- See also: Mazarati, a 1980s band.
Maserati is a famous Italian manufacturer of racing- and sports cars, established in 1914 in Bologna. The company's headquarters are now in Modena, and their emblem is a trident. Today, Maserati is owned by Ferrari and operates as that company's more luxury-oriented marque.
History
The company was founded by Alfieri Maserati, one of seven Maserati brothers, all but one of whom were involved in the development of cars. The seventh brother, Mario, is believed to have devised the company emblem. Alfieri Maserati died in 1932 but three other brothers, Bindo, Ernesto and Ettore, kept the firm going, and winning races.
Orsi ownership
In 1937 the remaining Maserati brothers sold their shares in the company to the Orsi family, who in 1940 relocated the company headquarters to their hometown of Modena, where it remains to this day. The brothers continued in engineering roles with the company, however. Racing successes continued, even against the giants of German racing, Auto Union and Mercedes. In 1940 a Maserati won the Indianapolis 500, a feat repeated the following year.
The war then intervened, Maserati abandoning cars to produce components for the Italian war effort.
Once peace was restored, Maserati returned to making cars, doing well in the postwar racing scene also. The famous driver Juan-Manuel Fangio raced for Maserati for a number of years in the 1950s, producing a number of stunning victories including winning the world championship in 1957. After that, Maserati retired from factory racing participation, though it built racing cars to be raced by others after that date.
After 1957, Maserati became more and more focussed on road cars, including the Maserati Sebring, launched in 1962, the Maserati Mistral Coupé (1963) and Spider (1964), both designed by Pietro Frua, and their first four-door, the Maserati Quattroporte (1963), also designed by Pietro Frua.
Citroën ownership
In 1968 came a great change -- purchase by Citroën. Adolfo Orsi remained the nominal president, but Maserati changed a great deal. New models were launched, and built in much greater numbers than hitherto. Citroën borrowed Maserati expertise and engines for the Citroën SM and other vehicles, and Maseratis incorporated Citroën technology also, particularly in hydraulics.
New models included the Maserati Bora, the first mass-produced mid-engined Maserati, in 1971, and the Maserati Merak and Maserati Khamsin soon afterwards. The 1970s oil crises, however, put the brakes on this ambitious expansion - suddenly, the demand for fuel-thirsty sports cars shrank. On May 23, 1973, Citroën declared that Maserati was in liquidation. Propped up by Italian government funds, the company stayed alive, if barely.
De Tomaso
1975 saw the company back on its feet with Alessandro De Tomaso, an Argentinian former racing driver, the new managing director. De Tomaso had arranged for the Binelli company to buy the company from Citroën to install him as its head. New models were introduced in 1976, including the Maserati Kyalami and the Maserati Quattroporte III.
The 1980s saw the company largely abandoning the mid-engined sports car in favor of squarish, front-engined rear drive coupes, cheaper than before but with aggressive performance, like the Maserati Biturbo.
The company also worked closely with Chrysler, now headed by De Tomaso friend Lee Iacocca. Chrysler purchased part of Maserati and the two jointly-produced a car, the Chrysler TC by Maserati.
Fiat ownership
1993 saw the company acquired by Fiat. Substantial investments were made in Maserati, and the company has since undergone something of a renaissance.
In 1999 a new chapter began in the history of Maserati, when the company launched the 3200GT, the only "Fiat Maserati". This two door coupe was powered by a 3.2 L twin turbo charged V8. It produced 370 bhp (276 kW) and does 0-60 mph in less than 5 seconds. Its top speed is an amazing 285 km/h (177 mph) Production of this car ceased in 2002.
Ferrari and Volkswagen
In 1997, Fiat sold a 50% share in the company to Maserati's long-time arch-rival Ferrari; in 1999, Ferrari took full control. Maserati is now Ferrari's performance/luxury division. A new factory was built, replacing the 1940s vintage older factory.
More recently, Maserati has signed an agreement with Volkswagen for the German company to share its Audi division's quattro all-wheel drive technology (originally meant for the still-born Maserati Kubang sport-utility vehicle concept) with Maserati's current Quattroporte platform. The agreement has been made on the condition that there will be no corporate espionage or reverse engineering, since Volkswagen owns two of Ferrari's rivals, Lamborghini and Bugatti.
Current Models
Present production includes:
Maseratis are once again being sold in the lucrative United States market, and the company has also re-entered the racing arena with their Trofeo and, in December 2003, the Maserati MC12 (formerly known as the MCC), which will take part in select GT races in 2004. The MC12 is based on the Ferrari Enzo supercar; 50 street-legal homologation models will be sold for about US$750,000 each.
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