Maserati is a manufacturer of exclusive sports cars with origins in racing. Although the brand is (financially) very healthy in 2021, it has stood on the brink of collapse. However, a few important people have kept Maserati alive and allowed it to grow into the brand it is today.
The Maserati family
Rodolfo Maserati and Carolina Losi started a family in 1881. Ultimately, the Maserati family would be an exceptional family. Rodolfo and Carolina gave birth to seven sons: Carlo (1881), Bindo (1883), Alfieri (1885, died when he was only a few months old), again Alfieri (1887), Mario (1890), Ettore (1894). ) and Ernesto (1898). All boys would eventually grow up and make careers in the auto industry, except for Mario, who became a painter. However, he probably also contributed to the later car brand Maserati: according to unofficial sources, he designed the logo with the trident. At first, Carlo seemed to cause the most furore: he designed his own engine for a motorcycle, breaking the speed record (50 km / h) in 1900. After this he held high positions at Fiat and Isotta Fraschini where he worked as a mechanic and test driver. He also brought his brother Alfieri there, who was only 16 years old at the time. Carlo rose to manager and driver for Bianci and seemed to have a great future ahead. However, he passed away at the age of 29. Not long after, Alfieri stepped out of the shadow of his dead older brother. Alfieri turned out to have just as much talent for racing and business as Carlo. Alfieri made a career at Isotta Fraschini where he climbed from mechanic to driver and traveled the world as a representative together with his little brother Ettore. Alfieri eventually settled in Bologna where he was put in charge of Isotta’s customer service. Alfieri had by now gained a lot of experience in business and a few years later found the time to start on his own. In 1914 he rented an office in the old center of Bologna where he founded the headquarters of Societa Anonima Officine Alfieri Maserati.
The Alfieri era
Ettore followed Alfieri in his wake and the Maserati brothers ran the company together. Their main activity was tuning Isotta Fraschini cars, but they also developed more and more activities. Alfieri turned out to be a gifted driver and a talented designer. This did not go unnoticed. Diatto approached Alfieri to design and race a car for them, in 1924. Alfieri accepted the offer, designed a car and achieved immediate results. However, Alfieri was not long afterwards banned from racing for 5 years because he had secretly replaced the 2.0 liter engine from the Diatto with a 3.0 liter one. Five months later the ban was lifted, but Alfieri had made his decision: in 1926 he left Diatto and started designing his own car. It became the Tipo 26, the first real Maserati, driven by Alfieri Maserati himself. Maserati won in its debut race. In 1927, Alfieri Maserati was involved in a serious accident, which forced him to watch from the sidelines for a season. Maserati won the manufacturer’s title just as well and in 1929 the Maserati V4 with a sixteen-cylinder engine set a speed record of 246 km / h. Maserati’s name was firmly established and Alfieri Maserati achieved world fame. His later creations also continued to win races. Alfieri Maserati died in 1932. His funeral was attended by thousands of employees, drivers, businessmen, friends and even strangers, illustrating the name Maserati had built up.
The rise of Maserati
Alfieri’s death brought three of the Maserati brothers closer together: Bindo, Ernesto and Ettore moved on together. In 1933 they managed to get the talented driver Tazio Nuvolari into their racing team. Nuvolari did a lot of important work, especially in fine-tuning and tuning. Maserati was one of the strongest players in racing until much more wealthy parties such as Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz started to throw themselves into racing. However, the team’s potential did not go unnoticed: in 1936, the wealthy Gino Rovere invested in Maserati and installed his protégé Nino Farina as director. The Maserati brothers sold their shares to the Orsi family in 1937, but remained involved in the company. Maserati got stronger and bigger and moved from Bologna to Modena. The three Maserati brothers stayed on as chief engineers until 1948, but in recent years Maserati was less involved in racing due to the war and therefore the focus shifted to electrical components and various tools.
