tooled up to produce the Bora bodyshells. The creative genius of ltal Design is better known to car enthusiasts than the name of his company. Giorgi0 (often called Giorgett0 by his friends) Giugiaro started out in the strictest anonymity at the Fiat styling centre at the age Of 17 , and spent three years there, learning every aspect Of the business Of desigmng cars. TO continue his learning, he left Fiat and jOined Bertone, where his work attracted worldwide attention, as witnessed by such diverse creations as the Fiat 850 Spider and the Fiat Dino coupé. After six years at Bertone, Giugiaro went tO Carrozzeria Ghia as chief designer. Here he designed the body for the Maserati Ghibli in record time, and then turned his talents tO the Mangusta for De Tomaso. He left Ghia when it was taken over, successively, by De Tomaso Ford, and in 1968 set up ltal Design with three partners. lt was mainly 0 Ⅱ the strength 0f his success with Ghibli asslgnment that he earned Maserati's contract for the Bora. 37

Chapter 2 Reasons 「 the central engine Why did Maserati build the Bora ? The idea for the Bora stemmed from a desire to do something different,' explained GiuIio AIfieri. A two-seater coupé with a midships-mounted engine was first suggested by Guy Malleret, the Citroén- appointed administrator Of Maserati whO had assumed offce in Modena on 19 March, 1968. Guy Malleret was a successful executive, then in his mid-forties, who had made his mark ⅲ the Citroén enterprise for his effcient running of the Gutenberg englne plant in Paris. As for the links between Maserati and Citroén, a brief summary De Tomaso as 0 〃 e 0 ー the promotors 可 the ん g ん 0 e 尾 d CO レん m え ds んの s - mo リれ d engine, 0 〃 d the グ 0 〃 g レ s 阨 strengthened the trend を 第 17

accelerator, or taking your f00t 0 仕 the throttle, generally has Ⅱ 0 effect 0 Ⅱ the course the car takes as 10 Ⅱ g as the road is straight. On curves however, it can vastly affect the car's behaviour. lt is a particular phenomenon with front-wheel- drive cars that they tend tO go wider on a full throttle and tighten the turn radius on the overrun. What Alfieri did with the Bora was, to some extent, tO put front wheel drive handling int0 a central-engine vehicle. A Bora, heading intO a curve at a speed that frightens the average driver, whO reacts by removing his fOOt 仕 om the accelerator, will then respond by going out 0f its basic understeer as it SIOWS down, as if seeking automatically t0 get back t0 the driver's intended path. The same Bora, in the hands of an expert, offers another dimenslon Of throttle-steering at much higher lateral g-loads, where the car's response t0 the initial steering input is SO quick that its basic understeer IS overcome ln next tO Ⅱ 0 time, and a neutral-to-oversteer characteristic iS maintained by a delicate balance between steering wheel movement and throttle opening. Net result : 〃 0 〃な The recipe ん ad promise, わリ t 0 リれ 7 C00 ん 95

Chapter 5 Origins and evolution Of the Maserati V8 Maserati's strongest point was englne tech- Ⅱ 010gY. The experience gained by lng. Alfieri and his staff over the years had led to a great depth in understanding Of the combustion process, and a bank of knowledge concerning the effects on cylinder filling, fuel atomisation, turbulence, and knock limits of detail alterations in valve angles, port layout, valve timing, piston profile, and camshaft lift. Expemmental engmes were not created except when slated for production. The experlmental content tended tO be slight, for when a new engine design came offthe drawing board, there were few uncertainties about itS performance and re- liability. Little or no fundamental research was under- taken. Engine testing, however, was a continuous activity at Maserati, and, even in the days before the first petroleum shock, aimed more at improv- ing the emciency Ofthe engines than tO raise their power output. Specific fuel consumption was steadily pushed down.eA drop of 5 grams per hp- hour was a big galn in fuel economy, says Alfieri. Maserati's engine programme had been con- centrated on V8s since the Sebring was taken out of production ⅲ 1966. A V8 has the advantage 0f being short and relatively 10W , g1Ving an in- stallation package that is quite compatible with 55