100 years of Maserati! This is being commemorated at several moments, including on the Festival of Speed at Goodwood. A large number of Modena's finest examples will be in action there, alongside a selection of the most important cars that will be on display.
The company was founded in Bologna, Italy, on December 1, 1914. Alfieri Maserati and two of his brothers, Ettore and Ernesto, were skilled mechanics and had a great passion for speed. Initially, the brothers focused primarily on the mechanics of the cars, but later they also began racing. A fourth brother, Bindo, joined the company in 1932 after Alfieri died at the age of 45 as a result of an accident in 1928. A fifth brother, Mario, is said to have designed the Maserati logo, inspired by the Neptune Fountain in the historic center of Bologna.
In 1937, the brothers sold their shares in the company to the Orsi family but continued to work in the business. One of the most significant changes under Orsi management was the relocation of the company to Modena, where it is still situated today.
Maserati Tipo 26 from 1914
100 years of Maserati, it started with racing
Maserati produced its first car, the Tipo 26 racer, in 1926 and won the Targa Florio road race in Sicily that year. This was the first of many illustrious victories, including two Indianapolis 500 wins, nine victories in Formula One, and the 1957 F1 World Championship.
In 1947, Maserati produced its first passenger car, the A6 Grand Tourer. The Pininfarina-designed Maserati A6 was shown at the Geneva Motor Show, and only 64 examples were built. This model was followed by the A6GCS and the A6G2000 with a Frua body. In 1963, the A6G54 Gran Turismo came onto the market. With this series of models, Maserati set the tone for a line of sporty luxury saloons.
Maserati A6G54 Gran Turismo
Another important racing version was the 1957 Maserati 250F with which Juan Manuel Fangio secured his Grand Prix victory at the Nürburgring. The Argentinian knew he could not drive the full distance without refueling, so he started on half tanks and built up a lead of forty seconds, during which he broke the lap record multiple times. After his pit stop, he managed to overtake his biggest rivals in the Ferraris again and win the race in an epic event.
Maserati 250F
After 1957, Maserati's focus shifted from racing cars to road cars. The first model in this new series was the Maserati 3500 Coupé with an aluminium body based on the chassis of the Maserati 5000. In the 1960s, a number of new models were released, including the Vignale in 1962, the Mistral Coupe in 1963, the Spider in 1964, and the Ghibli coupé in 1967.
1967 Maserati Ghibli
In 1968, the company came into French hands when Citroën took it over. In itself a good deal, because Citroën used the Maserati engines and Maserati received the hydraulic technology from the French. This resulted in models in the seventies such as the maserati bora (1971) Merak en Khamsin and the Citroen SM.
With the oil crisis of the 1970s came Citroën in such serious trouble that the company went bankrupt and Maserati was taken over by the newly formed PSA Peugeot Citroën group, which wanted to let the Italian brand go bankrupt. Only with government assistance did the company manage to survive. In 1975, the company was brought back to life by former racing driver Alessandro de TomasoDuring his time as head of the company, the models became larger and featured a front-mounted engine combined with rear-wheel drive instead of the mid-engines of the early 1970s. In the 1980s, Maserati became known for the bi-turbo models who were not seen as very reliable.
Maserati biturbo
It was not until 1993 that Maserati would regain its glory with the takeover by Fiat. Fiat bought the company in 1993 and launched the 3200 GT in 1999, a two-door coupe with a 3,2-liter twin-turbo engine. The transmission was designed and produced by Ferrari, which held a 50% stake in the company and shifted Maserati's models towards a more luxury line.
PS: If anyone is going to the Festival of Speed this year and wants to share photos, we would love to hear from you! We would especially love to post photos of the Maseratis, possibly in combination with an article. You can always contact us for this. touch with Contact us.
