The Bora was introduced in 1971 and was produced until 1978. During its production lifespan, over 570 examples were produced. The vehicle was built in 2-door coupe form with the engine placed in the middle and powering the rear wheels. Ferrari had been in the process of creating a mid-engined sports car while Lamborghini and DeTomaso had their Countach, Miura and Mangusta. The mid-engined Ford GT40 had even made a few appearances at LeMans. After seeing this trend, Guy Malleret, the administrator of Maserati, gave Giulio Alfieri permission to begin design and production of a mid-engined sports car. Alfieri began work on the technical aspects of the vehicle.
A combined steel monocoque chassis and body featured a tubular steel subframe at the back for the engine and transmission. Suspension was independent all round (a first for a Maserati road car) with coil springs, telescopic shocks and anti-roll bars. Citroën's advanced high pressure hydraulics were adopted to operate the ventilated disc brakes, power-assisted rack and pinion steering, the retractable headlights, adjustable steering wheel column, single dry plate clutch and adjustable pedals. 
The Bora was internally known as the Tipo 117 and the creation of the prototype was started in October of 1968. By the middle of 1969, a road worthy version could be found traversing the highways. At the 1971 Geneva Auto Show it was debuted to the public in production form.
The suspension was independent, comprised of coil springs, anti-roll bars and telescopic shocks. Large hydraulically operated ventilated brakes provided excellent stopping power. The power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering was effective and responsive. While the headlights were not in use, they were stored, hidden away in the hood of the car adding to the sleek look of the car. nstead, the pedal box could be moved forwards and backwards by around three inches. Weighing in at 1520kg (around 180kg heavier than the Ghibli), top speed was 168mph whilst 0-60 and 0-100 took 6.2 and 13.4 seconds respectively. The first Bora's were delivered to customers in late 1971, only minor production changes being gradually phased in thereafter. These included front lids hinged at the back, pop-up headlights with rounded inside corners, a rectangular front lid-mounted grille and finally, matt black louvres on the sail panels. From 1973, as the 4.7-litre engine hadn't been homologated in North America, Bora's destined for the land of the free were fitted with emissions-equipped 4.9's similar to those found in US-bound Ghibli's.
The 90-degree 4.7-liter V8 engine featured four Weber 42 DCNF downdraught carburetors and electronic Bosch ignition, resulting in an astonishing 310 horsepower to propel a very light 1520 KG vehicle to a top speed of around 170 mph. Between the engine and the driver was an extra carpeted aluminum panel to provide extra sound insulation for the occupants. The rear window was double-glazed. In 1973, an American version was produced which received an emissions-friendly 4.9 liter V8 that produced 300 horsepower. To comply with other safety regulations bumpers were added to the front and rear of the vehicle, degrading its appearance. In 1975 the 4.9-liter engine became standard on all Boras, now producing 320 horsepower. During its production run, 289 examples were created with the 4.7-liter engine and 235 with the 4.9-liter V8.