conaero
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My birthday is coming up so I have put out the request to my family for the following, maybe of interest to someone else:
Maserati Cars Performance Portfolio 1957-1970
1957 was a hugely significant year for Maserati. It was the year when the company won the Formula 1 World Championship with Fangio, and a year when it almost went under when its entire team of 450S sports-racers was written off in the Venezuelan round of the world sports car championship. Yet this, too, was the year when Maserati began to focus on low-volume production of high-performance road cars to supplement its traditional fare of GP cars and sports-racers. The mechanical constant of the early cars - all bodied by Italy's finest coachbuilders - was the race-bred twin-cam 3.5-litre six. This grew to 3.7 litres for the Sebring from spring 1964, but by this time Maserati had also introduced the first of its renowned V8s. There were 4-litre, 4.2-litre and 4.7-litre editions of this, and - later - the engine was even stretched to 4.9 litres for the Bora and Kyalami of the 1970s. True Maserati aficionados tend to refer to the models of this early period by their type (Tipo) codes, but for most people the names of 3500 GT, 5000 GT, Mistral, Quattroporte, Sebring, Mexico, Ghibli and Indy are more evocative. All were low-volume specialist cars, but sales volumes increased as time went on and the practical Indy four-seater GT of 1968 saw Maserati operating on a worldwide stage. But this period was about to draw to a close as the Orsi family, which had controlled Maserati since 1947, decided to sell an interest in the company to a major manufacturer. Models covered: GT3500, Coupe, 5000GT, 2500 GTI Vignale Spyder, 3500 GT Vignale, 3500 GTI Sebring, Berlina GT, Quattro Porte, Mistral, Ghibli, Mexico, Indy & Ghibli Spyder. 136 pages, 300 illus. Including 16 pages of colour. SB.
SKU: MC57PP ISBN: 9781855206014
Order online
Maserati Cars Performance Portfolio 1971-1982
The 1970s were turbulent times for Maserati. At the beginning of the decade, the French Citroen company obtained a financial stake in the old-established Italian motor manufacturer. For a time, all looked promising as Citroen influences began to affect Maserati models and the Italian company developed a new V6 engine for its French ally's new SM high-performance GT car. But by 1975, it was all over. Restructuring at Citroen led to the abandonment of the SM and to a plan for Maserati to go into liquidation. Fortunately for Maserati fans, it never happened. The company was bought jointly by Alessandro de Tomaso and an Italian industrial combine, and de Tomaso set about putting it back on its feet, inspiring its new Kyalami model which married Maserati's long-serving V8 in 4.9-litre form to a structure derived from the Longchamp once built by his own car company. The Maserati models of the 1970s built on the more global success of the Indy in the late 1960s. The Bora, Kyalami and later-generation Quattroporte were V8-powered, while the V6 developed originally for Citroen was further developed and put to good use in the Merak. The Bora had the distinction of being the company's first road-going mid-engined car, although conventional front-engined layouts were in order for models such as the Khamsin. But it was time for Maserati to take the next step - into something approximating mass production. Models covered: Ghibli, Bora, Indy 4.2, Indy 4.7, Ghibli SS, Merak, Khamsin, Merak SS, Kyalami & Quattroporte. 136 pages, 300 illus. Including 18 pages of colour. SB.
