1972 Maserati Boomerang Coupe

This car, Lot 11, sold for $3,714,523 (€3,335,000; $1.00 = €0.90), including buyer’s premium, at the Bonhams Chantilly sale in Paris, FRA, on September 5, 2015.

That the Boomerang exists today is a bit of a miracle. Retired concept cars are occasionally sold to private parties, usually many years after their moment of glory on the turntable. When they do appear, they are most often pretenders — either non-running “pushers” with front wheels that don’t steer, or they’re powered by engines that might push them to a dizzying 50 mph before their bodies shake themselves to pieces. Or worse yet, they’re solid blocks of metal, plastics and resins — sculptures without actual interiors, and never with any paperwork that would allow you to actually register one of them for driving in public.

The Boomerang, on the other hand, is, underneath the dramatically creased bodywork, a fully functioning Maserati Bora, sold when still new to a nightclub owner. He apparently didn’t actually use it much on the road, but rather employed it as a very stylish curbside billboard for his club, parked out in front. And the emphasis here is on “parked.” The car was practically stationary for many years, slowly deteriorating in the Spanish coastal air.

Any Italian car dislikes sitting — Maseratis more than most Italians, Boras more than most Maseratis, and a one-off show car the most of all.

Rates of exchange

Back when Christie’s was in the collector car business, it offered the Boomerang twice for sale in Paris. First at Rétromobile in February 2002, when it sold for $627,049 (€716,382; $1.00 = €1.14), and again three years later at the same venue, at which time it brought $1,004,296 (€781,250; $1.00 = €0.78).

Looking at those figures tells an interesting story of currency exchange, which is why it is vital to always consider the rate when looking at prices for cars sold at auction abroad. There was very little actual appreciation between the 2002 and 2005 transactions in euros. The difference in dollars was greatly enhanced by the dramatic swing downward in the dollar against the euro.

While it was rescued from its Spanish living hell by the German tourist who bought it and brought it back to life in a sympathetic restoration in the 1980s, the catalog description clearly states when quoting the next owner’s brief to his restorer in 2002 that the car was a runner but not very drivable. It seems to have been much like the Ferrari Pinin, the sleek and beautiful 4-door concept created in 1980 by Pininfarina to tease Enzo Ferrari into building a competitor to the Maserati Quattroporte and Mercedes-Benz 6.9.

Originally a “roller” with no engine, that car has recently been given motive power, and the installation of the intended flat 12-cylinder boxer engine was only the start. A substantial reworking of the front chassis and the creation of a wiring loom was also required. After all that, recent road tests suggest it remains capable of something less than true Ferrari-like performance.

Display or drive?

The work required to make the Boomerang truly roadable appears to have been rather less involved, but it’s also quite likely that any current owner of the car will not want to push it very hard. Anything that might go wrong could cause very expensive damage to the bodywork, glazing, or trim.

Each time the Boomerang has sold, SCM has profiled it. The late, great Pat Braden had the honor in May 2002, and I did in April 2005. On the subject of actually using the Boomerang, Braden wrote: “The body that was not originally designed ‘as a fully operational vehicle’ now carries a 310-horsepower engine that endows the car with the potential to reach 185 miles per hour.” In my 2005 profile I added, “Why someone today would want to risk its one-off bodywork, glass and trim on the road, I’m not sure. And if you’re not going to drive it, about the only other thing you can do with a car like this is show it. Yet there aren’t many shows in the world where it hasn’t already been seen, at least of those you’d want to take it to. Indeed, what the Boomerang needs most is to go into storage for a while so it can once again be a surprise to encounter.”

Since those words were written, it has been seen more than ever before, with no fewer than nine show appearances listed in the catalog between 2006 and 2014, including several Best in Show honors. There are very few major venues the new owner could bring it where it’s not been seen before, although it’s sure to be welcomed back almost everywhere.

Shooting upmarket

As for value, this time we’ve seen a real jump in appreciation. The currency exchange has moved in favor of the dollar, which is 15% stronger than it was at the time of the 2005 sale. But keeping it in constant euros, the car rose 427% in value in 10 years. Regardless of the work done to make it a dependable driver, this is still best used as a parked and terrifically appreciating sculpture.

So was it overpriced as a running and award-winning car at $3.8m in 2015, or as an undriveable and somewhat cosmetically challenged car for $628k in 2002? I will once again invoke the appraiser’s sacred declaration of The Principle of Substitution: If you couldn’t have the Boomerang, what else might you want?

The Ferrari 250 P5 no longer exists as originally built, so that’s not an option. The Alfa Romeo Canguro has never been offered for public sale and is unlikely to any time soon. The Ferrari Pinin is, as I write this, available for sale by a dealer for approximately $800k. It’s neat, for sure, but it’s a 4-door, with very compromised driving dynamics.

The bottom line for me is this: One of the leading enthusiast collectors of top-level Italian cars is kicking himself for having missed his third chance to own the Boomerang. That tells me all I need to know. The price was right. Your alternative? Find another? I think not. ♦

(Introductory description courtesy of Bonhams.)