There’s something especially heartbreaking about a beautiful concept car that never gets a chance to see the light of day. Especially one that looks like the super sick car in Blade Runner 2049. That’s right. I’m looking at you, 1972 Maserati Boomerang.
Yes, yes, I know its initial intention was to be a show car for the 1971 Turin Auto Show. The thing was designed by Giorgetto Giugiario, after all, a man known for his incredible concept car designs that never saw more than one model made.
At its first appearance, the thing was basically running entirely stripped out. It was a car in name only, since this thing didn’t have an engine or any of the necessary components to make a car go, aside from, y’know, tires.
But people were into it. People wanted to see this wedge-shaped work of art hitting the road, not just the the showroom floor. After all, cars that look nice are only half the fun.
Maserati listened to the demand. They nabbed a 310 hp 4.7 liter V-8 engine out of a Maserati Bora and popped it into the sleek Boomerang just in time for the 1972 Geneva auto show. People were stoked.
Advertisement
This car is composed of sharp angles and wedge shapes that went on to dominate sports cars for the rest of the decade—especially in Guigiario’s work. The fact that the doors of this thing are see through means you have to look just as nice as the car when you take it for a spin—but it could also be a subtle way to show off the interior.
Holy shit. The inside of this car. The Boomerang recently sold for $3.7 million, and I’d honestly pay that much just to own a vehicle with the interior of the future. The dark leather seats are gorgeous and a selling point all of their own—but all the dashboard instruments are contained in the center of the steering wheel. It just looks so goddamn cool I don’t even know what to do with myself.
Advertisement
As with most fancy special cars, this thing has changed hands a few times. It was sold at the 1972 Barcelona show until 1980, when a German Maserati enthusiast bought it. It had fallen into some disrepair there, and after ten years of restoration it made a showing at Paris. Giugiario was involved in this one, and he added his signature to the rear panel. In 2002, it was re-sold and refurbished again, since the owner decided he wanted to make it road ready.
It’s pretty damn rare to keep track of a one-off prototype after it starts making its way through private sellers—and it’s even rarer to have the thing remain in such good condition. I’m incredibly jealous that I am not a multi-millionaire with enough money and time to spare to scoop this bad boy up the next time it goes to auction.
Advertisement
This is one of those cars where it just kills me that there aren’t more of ‘em. Maybe, just maybe, if they’d gone into production, I could potentially maybe one day afford one. But, alas.
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
