Maserati Merak Restomod - February 2025
Recently at Alficina, we have started works on a custom 4tipo Maserati Merak restomod. Maserati is a famous Italian Sports car brand established in the 1920s. The Merak was designed as a more accessible alternative to the Maserati Bora. Our client brought their Merak into our workshop for a range of upgrades, including performance enhancements to the engine and a modernised heating and ventilation system. Working with the client, we collaborated as a team, by sharing insights and ideas to help find the best solutions for each aspect of the project.
This Maserati Merak was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign and was in production between 1972 and 1975. Our Merak is special as it featured in a TV series back in the 1980s when the vehicle was originally red. The TV series was called ‘The Mine and the Minotaur’ released by the Children’s Film Foundation. This Merak was driven by the bad guy in the show. There are only 36 Maserati Meraks left on the British roads today.
The Maserati Merak was created to be an affordable and innovative model, making use of what already existed. It was heavily influenced by Citroën, featuring an SM-style dashboard and switchgear, these components were replaced on the later models. The Merak has an elegant and exotic exterior and houses a 3.0L Tipo C. 114 V6 engine (derived from the Citroën SM). The Merak can reach a top speed of 149mph and achieve 190hp. However, it can only reach 168hp in the US due to emission regulations. This model can also go from 0-60 mph in 7.5 seconds. Some key differences between the Maserati Merak and Bora include the Merak’s smaller engine, which creates space for two small rear seats. Additionally, the Merak features distinctive flying buttress rear pillars, whereas the Bora has a full glass rear section.
This Maserati model aimed to compete with the other popular Italian sports cars of its time such as the Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 and Lamborghini Urraco. However, one of the key disadvantages of the original Merak produced between 1972-1975 is the use of Citroën-sourced hydraulic system (used for brakes, clutch, and pop-up headlights). These components were replaced on the Merak SS, produced between 1976-1982, and the Merak 2000, produced between 1980-1982, making them more reliable. The hydraulic system was one of the main features we upgraded in the restomod.
We are currently completing a large range of restomod upgrades to this Maserati, this includes converting the brakes using master cylinders to the conventional, modern brakes you see today. Additionally, the headlights, which originally used the hydraulics system to operate, have been converted to an electric ram headlight system. This has improved the efficiency of the headlights because they initially took 4 seconds to pop up, making it challenging to flash other drivers when needed. This will be adapted in the restomod so they will take less than a second to pop up.
Additionally, some of the other upgrades include the installation of the ECU fuel injection system to help improve fuel efficiency, reduce emissions and enhance the engine's performance. We will use the Jenvey Heritage throttle bodies, ECU Master and two power boxes. These products had the best results when we tested the digital inputs and outputs. We will also install a modern AC heating and ventilation system, an electronic handbrake, along with performance upgrades to the engine, replacing the pistons and camshaft and introducing an electronic water pump to help keep the sports car cool. Currently, we are working on tidying up the engine and repairing the subframes as they have been worn away by the elements over the years. We will be introducing a CAN electronic system and an LSD to the gearbox to improve the safety and drivability of the Merak.
We are working hard to try and have this Maserati Merak back on the road by the summer. If you want to know more about this restomod project, check out our YouTube video below which goes into detail on the restomod process. Keep up to date with the project as we will be releasing more blog updates and YouTube videos on this Merak soon.
If you are interested in any of our services, please get in contact. Call us on 0115 9262266 or email us at info@alficina.com.