After the war, Maserati returned with the A6G CS racing car that debuted with another big name behind the wheel: Alberto Ascari. Although Maserati still had the upper hand in the first seasons, they were overtaken by bigger competitors just like before the war. This time it was the Italian Alfa Romeo and Ferrari brands that proved too powerful. This time, however, Maserati fought back and the brand managed to achieve success thanks in particular to Juan Manuel Fangio, the gifted driver who often left the Alfas and Ferraris behind. However, Fangio left the team and became multiple world champion in Formula 1 in other cars. In 1957 Maserati managed to seduce Fangio to a return and the Argentinian gave the Italian team its first and last Formula 1 world title. Maserati withdrew from Formula 1 but continued to manufacture engines for various teams.
Focus on street cars
In parallel with this, Maserati also began to ramp up the production of sports cars. The first achievement was the 3500 GT. In a relatively short period of time, the focus was shifted from racing to the production of passenger cars and as a result the factory had to expand considerably. The Sebring came in 1962 and 1963 saw the introduction of a name that is still recognized and can be seen driving around today (2010): the Quattroporte, Maserati’s first four-door model, equipped with a 4.1 liter V8. motor.
Maserati in dire straits
Maserati’s success drew attention. Citroën took over the shares of the Orsi family in 1968 and thus acquired a majority stake in Maserati. The takeover by Citroën resulted in the arrival of the Maserati Bora in 1971, the first mass-produced mid-engine Maserati. Citroën eagerly used the strong Maserati engines and supplied them in the luxury SM. Maserati wanted to grow and introduced an update of the Quattroporte and the Merak SS in 1973, but the oil crisis caused difficult times. On May 23, it was announced that Maserati was in serious trouble and had to close its doors. Citroën had already seen the storm and had sold the company. They teamed up with Peugeot, also French. Maserati came under scrutiny by the Italian government and a plan was made to save the brand.
Saved from destruction
Alejandro De Tomaso was an Argentinian ex-driver who had driven for Maserati. He had a love for the brand from it. He bought Maserati in 1976 and managed to get the brand back on its feet. Under his rule, the brand launched the Kyalami and the third generation Quattroporte, designed by Giugiaro. In 1980, a new basis for success was laid with the arrival of the Biturbo, a theme on which many variations appeared: there were more than 40 versions and the car was available as a sedan, but also as a convertible or coupe.
Maserati’s real rescue came in 1993 when Fiat took over the brand. Fiat’s capital allowed Maserati to work on the fourth generation of the Quattroporte, which made a significant leap forward. However, Fiat also owned another Italian sports car brand: Ferrari. Ferrari bought Maserati in 1997. Ferrari made radical changes and modernized the Maserati factory for the arrival of a new model: the 3200 GT, a coupé equipped with Ferrari technology. The 3200 GT was presented in 1998 along with an updated Quattroporte and Maserati production increased to more than 2,000 cars per year. Maserati had the organization in order and the brand was on the rise thanks to excellent policy. In 2000 it was able to present the Spyder, an open version of the 3200 GT, and not long afterwards the brand announced its intention to enter the North American market. Although very exclusive and coveted by many, there was some criticism, especially the somewhat oddly designed rear of the 3200 GT. It was replaced in 2002 by the Coupé, which featured a new design, a 390 hp 4.2 liter V8 engine and modifications to the chassis, suspension and gearbox. That same year, Maserati announced its plans to return to racing. This happened with the MC12. Because Maserati wanted to drive this car in the FIA GT and ALM (American Le Mans) championship, a limited edition of copies had to be homologated for use on public roads. There was also a street version of the super sports car MC12.
Stronger than ever before
In September 2003 another successful new chapter started for Maserati. The Italians introduced the new Quattroporte at the IAA in Frankfurt. The international press was dumbfounded. Rarely has a car been introduced that was received with such unanimous enthusiasm. The press lacked superlatives to describe the car’s design. The Quattroporte lifted Maserati to its best years in history: while the MC12 performed excellently on international circuits, Maserati sold 5,659 cars in 2005, while only 518 were sold in 1998. For strategic reasons, Maserati was returned from Ferrari to Fiat. At the moment (2010) Maserati is still in a good period despite the economic crisis. After the Quattroporte, new models such as the GranTurismo and the GranCabrio appeared, which also made a deep impression on many with their design. The brand has arrived and is increasingly mentioned in the same breath as Ferrari and Lamborghini, although the Maserati cars focus on luxury and everyday comfort in addition to sportiness.