1972 MASERATI BORA - EX LES LESTON

KEY FACTS

• A stylish classic Italian sports car, with superb early provenance, and benefiting from a restoration around 20 years ago and a full engine rebuild in 2012.
• Its engine is a 310hp four-cam 4.7-litre V8, driving the rear wheels through a five-speed ZF rear transaxle.
• Of just 564 Boras produced, between 1972 and 1976 there were 289 of the early 4.7 built, of which only 29 were right-hand drive and sold in the UK (with 42 RHD in total). This is the fifth RHD car built.
• This particular car was first owned by the famous British racing driver and car accessories pioneer, Les Leston. A works driver with Cooper, he won the 1954 F3 championship, participated in three F1 Grand Prix, drove sports cars at Le Mans for Aston Martin, and won both the British Saloon Car Championship in 1958 and the British GT Championship in 1961.
• It has been owned by the vendor for nearly eight years, where it has formed part of a private collection and has only been driven sparingly.

EQUIPMENT AND FEATURES

• Styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Maserati Bora is a particularly elegant 1970s sports car. Its high-revving and powerful V8 meant it could sprint from 0-60mph in around 6.5 seconds and carry on to 173mph.
• It is believed that the original colour scheme was light metallic blue over black leather, though this was changed during the restoration 20 years ago to dark blue over cream.
• Cabin equipment includes air conditioning, electric windows, and a full complement of Veglia Borletti instrument gauges.
• The car comes with a reprint copy of the owner’s manual, a non-original service manual, spare wheel, tools and jack. There is also a substantial history file of paperwork, with documents dating back to 2000 when the restoration commenced.

CONDITION

• There has been some damage to the bonnet hinge area, but there is no known prior accident damage.
• Now around 20 years old, the dark blue paintwork is still in good condition, but does have some minor imperfections and stone chips in the finish as you would expect.
• The interior upholstery and other trim still looks excellent following the restoration, with very light marks in a few places, but no real wear to speak of.
• The switch on the far right of the dashboard has a broken surround, and there is a new switch included that the next owner can fit. Likewise, there is also a new chrome surround frame for the gear shifter.
• The windscreen washer jets are operated by a remote button under the dashboard.
• The air conditioning is inoperative; it may require just re-gassing, or may need more extensive attention. There are no other known faults.
• The most recent MOT test was on 11 June 2021 at 48,029 miles, which resulted in a first-time pass with no advisories.

MOT history:

• 21-11-06 - 38,057 miles
• 13-10-07 - 39,062 miles
• 20-10-08 - 40,764 miles
• 10-10-09 - 41,295 miles
• 13-10-10 - 42,128 miles
• 03-04-12 - 44,333 miles
• 05-04-13 - 45,595 miles
• 11-04-14 - 47,061 miles
• 10-04-15 - 47,534 miles
• 05-05-16 - 47,805 miles
• 15-06-17 - 47,989 miles
• 11-06-21 - 48,029 miles

SERVICE HISTORY

• The car has covered less than 1,000 miles in the last seven years, and as such only minor maintenance has been carried out such as renewal of rear suspension bushes.
• The last specialist service work was done by McGrath Maserati in July 2013 at 46,519 miles, with an engine oil and filter change.
• In September 2012, McGrath Maserati carried out a full engine rebuild including replacement of the flywheel at 45,514 miles, at a cost of £30,650. Technicians at Bob Houghton fitted a new clutch in April 2012 with a further £3,159 spent.
• Over the last 10 years, more than £51,600 has been spent on maintenance and refurbishment.
• While there were no advisories on the latest MOT test, the vendor advises that the front suspension bushes may benefit from being renewed in the near future if the next owner plans to cover significant distances.
• The restoration was carried out by Campana in Modena between 2000 and 2002 with invoices included.

SUMMARY

This Maserati Bora 4.7 is a glamorous 1970s sports car, which remains in very good condition following its restoration 20 years ago, and also benefits from a more recent full engine rebuild. Having been first owned and driven by F3, F1, rally and sports car racer Les Leston, this Bora has fantastic provenance, and it would make a fine addition to any collection of rare classics as one of just 42 right-hand drive cars.

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All UK-registered cars and motorbikes on Collecting Cars are run through an online HPI check. On the HPI report, this vehicle shows no insurance database markers for damage or theft, and has no finance owing.