Silverstone Auctions has found a unique Maserati MerakMaserati MerakItaly, 1972 > present1 photo
to sell on May 17. The car started life as a normal 1975 Merak, but it was shipped to Switzerland in 1984 to be fitted with a unique body.

This Merak was purchased in Italy in 1975 and driven normally until 1984 when the owner shipped it to Carrosserie Saurer in Switzerland for modifications. It got its current silver paint with a red leather interior and an all-new aluminum body. The changes widened the lower grill to add larger driving lights and removed the pop-up headlights in favor of covered units. The front and rear fenders were widened, and the door handles were removed. The side mirrors were replaced with smaller, more modern units. At the rear, the rear bumper was completely removed and slats were added to the flying buttresses. Saurer also added new three-piece wheels, which now require bespoke tires because of their unique size. The interior was recovered entirely in red leather.

There are no mechanical changes compared to a standard Merak.

Silverstone Auctions reports that the owner kept the car until 1995 when it was sold to someone in Spain and was then sold to a buyer in the UK in 2009. It has changed hands twice since then. The auction company expects it to sell for between £35,000 - £40,000.

The Merak was introduced in 1972 as a competitor to the Ferrari Dino 246Ferrari Dino 246 GTItaly, 1969 > 19747 photos
. It combined a Maserati-built chassis with and engine derived from the Citroën SM's V6, which owned Maserati at the time. The cars made 190hp, 5hp less than the Dino. Later, the Merak SS was released that pushed power to 217hp and lowered the weight. Total Merak production hit 1,832 cars when production ended in 1982.