SKU: MC71PP ISBN: 9781855206007
Order online
Maserati Cars Performance Portfolio 1982-1998
Major manufacturers continued to help shape the destiny of Maserati in the 1980s. Although the liaison with Citroen in the previous decade had nearly led to the company's demise, Maserati was undeterred and secured its future by strategic liaisons first with Chrysler in the USA and then with Fiat in its native Italy. It was in 1982, though, that Maserati made clear how it saw its own future. That was the year when it introduced the Biturbo - the car which Autocar so aptly described as a mass-market Maserati. Even if production volumes would always be small in global terms, they would be large by Maserati's own standards. At the Biturbo's launch, Maserati promised volume production of the car for the next ten years - and in fact its distinctive shape would persist beyond that, being adapted to make a four-door car, a Spyder and then such delights as the V8-powered Shamal as well. The first of those strategic liaisons with big manufacturers never quite succeeded as intended, and the Chrysler TC by Maserati (as it was billed) arrived two years late in 1988. At the end of the following year, Fiat moved in, taking a 49 percent holding in Maserati. Yet Maserati held on in there, and the end of the 1990s saw the introduction of yet another new range of cars, as distinctive and highly acclaimed as those of earlier years. No doubt those will one day excite just as much enthusiast interest as do the cars covered in this book. This is a book of contemporary road & comparison tests, new model intros, driving impressions & buying guide. Models covered: Biturbo 2-litre, Coupe, Biturbo E, 425, Spyder, 228, 430, Karif, Royale, 245, 222E, Spyder E, Shamal, Ghibli, Quattroporte & V8, Ghibli Cup & V8 Evo. With 136 pages & over 300 illustrations including 17 pages of colour. SB.
SKU: MC82PP ISBN: 9781855205994
Order online
Maserati Cars Ultimate Portfolio 1999-2007
Maserati is one of those deliciously Italian names that rolls phonetically off the tongue with a slight roll of the 'r' sound and a short 'i' at the end. Said properly it sounds beautiful, just like the famous cars to which it is attached. After some years in the doldrums Maserati is back with a vengeance. The resurgence began with the 3200 GT coupe back in 1998 and, slowly but surely, there has been a re-emergence of one of the motoring world's most iconic makes that has a fabulous history. This includes World Championships in Formula One with Juan Manuel Fangio winning the driver's championship and the company winning the Constructor's Championship in 1957 after an amazing drive by Fangio on the tough Nurburgring against the Ferraris of Hawthorn and Collins. It was one of the epic drives. Over the past decade the coupe (and the later convertible) have been upgraded with larger capacity engines and the Cambiocorsa semi automatic paddle shift gearbox that has drawn its fair share of criticism from the media in particular. Today's range is, for the performance connoisseur, nigh on perfect. If you want a beautifully styled coupe there is the delectable 4200 GT; if your heart desires a convertible then there is the drop-top version of the 4200 GT; and if you have family matters to contend with and need a high performance long distance limousine there is the gorgeous Quattroporte. The coupe and convertible were styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign and the big Quattroporte was the work of the Pininfarina studios. Many critics have said that it is the best looking high performance limousine ever made and they may well be right. Technically all three models are bang up-to-date with light weight alloy quad cam V8 engines under their hoods driving to a rear-mounted transaxle-gearbox and differential combined in one unit, that helps to balance the weight distribution; the suspension systems are wishbone and coil springs at all four wheels and there are electronically controlled dampers plus huge ventilated brake disc rotors to cope with the enormous speed these cars can be driven at. And inside all passengers travel in sybaritic comfort on beautifully crafted leather seats and in a climate controlled environment listening to their favourite music on a top quality audio system plus all the electronic toys needed to keep in touch with the world while crossing the Continent. All