On the hottest day so far - 40+ - drove the 80 odd miles for our Maserati factory tour. Sorry to say it's no fun in a Spyder when it's that hot.
Extremely welcoming, very informative guide, took just under 2 hours all-in. Showroom a bit boring, apart from....
Today they were opening their new fitting studio where potential customers could spec their new car. The usual paint and trim samples, wheels etc.
Modern Maseratis ( and Alfa 4c ) really are hand built with not a robot in sight. A total contrast to an earlier tour of the Audi R8 assembly plant in Neckarsulm where robots seemed to outnumber humans.
They majored on quality of paint - done by Ferrari - and the thorough inspection and testing processes that the cars go through. Very impressive. Quite exciting to await the first cold start of a newly completed car, and yes it started first time! Got into discussions of Maserati v Ferrari - they are seen as non-competitors, operating in totally different price and performance sectors. Apparently Ferrari inspections are even more thorough than those at Maserati, and the Alfa benefits from Maserati standards although it is in a much lower price bracket.
We met a retired Australian couple, Richard and Jane, who hail from Sydney. He's restoring a '65 Sebring with help from the factory as there are no parts available. They were on a tight time schedule and had arranged a short tour to the Panini collection so we tagged along instead of waiting for our prearranged tour scheduled for 3pm.
Met by the brothers who allowed us totally free access to the whole collection and we were left to mooch around, despite a bad experience with some earlier ******
Some real beauties in there, priceless history. I loved the Trofeo car.......
And these guys were braver than me....
Just had time for a flying visit to Fiorano in the hope of seeing some disguised Ferrari flying around, but this was as close as we got.
Managed to eke out my fuel to pass a garage on the E45 where unleaded was €1.94 per litre!!!!! It's expensive to run a Supercar in Italy. A really enjoyable but tiring day out in the sun, for me at least although I don't think the Mrs was too impressed, and I would have regretted not going had I passed up the opportunity.