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Maserati

Maserati has a long tradition in the automobile world. To find a birth date for this manufacturer, we must go back to the beginning of the 20th cen- tury, to 1914, when the workshop named Officine Alfieri Maserati was founded in Bologna. Alfieri’s first car, which met success, was a combina- tion of parts taken from others vehicles. Then in 1926, the first car to bear the Trident trademark was produced and named “Tipo 26”. It immedia- tely showed a marked propensity for the racing competitions that in this region are synonymous with the world of motors.

Maserati went on to win the legendary Targa Florio in 1926, the Indianapolis 500 Miles in 1939 and in 1940, while in 1957 the trident team won the Formula 1 world championship with Fangio.

From its foundation, as a racing cars manufacturer (later to become pro- ducer of Gran Turismo vehicles as well), Maserati has meant speed and commitment on race tracks worldwide: great champions such as Borzacchini, Nuvolari, Moss, and Fangio are a few of those who have raced in these extraordinary cars. In the course of the company’s history, the brothers who founded it were followed by various owners, among them the Orsi family of Modena, Citroën and Alejandro De Tomaso, who headed the Trident works until 1993, when the entire share package was taken over by Fiat Auto.

From 1997 to 2005 Maserati was controlled by Ferrari then moved once again in 2005, this time to the Fiat “Holding”, with the objective of developing important industrial and commercial synergy with Alfa Romeo. Today, with its outstanding history and current position within a large industrial group, Maserati can look forward to a future of certain success.

The factory continues to operate at its historic location in Viale Ciro Menotti, Modena, the address to which Maserati moved from Bologna in 1939. The original facilities have been substantially rebuilt, one of the aims being to transmit a clear signal of faith in the future and stability of the group. The building complex, occupying an area of 51,000 square meters, has a yearly production capacity of 10,000 vehicles.

The produc- tion lines have recently been renovated to guarantee the highest stan- dards. There are two assembly lines, one for the production of the Coupé, the Spyder, and the GranSport and the other for the Maserati Quattroporte. The latter, designed by Pininfarina, was presented in two brand-new versions at the Frankfurt Trade Fair in 2005.

Lastly, in Geneva, the trident presented the Maserati GranSport MC Victory, of which just 180 pieces have been manufactured and which recalls the MC12 in a number of its features. It represents Maserati’s dedication to sport and celebrates the prestigious success reached in 2005: the Manufacturer’s cup in the FIA GT Championships.

Address: viale Ciro Menotti, 322 • 41100 Modena Tel. +39 059 590511 • Web: www.maserati.com