will exceed 170mph given the right conditions and will blast from rest to 60mph in around 5.0 seconds and use fuel at a rate close to 15mpg, if you can afford these cars filling the tank should be a minor concern. For the extreme extroverts there was the MC12, a 630bhp 6.0 litre V12 engined powered race and street car of which only 50 were made and sold. Capable of over 200mph and a storming 3.8 seconds 0-62mph acceleration time, it was developed by Maserati's engineers from a Giugiaro idea with the idea that the trident would return to the international racing scene. Few marques have put the word Grand into Grand Touring the way that Maserati has. A total of 200 pages all in full colour. Included are road & comparison tests, new model intros & buying guide. Models covered: 3200 GT, Assetto Corsa, 4200 GT, Trofeo, GranSport, Quattroporte, Sport GT, MC12 & GranTurismo. A total of 200 pages all in full colour. SB. SKU: MC99UP ISBN: 9781855207608
Order online
Maserati Cars Performance Portfolio 1957-1970
1957 was a hugely significant year for Maserati. It was the year when the company won the Formula 1 World Championship with Fangio, and a year when it almost went under when its entire team of 450S sports-racers was written off in the Venezuelan round of the world sports car championship. Yet this, too, was the year when Maserati began to focus on low-volume production of high-performance road cars to supplement its traditional fare of GP cars and sports-racers. The mechanical constant of the early cars - all bodied by Italy's finest coachbuilders - was the race-bred twin-cam 3.5-litre six. This grew to 3.7 litres for the Sebring from spring 1964, but by this time Maserati had also introduced the first of its renowned V8s. There were 4-litre, 4.2-litre and 4.7-litre editions of this, and - later - the engine was even stretched to 4.9 litres for the Bora and Kyalami of the 1970s. True Maserati aficionados tend to refer to the models of this early period by their type (Tipo) codes, but for most people the names of 3500 GT, 5000 GT, Mistral, Quattroporte, Sebring, Mexico, Ghibli and Indy are more evocative. All were low-volume specialist cars, but sales volumes increased as time went on and the practical Indy four-seater GT of 1968 saw Maserati operating on a worldwide stage. But this period was about to draw to a close as the Orsi family, which had controlled Maserati since 1947, decided to sell an interest in the company to a major manufacturer. Models covered: GT3500, Coupe, 5000GT, 2500 GTI Vignale Spyder, 3500 GT Vignale, 3500 GTI Sebring, Berlina GT, Quattro Porte, Mistral, Ghibli, Mexico, Indy & Ghibli Spyder. 136 pages, 300 illus. Including 16 pages of colour. SB.
SKU: MC57PP ISBN: 9781855206014
Order online
Maserati Cars Performance Portfolio 1971-1982
The 1970s were turbulent times for Maserati. At the beginning of the decade, the French Citroen company obtained a financial stake in the old-established Italian motor manufacturer. For a time, all looked promising as Citroen influences began to affect Maserati models and the Italian company developed a new V6 engine for its French ally's new SM high-performance GT car. But by 1975, it was all over. Restructuring at Citroen led to the abandonment of the SM and to a plan for Maserati to go into liquidation. Fortunately for Maserati fans, it never happened. The company was bought jointly by Alessandro de Tomaso and an Italian industrial combine, and de Tomaso set about putting it back on its feet, inspiring its new Kyalami model which married Maserati's long-serving V8 in 4.9-litre form to a structure derived from the Longchamp once built by his own car company. The Maserati models of the 1970s built on the more global success of the Indy in the late 1960s. The Bora, Kyalami and later-generation Quattroporte were V8-powered, while the V6 developed originally for Citroen was further developed and put to good use in the Merak. The Bora had the distinction of being the company's first road-going mid-engined car, although conventional front-engined layouts were in order for models such as the Khamsin. But it was time for Maserati to take the next step - into something approximating mass production. Models covered: Ghibli, Bora, Indy 4.2, Indy 4.7, Ghibli SS, Merak, Khamsin, Merak SS, Kyalami & Quattroporte. 136 pages, 300 illus. Including 18 pages of colour. SB.
