A Maserati Merak, formerly owned by Benny from Abba, will cross the block at Bonhams' Goodwood Revival auction this weekend in the UK.
 The Maserati Merak is a more affordable option than the Bora, yet provides better handling and weight distribution, although less power |
The September 13 sale welcomes a host of classic collector cars, following on from the auction house's Goodwood Festival of Speed sale in July. The Merak, which can be seen in Abba: The Photo Book, is estimated to sell for £60,000-80,000 ($96,804-129,072).
The Maserati Merak was built to compete with Ferrari's popular Dino 246. Featuring a 3.0-litre quad cam V6 motor, it is less powerful than the more famous Bora (which sports a V8), but was available at a lower cost and featured better handling and weight distribution.
Today, the Merak is growing in popularity among collectors due to its status as an affordable classic Maserati. Standard models, without the celebrity provenance of the current example, sell in the region of $40,000-50,000.
A 1978 Merak SS - the later V8-engined model - made $44,000 at RM Auction earlier this year.
Maserati will provide the highlight of the Goodwood Revival sale, with a 1937 Tipo single-seat racer expected to sell for £600,000-900,000 ($994,698-1.4m), while a four-cylinder 1,100cc model built in 1932 carries an estimate of £400,000-600,000 ($663,544-995,316).
"Maserati is currently enjoying its centenary year, and these well known and highly respected examples of the marque are a wonderful tribute," said Bonhams' James Knight, group head of motoring.
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