Maserati 100 years

A century of sporting success, refined engineering and elegant design.
The history of Maserati could almost be a novel. Enormous highs alternate with deep lows, sometimes in strikingly quick succession. This year marks the celebration of the brand's 100th anniversary. Remarkable, because it has often stood on the brink of collapse.

Text & photos: Bart van den Acker

The Maserati family from Bologna was blessed with six sons at the end of the 19th century. It was a fascinating time, cars and motorcycles were in their infancy, and anyone with a feel for engineering could go in many directions. That applied to five of the six. The exception, Mario, was artistically gifted and went his own way. The eldest, Carlo, sadly died as early as 1911. In 1914, Alfieri started his own company, a repair workshop for the car brand Isotta Fraschini, where he had previously been employed. His younger brothers, Bindo, Ettore and Ernesto, joined him. The Maseratis were enterprising and also started a small factory producing spark plugs. They also ran the racing team of the brand Diatto, until that factory no longer had the money for it. The brothers took over the racing cars, modified them and put their own name on them: Maserati Tipo 26, named after the year, 1926. The artistic Mario now also contributed by designing the logo, derived from the trident of the sea god Neptune, whose enormous statue stands in Bologna. The new brand built only racing cars, which from a business point of view was not always convenient. In 1932, founder Alfieri died as a result of an operation on his kidneys. The three younger brothers missed him both personally and in business, as he had a clear leadership role. This led to the entire company being taken over in 1937 by the industrial Orsi family from Modena, which also brought about the relocation of the brand. The three brothers signed a contract to continue working for their former company for another ten years. Adolfo Orsi had started out as a rag dealer and seized every business opportunity. Maserati thus also became a manufacturer of batteries, small electric delivery vans, motorcycles and machines for the metal industry, such as lathes and milling machines. That versatility also carried the brand through the war years.

Maserati is a brand with diverse activities. For many years it also produced light motorcycles, here is an example from the 1950s.

Grand Prix and Voiturettes before 1940.

Despite all the setbacks, Maserati managed to achieve success on the racetracks. Maserati was a formidable rival for Alfa Romeo and Bugatti. With, among others, Nuvolari at the wheel, several important victories were secured, including the Belgian Grand Prix in 1933.

One of the oldest Maseratis, a 8CM Grand Prix car from 1933, is now on display at the Louwman Museum in The Hague. Top driver Tazio Nuvolari won the Belgian Grand Prix with it.

In the late thirties the 8CFF was developed, a car that at times could make life difficult for the dominant 'Silberpfeile' from Mercedes and Auto Union. One class lower (up to 1500 cc with supercharger), Maserati called the shots with the 4CL model, together with Alfa Romeo.

Turbulent times

In 1947 the contract expires, the Maserati brothers return to Bologna and start the car brand OSCA. Maserati experiences great fame especially in the 1950s as a racing car constructor. Cars for road use are built only in very small numbers and only on special order. Orsi understands that this cannot be sustained. In March 1957 the prototype of the 3500 is unveiled, which becomes the first normally mass produced model.

The 3500 GT was the first Maserati to go into true series production. The 3.5 liter six cylinder engine is a tamed racing engine, and the bodies for this standard coupe were built by Carrozzeria Touring.

At that time the entire company was on the brink of collapse because a shipload of machines that Orsi had sold directly to the, in the meantime deposed, president Peron of Argentina was not being paid for by the new rulers. The receiver was well disposed towards Maserati and allowed production of the 3500 to start, which (fortunately) became a major sales success. In the 1960s Maserati brought a succession of impressive sports cars to life, such as the Mistral, Sebring, Mexico, Ghibli and Indy.

The 1967 Ghibli is characterized by very sober, clean design, and its engine is a 4.9-liter V8 that was used in many models. Such a Ghibli now appears in the Dutch TV series 'Heer en meester'.

The most remarkable model is the Quattroporte (literally: four door), which, with a top speed of 240 km/h, was the fastest sedan in the world. However, small scale car manufacturers like Maserati could not survive in the long run, and this led to the takeover of the brand by Citroen in 1968. From this collaboration came the distinctive SM sports coupe from the French brand. Maserati itself used the compact V6 from the SM as a mid mounted engine in the Merak. During this period other new models also appeared, such as the Bora and Khamsin. In the 1973 oil crisis Citroen went bankrupt (for the second time) and was picked up by Peugeot, which, however, had no interest at all in an Italian sports car manufacturer.

Grand Prix and sports cars after 1940.

For the 1954 season, the legendary 250F Grand Prix car was developed. This car, together with the 300S built for sports car races and its derivative models, ensured that racing successes continued.

In the 1950s, Maserati was still mainly building race cars. This is an A6GCS, a two liter sports car with six cylinders and 160 hp, good for many class wins in races around the world.

These cars also sold well to private drivers. A crowning achievement was Juan Manuel Fangios Formula 1 World Championship (his fifth and Maseratis first and only) in 1957. Due to a series of dramatic accidents involving the factory sports car team, they were ultimately forced to cease racing activities.

In the hands of the archrival

For decades, the Italian government has had various institutions whose job is to keep struggling factories going until conditions improve. Maserati in fact had no future left, until Alejandro DeTomaso appeared on the scene. The Argentine DeTomaso was a former racing driver, multimillionaire and industrialist, with several companies in the car and motorcycle industry. He not only kept Maserati alive, but also added a new element. In the early eighties the Biturbo arrived, a relatively compact four seater with understated lines, a beautiful V6 with two turbochargers, and a price that was roughly half that of a Porsche 911.

The Biturbo models gave the Maserati brand a completely new direction. Beautiful engineering, understated design and much more affordable prices. This is a 430, where the 4 refers to the number of doors.

Alongside the Biturbo came a new Quattroporte, which was even used by the Italian president, an imposing car with a lot of status. The Biturbo formed the basis for an entire range of models, including a four door and a Spider, with different engines and versions. These remained difficult times for small sports car manufacturers. In 1993 serious help arrived for Maserati. Fiat boss Agnelli did not want the proud old brand with the trident to disappear on a bad day and took it over, just as he had taken Ferrari under his wing more than twenty years earlier. DeTomaso was bought out, and Maserati now came under the wing of Ferrari, its original arch rival. Thanks to Ferrari, Maserati gained a new elan. The production facilities were improved and with them the quality of the cars. In addition, new models appeared again, such as the 3200GT and Spider, later the Gran Coupe and Spider, and new generations of the Quattroporte. In our current era Maserati is more successful than ever before. The new Ghibli launched last year, the first from the brand to be offered with a diesel engine and even four wheel drive, is breaking all sales records.

The current Ghibli is one of the models with which Maserati aims to achieve much higher production and sales numbers in the coming years. Modern technology and comfort, but with a proud trident on the front, a true Maserati.

In a hundred years, Maserati has evolved from a small scale company built on pure craftsmanship and big ambitions into an exclusive brand with a sporty status. Sales are set to grow to 50,000 units per year, roughly as many as the brand built in the first three quarters of a century of its existence. Viva Maserati!