SKU: MC71PP ISBN: 9781855206007
Order online
Maserati Cars Performance Portfolio 1982-1998
Major manufacturers continued to help shape the destiny of Maserati in the 1980s. Although the liaison with Citroen in the previous decade had nearly led to the company's demise, Maserati was undeterred and secured its future by strategic liaisons first with Chrysler in the USA and then with Fiat in its native Italy. It was in 1982, though, that Maserati made clear how it saw its own future. That was the year when it introduced the Biturbo - the car which Autocar so aptly described as a mass-market Maserati. Even if production volumes would always be small in global terms, they would be large by Maserati's own standards. At the Biturbo's launch, Maserati promised volume production of the car for the next ten years - and in fact its distinctive shape would persist beyond that, being adapted to make a four-door car, a Spyder and then such delights as the V8-powered Shamal as well. The first of those strategic liaisons with big manufacturers never quite succeeded as intended, and the Chrysler TC by Maserati (as it was billed) arrived two years late in 1988. At the end of the following year, Fiat moved in, taking a 49 percent holding in Maserati. Yet Maserati held on in there, and the end of the 1990s saw the introduction of yet another new range of cars, as distinctive and highly acclaimed as those of earlier years. No doubt those will one day excite just as much enthusiast interest as do the cars covered in this book. This is a book of contemporary road & comparison tests, new model intros, driving impressions & buying guide. Models covered: Biturbo 2-litre, Coupe, Biturbo E, 425, Spyder, 228, 430, Karif, Royale, 245, 222E, Spyder E, Shamal, Ghibli, Quattroporte & V8, Ghibli Cup & V8 Evo. With 136 pages & over 300 illustrations including 17 pages of colour. SB.
SKU: MC82PP ISBN: 9781855205994
Order online
Maserati Cars Ultimate Portfolio 1999-2007
Maserati is one of those deliciously Italian names that rolls phonetically off the tongue with a slight roll of the 'r' sound and a short 'i' at the end. Said properly it sounds beautiful, just like the famous cars to which it is attached. After some years in the doldrums Maserati is back with a vengeance. The resurgence began with the 3200 GT coupe back in 1998 and, slowly but surely, there has been a re-emergence of one of the motoring world's most iconic makes that has a fabulous history. This includes World Championships in Formula One with Juan Manuel Fangio winning the driver's championship and the company winning the Constructor's Championship in 1957 after an amazing drive by Fangio on the tough Nurburgring against the Ferraris of Hawthorn and Collins. It was one of the epic drives. Over the past decade the coupe (and the later convertible) have been upgraded with larger capacity engines and the Cambiocorsa semi automatic paddle shift gearbox that has drawn its fair share of criticism from the media in particular. Today's range is, for the performance connoisseur, nigh on perfect. If you want a beautifully styled coupe there is the delectable 4200 GT; if your heart desires a convertible then there is the drop-top version of the 4200 GT; and if you have family matters to contend with and need a high performance long distance limousine there is the gorgeous Quattroporte. The coupe and convertible were styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign and the big Quattroporte was the work of the Pininfarina studios. Many critics have said that it is the best looking high performance limousine ever made and they may well be right. Technically all three models are bang up-to-date with light weight alloy quad cam V8 engines under their hoods driving to a rear-mounted transaxle-gearbox and differential combined in one unit, that helps to balance the weight distribution; the suspension systems are wishbone and coil springs at all four wheels and there are electronically controlled dampers plus huge ventilated brake disc rotors to cope with the enormous speed these cars can be driven at. And inside all passengers travel in sybaritic comfort on beautifully crafted leather seats and in a climate controlled environment listening to their favourite music on a top quality audio system plus all the electronic toys needed to keep in touch with the world while crossing the Continent. All will exceed 170mph given the right conditions and will blast from rest to 60mph in around 5.0 seconds and use fuel at a rate close to 15mpg, if you can afford these cars filling the tank should be a minor concern. For the extreme extroverts there was the MC12, a 630bhp 6.0 litre V12 engined powered race and street car of which only 50 were made and sold. Capable of over 200mph and a storming 3.8 seconds 0-62mph acceleration time, it was developed by Maserati's engineers from a Giugiaro idea with the idea that the trident would return to the international racing scene. Few marques have put the word Grand into Grand Touring the way that Maserati has. A total of 200 pages all in full colour. Included are road & comparison tests, new model intros & buying guide. Models covered: 3200 GT, Assetto Corsa, 4200 GT, Trofeo, GranSport, Quattroporte, Sport GT, MC12 & GranTurismo. A total of 200 pages all in full colour. SB. SKU: MC99UP ISBN: 9781855207608
Order online
