In August 2005, Octane Magazine carried out a comparison test for supercars from the Seventies for around £20,000, they chose a De Tomaso Pantera, a Lotus Esprit, a Lamborghini Urraco, a Ferrari 308GTS and a Maserati Bora.

Here's what Malcolm McKay had to say about the Maserati Bora:

"That just leaves the Bora, another Giugiaro/Ital Design production with an astonishing and successful mix of Maserati and Citroën technology. Most expensive by far when new, can if justify that price tag in use? Motor in 1973 said not. But just under 500 owners between 1971 and 1978 felt it could.

Peter Bateman has driven this Bora on (and to) all the major circuits in Europe – 'It loves Imola and can do 100mph through Eau Rougel' – and has no qualms about driving half the M25 at 5.30pm on a Friday, a convincing tribute to the Maserati's usability. In 12 years of ownership he's covered 35,000 miles and found that electrical problems are the only common failing.

Quality exudes everywhere, from the brushed stainless steel roof panel (decades before DeLorean) to the hydraulically adjustable pedals and seat height. No wonder this is the heaviest car here, despite its big four-cam V8 engine being all aluminium.

Wonderfully original waterfall-style seats are the Bora's other nod to styling excess; with big doors, access is easy and, once in, the driving position is comfortable and the dash, though somewhat cluttered, turns out to have all the vital dials where you want them and others close by – and as a bonus, the handbrake is conveniently positioned for feeling your passenger's thigh... The steering wheel position is quite high and the pedals are offset left, bgut so is the seat so it feels coherent in use and the pedals are well spaced.

Fire up and the big V8 burbles happily; as the revs rise, the soud becomes harder but it is never intrusive and, to be honest, sounds a little more mundane than expected. But power it has in plenty, a seamless thrust right through the rev range with such potency that it rarely feels extended; the red line on the 8000rpm rev counter is at 5500, but there's no more poke above 5000 than at 3000.

The steering is light at first, a little lacking in feel, seeming power-assisted though it isn't. When you first enter a corner, you can feel the weight of the engine behind, but the car balances itself and feels very stable, planting itself on the road; a glance at the speedo reveals I'm already taking corners 10mph faster than I was in the other cars. The only disappointment is the seats, in which I slide from side to side – they're built for portiler frames.

Hight geared and flexible, the Bora barely needs to go above third gear in normal driving – it's built to eat up the miles. Most impressive of all, though, is the controversial Citroën-derived braking. Sensitive and really inspiring confidence, the brakes haul this heavy car down from 100mph to 50mph for corner after corner with astonishing efficiency, aided by grooved TarOx aftermarket discs.

The Maserati's combination of supercar grunt, great handling, relaxed cruising, flexibility and fabulous brakes make it for me the pick of the bunch though all have their own strengths, the Lotus offering DIY practicality and running economy, the Lambo a fabulous engine and interior space, the Ferrari all-round sophistrication and the De Tomaso simplicity with sheer road-squashing grunt. The choice is yours."