When
the Maserati brothers opened in 1914 the Officine Alfieri Maserati in
the heart of Bologna, Italy, they could hardly have imagined the
impact they would have on the world.
Alfieri,
Ettore, Ernesto and Bindo: four brothers united by their unrelenting
passion for cars and engines.
Their
vision, enthusiasm and expertise turned out to be the cornerstones of
what would one day become a global brand, universally recognised as a
symbol of motoring excellence.
This
is Maserati’s story.
Maserati
prides itself on its long and glorious heritage
Officine
Alfieri Maserati was founded on 1 December 1914 in Bologna, Italy.
Since then, Maserati has played a consistently important role in the
history of sports car culture and its development. Over a century of
activity has brought with it glorious achievements, both on the road
and the track, as well as more challenging times, which have helped
forge the company’s character and personality.
However,
Maserati’s history involves more than its glorious sporting
achievements and the launch of great road cars. The company has also
developed industrially over the years. Its relocation from Bologna to
the current site in Viale Ciro Menotti, Modena, in 1940 is one of the
main relevant step in its history.
Still
today its world-wide reach emanates from its historic Maserati
headquarters.
Maserati
is now a global brand operating in over 70 markets. Unlike any other
manufacturer, Maserati has succeeded in instilling within its cars
both heritage and innovation, past and future, memory and vision.Its
heart may be rooted in its Italian heritage, but its eyes are firmly
focused on the future.
Today
Maserati pride is reflected in the values that define the brand. In
this section, you can relive Maserati’s enthralling history and get
to know the people, achievements and cars which have made the brand
famous.
The
Trident, the symbol of a myth. The badge used on all racing cars in
Maserati’s history, has remained constant throughout the evolution
of the brand and its style, technology and performance, accompanying
all the victories and successes of Maserati cars.
A
figure of iconic importance in Maserati’s history has dominated
Piazza Maggiore in Bologna since the sixteenth century. It was the
city’s Fountain of Neptune that inspired the Maserati Trident logo,
symbolising both Bologna itself and the automotive brand.
In
about 1920 Maserati needed a logo that would ensure that its new car
would stand out from the crowd. So it was decided that Mario
Maserati, the only Maserati brother not to be obsessed by engines and
a talented artist, should be commissioned to design the company logo.
Mario drew inspiration from Neptune’s statue in Piazza Maggiore,
its trident symbolising strength and vigour. The red and blue that
accompany the design are the colours of the banner of the city of
Bologna.where Officine Maserati was located at that time.
Inseparably
linked to the brand, the Trident underlines the exclusive status of
the firm’s cars and their identity as masterpieces of elegance,
luxury and sports car performance.
The
grille
Every
Maserati car has always had an elegant, distinctive radiator grille
with a very special meaning.
From
the mid-thirties onwards, radiator grilles started to become even
more distinctive. The Maserati 6CM saw the first use of a new grille
featuring chromed fillets with a rounded, extremely sinuous form.
Similar shapes, with fillet grilles, also appeared on the Maserati
8CTF and the 4CLT, both cars which were to become part of the Brand’s
racing history.
The
Maserati Tipo 26 had chromed trims on its grille, bringing prestige
to the front end of the car and underlining its sporty elegance. As
the years passed, new combinations were tried: the Maserati 8CM
introduced a black grille with chrome edging that created a break
between the colours of the grille and the bodywork, generating depth
and giving the car an even more original look.
As
the radiator grilles of its racing cars evolved, the Brand also paid
great attention to styling the grilles of its road cars. One example
is the Maserati A6 from the late forties, with its distinctive
chromed grille that emphasised the car’s impressive front end. On
some versions, such as the A6G/2000, the grille also included the
Trident logo, placed in the centre and highlighted by its chromed
finish.
As
the years passed, the cars’ power increased and engineers needed
better cooling solutions.
In
the Sixties and Seventies, as the design of the cars became more
streamlined, radiator grilles varied a great deal from model to
model. The radiator grille on the Ghibli had a chromed surround and a
Trident badge in the middle, while the Indi did not have a grille as
such, since the engine was cooled by a number of air inlets in the
underside of the nose.
Radiator
grilles continued to evolve in the 1980s, with angular car features
combined with simple but striking grilles, as in the case of the
Maserati Biturbo.
The
trend has continued through to the current design of the Maserati
GranTurismo, with the chromed Trident badge proudly displayed on a
black background, just as on the new Maserati Ghibli and Maserati
Quattroporte, with their expressive grilles that underline their
elegant, sporty personalities.
Evolution
of style
Through
the evolution of its designs, Maserati has led the way in automotive
fashion, with unique cars, elegant yet sporty, always with highly
personal, distinctive lines. From the rounded, curvy, sinuous details
of the brand’s early years, its cars gradually evolved to become
larger, longer and more streamlined.
Then
in the sixties design evolved further, making Maserati’s cars a
perfect symbiosis of clean lines and sinuous surfaces, with a unique
style recognisable all over the world. The shapes of the seventies
were more angular, as technological development led to new
aerodynamic solutions, flat lines and sharp edges, and evolved into
the right-angled shapes of the eighties and nineties, which
themselves opened the way for the sleek lines of today, more rounded
but just as streamlined and eye-catching.
Over
the years, Maserati has worked with several established engineers and
designers such as Giugiaro, Zagato, Ramaciotti and Pininfarina.
Having worked together on several projects, Maserati and Pininfarina
have created some of the most popular designs and concept cars of all
time, including the Birdcage 75th, heralded as one of the most iconic
Maserati models in recent history.
Designing
excellence
Following
the Quattroporte, Pininfarina designed a new coupé which will have a
profound impact on the history of Maserati and the motoring world.
Stunningly beautiful, the GranTurismo took the Geneva Motor Show by
storm in 2007.
In
2014, Maserati's homage to its own sports heritage, the Alfieri
Concept Sports Car, is revealed. This thoroughbred racing machine and
masterpiece of automotive design is by no means a nostalgic,
retrospective study, but a beautiful, visionary sculpture on wheels.
Meanwhile,
following huge investment in new production facilities, the company
launched a four door sports saloon and reintroduced the Ghibli name
to a brand new and highly appreciative audience. Massively popular
right from the start, the Ghibli has helped Maserati achieve its
highest ever sales volume – the prefect celebration in its
centenary year.
As
sales continue to hit new heights, Maserati has expanded its model
line-up with its first-ever SUV, the Levante. Alongside the
Quattroporte, Ghibli, GranTurismo and GranCabrio, for the first time,
the Maserati range covers the whole of the global luxury automotive
market.
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