conaero
Forum Owner
- Messages
- 34,674
[video=youtube;AY1vtBb3oCo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY1vtBb3oCo[/video]
Here are ten fast facts about the car company history followed by vintage newsreels of the Maserati classic automobiles at the track and their first drivers racing.
MASERATI: LAP GODS OF THE 20TH CENTURY, LUXURY EXOTICS LEADERS IN THE EARLY 21ST CENTURY
Best known today for their Maserati Quattroporte, the Maserati Granturismo, and their latest drop top GranCabrio luxury sports car models, the company's limits on production numbers and hand built quality keep the company marque name in the classification exotics.
10 FAST FACTS ABOUT MASERATI HISTORY
Here are ten fast facts about the car company history followed by vintage newsreels of the Maserati classic automobiles at the track and their first drivers racing.
MASERATI: LAP GODS OF THE 20TH CENTURY, LUXURY EXOTICS LEADERS IN THE EARLY 21ST CENTURY
Best known today for their Maserati Quattroporte, the Maserati Granturismo, and their latest drop top GranCabrio luxury sports car models, the company's limits on production numbers and hand built quality keep the company marque name in the classification exotics.
10 FAST FACTS ABOUT MASERATI HISTORY
- "Maserati" is a well respected Italian luxury car company; as an exotic sports car manufacturer, the brand dates back to the earliest years of European auto and motorsports history.
- As a family business, the Maserati brothers were all involved with the early development and production of their automobiles from the beginning of the 20th century.
- The Maserati brothers names were Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ettore, and Ernesto, and early emphasis [in motorsports history] was placed on racing cars and touring cars.
- The brothers came together to found the Maserati company on December 1, 1914, in Bologna, Italy -- but business was interrupted by WWI; one of the first Maserati race cars, driven by Alfieri Maserati, is rumored to have won the Grand Prix class division in the 1926 Targa Florio race over the Sicilian mountains (the same year the marque was more officially open for business).
- The brand emblem (Maserati logo) is a trident; folklore says was conceived by a man named Mario (who was an artist and friend of the brothers). Typically, the emblems are now seen in variations of true red, white, and navy blue colors or silver -- but fans agree the early branding using the Maserati logo of the trident has made an indelible mark in the history of the car company (representing the company's history of creating cars for racing, touring, and luxury purposes).
- In 1937, the Maserati brothers who were still alive sold their shares in the company to the Adolfo Orsi family.
- In 1940, the Orsi family relocated the company headquarters to their hometown of Modena; the company's headquarters in Europe is located in Modena, Italy. [2010]
- During WWII, Maserati stopped making cars and opted to produce components for the Italian war effort; only a few fans know that during this time period, Maserati worked to construct a V16 towncar for Italian dictator Benito Mussolini before their competitor Ferry Porsche of Volkswagen built one for Adolf Hitler.
- Maserati (as a company) has been owned by the Italian car conglomerate Fiat S.p.A. since 1993.
- Inside Fiat Group, Maserati was originally affiliated with Ferrari S.p.A..; it has now become part of the exotic sports car group that includes Alfa Romeo and lesser power but still popular European sports cars like Fiat.
