The ultimate seventies comparison test Ferrari versus Lamborghini and Maserati
02/25/2015
In the mid-seventies, mid-engine sports cars with four seats and sleeping eyes were the law of the day. The three manufacturers from Emiglia Romagna Ferrariwith the Dino 308 GT4, Lamborghiniwith the Urraco and Maseratiwith the Merak offered comparable sports cars for the small (and wealthy) family, so what could be more obvious than to compare them directly? This is exactly what the American magazine Road & Track did in 1975.
The differences were clearer and the test results worse than one would think today. The Dino 308 GT4 took 8 seconds to accelerate to 60 miles per hour (96 km/h), the Urraco needed 10.1 seconds and the Merak 9.2 It must be understood that the American versions lagged well behind the European versions in terms of performance. Although the Dino produced a comparable 240 hp (BHP SAE), the Urraco and the Merak were significantly weaker with 175 and 180 hp respectively. With an average test car weight of around 1600 kg, these differences in performance naturally had a significant effect.
In terms of price, the three mid-engined sports cars had little in common, the Maserati with a list price of USD 21,700 was slightly cheaper than the Urraco at USD 22,500 and the Dino at USD 22,593. Fuel consumption was also roughly the same at 13 to 14 miles per gallon (mpg), i.e. 16.8 to 18 liters per 100 km.
The big differences therefore came from the handling in addition to the driving performance. And here, too, the Dino showed its best side and delighted the test drivers with its excellent manners. No wonder it won the RT test by a wide margin. It was followed by the Maserati Merak, which was described as a "head turner", i.e. a car that attracts attention. The Urraco? The RT people judged it to be the best design and hoped that future versions would be better in the feed.
And today, 40 years later? While Maserati produced 1830 Merak, just 776 of the Lamborghini Urraco were made (the successors Silhouette and Jalpa were also based on the Urraco, however), the Dino 308 GT4 (and 208 GT4) also won the market with 2826 units.
None of the three are currently achieving high prices, they have actually remained surprisingly cheap, even though they combine exotic looks, fantastic sound and classic status. Perhaps you should buy one now, but don't lose sight of the considerable maintenance costs.
