Maserati Boomerang Concept Comes Back Around at 50 to Remind Us It Rocks
The wedge-shaped Boomerang was designed by well-known “folded paper” designer Giorgetto Giugiaro.
Long before the debut of John DeLorean’s wedge-shaped sports car, Maserati mocked up a flying wedge of its own and called it the Boomerang. Revealed at the 1971 Turin Motor Show, the angular Boomerang was in step with competitors like the Lamborghini Countach and Lancia Stratos Zero. Fifty years after its debut, the Boomerang remains a curious and fabulous relic of the early 70s.
Built on the chassis of Maserati’s Bora, the only Boomerang ever created boasted a 310-hp 4.7-liter V8 and a top speed approaching 186 miles per hour. Odds are that it hasn't been driven much in the last 50 years, even though it has changed hands several times. The skin is edgy, reflecting designer Giorgetto Giugiaro’s modern-art vision. Inside the cabin, a forward-facing layout is futuristic, especially the spokeless steering wheel.
Slung low to the ground, the Boomerang was designed with retractable square headlamps and scads of glass spanning the windshield, a panoramic sunroof, and rear window. On the doors, a lower window was built into the panels and could be lowered for the driver or passenger to reach out and retrieve something that had fallen out of the car.
The two-seater never went into production. Instead, it left behind "a stylistic legacy that continued to live on not only in Giugiaro’s later creations (like the DeLorean DMC-12), but also in other projects, serving as inspiration for various other automakers in Europe and the United States," Maserati said.
Clad in rich leather, Maserati's edgy sports car hit the circuit for many years, showing up at international competitions.
"The Boomerang was the first car of its time to create such a strong, angular style statement," said Philip Kantor, Bonhams European Head of Motoring. "It's considered by many to be one of the most remarkable designs of the 20th century and the 'grandfather' to the Volkswagen Golf Mk 1."
Several years ago, the one-off Boomerang was sold at auction by Bonhams to the tune of $3.6 million. I wonder what it could command today with prices skyrocketing as they are currently. And one never knows: the Countach reemerged in 2021 after many years, and the Supra not long before that. Perhaps the Boomerang, like its namesake, will come back around too.
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