Tickets & membership
From 12/20 to 02/23, Autoworld is hosting a tour dedicated to Maserati. The Italian brand, which has elevated “Gran Turismo” to an art of living, is celebrating its 110th anniversary. Over a century of the brand’s most glorious history is being honored with a major temporary exhibition at Autoworld.
The Maserati brothers 1914-1937
The Maserati brothers, Alfieri (1887–1932), Bindo (1883–1980), Carlo (1881–1910), Ettore (1894–1990), and Ernesto (1898–1975), were all involved with automobiles from the beginning of the 20th century. Alfieri, Bindo, and Ernesto built 2-litre Grand Prix cars for Diatto. In 1926, Diatto suspended the production of race cars, leading to the creation of the first Maserati and the founding of the Maserati marque. One of the first Maseratis, driven by Alfieri, won the 1926 Targa Florio. Maserati began making race cars with 4, 6, 8, and 16 cylinders (two straight-eights mounted parallel to one another). Alfieri Maserati died in 1932, but three other brothers, Bindo, Ernesto, and Ettore kept the firm going.
The trident logo of the Maserati car company, designed by Mario Maserati, is based on the Fountain of Neptune in Bologna's Piazza Maggiore. In 1920, one of the Maserati brothers used this symbol in the logo. It was considered particularly appropriate for the sports car company due to the fact that Neptune represents strength and vigour; additionally the statue is a characteristic symbol of the company's original home city.
Orsi ownership 1937 - 1968
In 1937, the Maserati brothers sold their shares to the Adolfo Orsi family, who, in 1940, relocated the company headquarters to their home town of Modena. The brothers continued in engineering roles with the company. Racing successes continued, even against the giants of German racing, Auto Union and Mercedes. In back-to-back wins in 1939 and 1940, an 8CTF won the Indianapolis 500, making Maserati the only Italian manufacturer ever to do so.After the second world war, Maserati returned to making cars; the A6 series did well in the post-war racing scene. Key people joined the Maserati team. The focus was on the best engines and chassis to succeed in car racing. These new projects saw the last contributions of the Maserati brothers, who, after their 10-year contract with Orsi expired, went on to form O.S.C.A. This new team at Maserati worked on several projects such as the A6 series and, pivotally for the future success of the company, the A6GCS.
The famous Argentinian Juan-Manuel Fangio raced for Maserati for a number of years in the 1950s. He won the F1 world championship in 1957 in the 250F. Maserati retired from factory racing participation that same year, though they continued to build cars for privateers. They became more and more focused on building road-going grand tourers. The 1957 3500 GT marked a turning point in the marque's history, as its first ground-up grand tourer design and first series-produced car. Over 2,200 were made.
Citroën ownership 1968-1974
In 1968, Maserati was taken over by Citroën. Adolfo Orsi remained the nominal president, but Maserati was controlled by its new owner. The relationship started as a joint venture, in which Maserati would design and manufacture an engine for Citroën's upcoming flagship called SM, launched in 1970.With secure financial backing, new models were launched and built in much greater numbers than years prior. Citroën borrowed Maserati's expertise and engines for the SM and other vehicles, and Maserati incorporated Citroën's technology, particularly in hydraulics. Engineer Giulio Alfieri was key to many of the ambitious designs of this period. The first new arrival was the 1969 Indy, followed by the Bora, the Merak and the unsuccessful Quattroporte II.
Citroën's and Maserati's financial difficulties became a real burden. The Bertone-designed Khamsin, was the last model of this Italian-French alliance. In 1974, with the recession at its climax, things took a turn for the worse. Citroën went bankrupt and its incorporation into PSA Peugeot Citroën begun and Maserati was put into liquidation.
De Tomaso era 1975 – 1989 and de Tomaso-FIAT years 1989-1993
In August 1975, an agreement was signed at the Ministry of Industry in Rome, and property of Maserati passed from Citroën to Italian state-owned holding company GEPI and Alejandro de Tomaso became president and CEO. Beginning in 1976, new models were introduced, sharing their underpinnings—but not their engines—with De Tomaso cars. First came the Kyalami grand tourer, derived from the De Tomaso Longchamp, followed by the Giugiaro-designed Quattroporte III based on the De Tomaso Deauville.The 1980s saw the company largely abandoning the mid-engine sports car in favour of a compact front-engine, rear-drive coupé, the Biturbo. Every new Maserati launched up to the 1990s would be based on the Biturbo's platform. The Biturbo family was extremely successful at exploiting the aspirational image of the Maserati name—selling 40,000 units.
In 1984 Chrysler bought a 5% share in Maserati, which was increased to 15.6% in 1986.At the end of 1989, FIAT entered in Maserati's history. Maserati and Innocenti were separated. All of the Modena and Lambrate plants went to a newly created company, the still existent Maserati S.p.A.; 49% of it was owned by FIAT Auto and 51% was controlled by De Tomaso. Between 1992 and 1994, all models save for the Ghibli and Shamal were progressively discontinued.
FIAT 1993 – 2021 and Stellantis 2021 -
In July 1997, FIAT sold a 50% share in the company to Maserati's long-time archrival Ferrari (Ferrari itself being owned by FIAT).In 1999, Ferrari took full control, making Maserati its luxury division. A new factory was built, replacing the existing 1940s-era facility.In 1998, a new chapter began in Maserati's history when the company launched the 3200 GT. This two-door coupé is powered by a 3.2 L twin-turbocharged V8 derived from the Shamal engine. In 2002 it was replaced by the Maserati Coupé and Spyder; In turn these were replaced by the GranTurismo and GranCabrio. Meanwhile, the MC12 road supersports and successful GT racer with a Ferrari Enzo–derived chassis and engine marked Maserati's return to racing after a long hiatus.
The Maserati and Alfa Romeo group, under FIAT Group, started in 2005, when Maserati was split off from Ferrari and partnered with Alfa Romeo. In January 2010, FIAT announced that it had created a new partnership/brand group for Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Abarth. Over two decades after the ill-fated Chrysler TC by Maserati during Chrysler's brief ownership stake in Maserati, the two companies became interconnected again when FIAT purchased majority control of Chrysler in 2011 as a result of Chrysler's bankruptcy. In 2014, Fiat S.p.A. merged with American automaker Chrysler to form Fiat Chrysler Automobiles FCA. Subsequently, in 2021, FCA merged with the French PSA Group to form Stellantis, reuniting Maserati with Citroën.
