Maserati Boomerang

The Maserati Boomerang was a concept car designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. It was first revealed at the Turin Motor Show in 1971 as a non-functional model, but by the time of the 1972 Geneva Auto Show the company had developed it into a commercially launched Maserati Bora.  The Maserati Boomerang by Italdesign was registered as a road car, but it was intended as a one-off show car. It was shown in dozens of places, and after the 1974 car show in Barcelona it was sold to a private collector. The ‘Boomerang’ maquette was exhibited for the first time at the 1971 Turin Motor Show, and in 1972, the working car was presented at the Geneva Motor Show. The design of the Maserati Boomerang profoundly influenced Giugiaro’s later designs for many years.  Its sharp angles and wedge shape could be easily recognised in the 1973 Audi Asso di Picche concept, 1973 VW Passat Mk1, 1974 VW Golf Mk1, 1976 Lotus Esprit and Medici II show car, 1979 Lancia Delta and Maserati Quattroporte III, as well as the 1976 designed and 1981 launched DeLorean. Powered by a 4719 cm³ 90° eight-cylinder engine delivering 310 bhp, with twin overhead camshafts, it has rear-wheel drive controlled by a five-speed manual gearbox and a fully upholstered interior. It reaches a top speed of 300 km/h. One of its most peculiar features is the dashboard instrumentation integrated into the steering wheel, as part of a single control panel positioned in the centre of the steering wheel itself, which emerges from the dashboard and rotates around a fixed instrumentation. The Boomerang was registered as a road car, but was always used as an exhibition car. It was shown in a dozen places, and after the 1974 Barcelona Motor Show it was sold to a private individual. In 1990 it was shown at the Bagatelle Concours in Paris by a new owner, and after some restoration it was shown again in 2000 at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. It was used in the Louis Vuitton fashion house’s advertising campaign for the autumn 2014 collection photographed by Juergen Telle In 2015 it was sold by Bonhams at Chateau de Chantilly for stunning 3.7 Million $.