Automotive

One and only Maserati Boomerang concept headed for auction

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The Maserati Boomerang concept car by Giorgetto Giugiaro, made its first appearance at the 1971 Turin motor show, now this automotive icon will be offered for sale by auction in September this year.
Bonhams
The outrageous, wedge-shaped styling of the Maserati Boomerang influenced many early 70s supercars
Bonhams
The Maserati Boomerang concept car by Giorgetto Giugiaro, made its first appearance at the 1971 Turin motor show, now this automotive icon will be offered for sale by auction in September this year.
Bonhams
Powered by a mid-mounted 310 bhp (230 kW) 4.7L V8 engine driving the rear wheels via a 5-speed gearbox, the Boomerang took many components from its production model sibling, the Maserati Bora.
Bonhams
The Boomerang sported an outrageously raked windscreen, in front of a "glasshouse" passenger cabin replete with a huge sunroof and doors that were mostly made of glass
Bonhams
Low profiles, origami-like angles, and razor-sharp contours define the wedge-shaped Maserati Boomerang
Bonhams
A ground-breaking icon of the era, the influence of the Boomerang’s design can be seen in the work of many other of Giugiaro’s later work
Bonhams
Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Boomerang is a super-low, way-out vehicle that would look perfectly at home in any science fiction film
Bonhams
More than 40 years after it made its first appearance at the Turin motor show, the Maserati Boomerang will be offered for sale by auction in September this year.
Bonhams
The Maserati Boomerang was built on the chassis of its road going sibling the Maserati Bora
Bonhams
Low profiles, origami-like angles, and razor-sharp contours define the wedge-shaped Maserati Boomerang
Bonhams
The Maserati Boomerang concept screams 1970s supercar
Bonhams
The Boomerang has doors that are mostly made of glass
Bonhams
The Boomerang has a custom interior and a clever steering wheel arrangement that encompassed the gauges and switchgear in a circular dashboard straight in front of the driver
Bonhams
The Boomerang has a custom interior
Bonhams
The Boomerang is a fully-registered road car, and was shown in many dozens of venues, before being sold to a private buyer after the 1974 Barcelona motor show
Bonhams
View gallery - 15 images

With low profiles, origami-like angles, and razor-sharp contours,the wedge-shaped supercars of the 1970s were the epitome of outrageousautomotive style. Whilst the likes of the Lamborghini Countach, the LotusEsprit, and the BMW M1 were the on-road embodiment of this ethos,the Maserati Boomerang concept car that preceded them took this style to the limit. Now, more than 40 yearsafter it made its first appearance, this one-off automotiveicon will be offered for sale by auction.

Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Boomerang looks like it drove off the set of a science fiction film. However, it was originally shown at the 1971 Turin motor show as a static display vehicle, and huge public interest meant that by the 1972 Geneva motor showthe Boomerang had been turned into a fully-operational road car and a rollingadvertising machine for Maserati. Powered by a mid-mounted 310 bhp (230 kW)4.7-liter V8 engine driving the rear wheels via a 5-speed gearbox, the Boomerangtook many components from its production model sibling, the Maserati Bora.

Unlike the Bora, however, the Boomerang sported an outrageously raked windscreen,in front of a "glasshouse" passenger cabin replete with a hugesunroof and doors that were mostly made of glass. The interior of this cabinboasted a custom interior and a clever steering wheel arrangement thatencompassed the gauges and switchgear in a circular dashboard straight in frontof the driver.

A ground-breaking icon of the era, the influence of the Boomerang’s designcan be seen in the work of many other of Giugiaro’s contemporaries, but it alsocontinued to influence the man himself in his later works. It is particularly obvious in theLotus Esprit, where the wedge-shape theme, vast, steeply-raked windscreen, andsharp edges epitomize his style, and the MK1 VW Golf, which is arguably one ofGiugiaro’s most successful designs.

The Boomerang has a custom interior and a clever steering wheel arrangement that encompassed the gauges and switchgear in a circular dashboard straight in front of the driver
Bonhams

"The Boomerang was the first car of its time to create such a strong,angular style statement. It's considered by many to be one of the mostremarkable designs of the 20th century and the 'grandfather' to the VolkswagenGolf Mk 1," Said Philip Kantor, Bonhams European Head of Motoring. "TheBoomerang has been shown at many world-class events including exhibitions andconcours d'élégance such as Villa d'Este and Pebble Beach, and is now offeredat Bonhams first ever sale in Chantilly."

The Boomerang is a fully-registered road car, and was shownin many dozens of venues before being sold to a private buyer after the 1974 BarcelonaMotor Show. Since then, the vehicle has appeared at the Bagatelle Concours in Parisin 1990, and – with a new owner – at the 1993 Concours Italiana, in Carmel Californiaand Pebble Beach. In 2000 it was displayed at the Monterey Historic AutomobileRaces, and in 2005 it was once more sold by auction at Christie’s, where itfetched €781,250 (US$1,007,005). With the later owner it was then shown at MonteCarlo, Monaco, in 2012, then Belgium in 2013, followed by the Paris Motor Showin 2014.

Now this incredible vehicle is once more up for auction,this time through Bonham’s auction house, where it (and a host of other rareand interesting automobiles) will be center stage at the Château de Chantilly,the venue for this year’s sale on the 5th of September.With a price estimate yet to be publicly announced, given the previous saleprice, the current market, and high interest in this vehicle, its sale priceshould be in the many millions of dollars.

Source: Bonhams

View gallery - 15 images
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9 comments
Tom Lee Mullins
i think that is way cool.
Derek Howe
This is why you never park a DeLorean and a Countach alone in a dimly lit garage.
gmac21454
I think you will find Bertone's Lancia Stratos ZERO to look very similar and it might have influenced Giugiaro, since it was introduced at the 1970 show. The Countach was introduced at the 1971 show also, so it probably was influenced more by Bertone's work than Giugiaro's.
Nicolas Zart
I'm very familiar with this car, having seen it inside out, filmed it, pictured it. It's in a friend's collection. Pretty amazing to hear it start!
Grunchy
That's nowhere near as extreme as it could have been, see for example Tommy Lee Jones' "black moon rising".
Lbrewer42
What I don't understand is why cars that look like this are never mass produced. THIS should have been the standard or car design in the 70s and have been developed into even something better looking (?) - instead of what evolved into the square, box-like - stuff of the 80s.
This was the kind of car we 70s kids dreamed of being on the roads as typical by the time we could drive. Instead we got mostly boring, non-sleek, non-futuristic and comparatively unattractive boxes.
When the Lumina vans of the 90's came in, I thought there was some hope as they started to have a resemblance to this cool design. But again we get thrilling new deigns of... generic, cookie-cutter blob-shaped vehicles as the norm.
Can we go back to the 50's when style mattered?
Anne Ominous
I think the obvious reason this never made production is that it's an absolute deathtrap. There is close to zero structural protection for the driver/passenger compartment.
As fun as it would probably be to take this for a full-out spin, as a practical matter I wouldn't feel safe driving it over 40mph. And that's probably pushing it.
bergamot69
If my memory serves me well, I think I had a Matchbox, Dinky, or Corgi diecast model of this car back in the early 1970s. I think the 'glass' may have been translucent yellow or blue (as was the way with such toys in those days).
Kevin Ritchey
And once again, we are reminded of what could have been rather than what is. We are now stuck with $40K sedans that look like a brick of putty left out in the sun too long.