Maserati

{{Infobox company | company_name = Maserati S.p.A. | company_logo = | caption = | type = Società per azioni | genre = | foundation = 1 December 1914 Bologna | founder = | location_city = Modena | location_country = Italy | location = | origins = | founder = | key_people = Sergio Marchionne (Chairman)Harald J. Wester (CEO) | area_served = | industry = Automotive | products = Automobiles |production = 5,675 units (2010) | revenue = €586 million (2010) | operating_income = | net_income = |num_employees = 696 (2010) The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993. Inside the Fiat Group, Maserati was initially associated with Ferrari S.p.A., but more recently it has become part of the sports car group including Alfa Romeo.

History

:See Maserati Brothers The Maserati brothers, Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ettore, and Ernesto were all involved with automobiles from the beginning of the 20th century. Alfieri, Bindo and Ernesto built 2-litre Grand Prix cars for Diatto. In 1926, Diatto suspended the production of race cars, leading to the creation of the first Maserati and the founding of the Maserati marque. One of the first Maseratis, driven by Alfieri, won the 1926 Targa Florio. Maserati began making race cars with 4, 6, 8 and 16 cylinders (two straight-eights mounted parallel to one another). Another Maserati brother, Mario, an artist, is believed to have devised the company's trident emblem, based on one the Fontana del Nettuno, Bologna. Alfieri Maserati died in 1932, but three other brothers, Bindo, Ernesto and Ettore, kept the firm going, building cars that won races.

Orsi ownership

driving a Maserati 6CM at the 1937 Donington Grand Prix.]] In 1937, the remaining Maserati brothers sold their shares in the company to the Adolfo Orsi family, who in 1940 relocated the company headquarters to their hometown of Modena,during the 1957 Mille Miglia, though they continued to build cars for privateers. After 1957, Maserati became more and more focused on road cars, and chief engineer Giulio Alfieri built the 6-cylinder 3500 2+2 coupé, which featured an aluminum body over Carrozzeria Touring's superleggera structure, a design also used for the small-volume V8-powered 5000. Next came the Vignale-bodied Sebring, launched in 1962, the Mistral Coupé in 1963 and Spider in 1964, both designed by Pietro Frua, and also in 1963, the company's first four-door, the Quattroporte, designed by Frua as well. The two-seat Ghibli coupé was launched in 1967, followed by a convertible in 1969.

Citroën ownership

GT Coupe]] In 1968, Maserati was taken over by the French car manufacturer, Citroën. Adolfo Orsi remained the nominal president, but Maserati changed a great deal. New models were launched, and built in much greater numbers than before. Citroën borrowed Maserati expertise and engines for the Citroën SM and other vehicles, and Maseratis also incorporated Citroën technology, particularly in hydraulics.

New models included the Maserati Bora, the first mass-produced mid-engined Maserati, in 1971, and the Maserati Merak and Maserati Khamsin soon afterwards; the Maserati Quattroporte II, which shared some parts with Citroën SM, never came into production, although seven were made to special order. The 1973 oil crisis, however, put the brakes on this ambitious expansion when the demand for fuel-hungry sports cars shrank. Citroën went bankrupt in 1974 and on 23 May 1975, the new controlling group PSA Peugeot Citroën declared that Maserati was also in administration. had arranged for the Benelli motorcycle company, which he controlled, to buy Maserati from Citroën and install him as its head. Beginning in 1976 new models were introduced, including the Maserati Kyalami and later the Maserati Quattroporte III in 1979.

The 1980s saw the company largely abandoning the mid-engined sports car in favour of squarely styled, front-engined, rear-drive coupes, cheaper than before but with aggressive performance, like the Maserati Biturbo.The Maserati Biturbo engine was fitted in a large number of models, all sharing key components. These included a short two door coupe, the Maserati Karif, and a cabriolet, the Spyder, designed by Zagato. The last version of the Maserati Biturbo was called Maserati Racing. It has been a transitional model in which several features to be found on the Ghibli II and the Shamal were tested. Two new coupes, the Maserati Shamal and Maserati Ghibli II, were released in 1990 and 1992, respectively.

The company also worked loosely with Chrysler, now headed by de Tomaso's friend Lee Iacocca. Chrysler purchased part of Maserati and the two jointly produced a car, the Chrysler TC by Maserati.

There were also two further projects:

the Chubasco a canceled V8 mid-engine sports car.

the Maserati Barchetta a small open top mid engine sports car, designed by Synthesis design (Carlo Gaino); 17 examples were produced.

Fiat ownership

1993 saw the company acquired by Fiat. Substantial investments were made in Maserati, and it has since undergone something of a renaissance.

In 1998, a new chapter began in Maserati's history when the company launched the 3200 GT. This two-door coupé is powered by a 3.2 L twin-turbocharged V8 which produces 370 hp (276 kW); the car does 0–60 mph in 5.5 seconds. Its top speed is 285 km/h (177 mph). It was replaced by the Maserati Spyder and Coupé in the 2002 model year, which in turn were replaced by the GranTurismo and GranCabrio.

Ferrari

In July 1997, Fiat Auto sold a 50% share in the company to Maserati's long-time arch-rival Ferrari (Ferrari being itself a sister company to Fiat Auto under the Fiat Group umbrella). which has quickly become for Maserati the largest market worldwide. The company has also re-entered the racing arena with their Trofeo and, in December 2003, the Maserati MC12 (formerly known as the MCC), which was developed according to FIA GT regulations and has since competed with great success in the world FIA GT championship, winning the teams championship three consecutive times from 2005 to 2007. The MC12 has also been raced in various national GT championship as well as in the American Le Mans series. The MC12 is based on the Enzo Ferrari sports car; 50 street-legal homologation models (roadsters and coupes) have been sold for about US$700,000 each.

Partnered with Alfa Romeo

In 2005 Maserati were split off from Ferrari and merged with Alfa Romeo under Fiat Auto. Maserati sold 2,006 cars in the United States in 2005, 2,108 in 2006, and 2,540 in 2007. In the second quarter of 2007 Maserati made profit for the first time in 17 years under Fiat Group ownership.

Automobiles

:See List of Maserati vehicles for a complete historical list

Current models

Maserati Quattroporte

(Italian for "four-door"), a sporting-luxury four-door saloon. Introduced in 2004 and facelifted in 2009. Quattroporte S, featuring the same 4.7L V8 as the Maserati GranTurismo S was introduced also in 2009.

Maserati GranTurismo

A 4.2 litre V8 Grand tourer introduced in 2007 has in standard from and year later introduced GranTurismo S version has 4.7 litre and .

Maserati GranCabrio

A convertible version of the GranTurismo S Automatic introduced in September 2009 in Frankfurt Motor Show.

Motorsport

Maserati developed fifteen GranTurismo MC racecars, homologated for the European Cup and National Endurance Series, one of which will be raced by GT motorsport organization Cool Victory in Dubai in January, 2010.

See also

Riverside International Automotive Museum

Maserati (motorcycle)

References

Maurizio Tabucchi (March 2003). Maserati: The Grand Prix: Sports and GT Cars Model by Model, 1926-2003. ISBN 8879112600

Notes

External links

Official Site

Official Maserati Racing Site

Official Awards Site

Andrea Piccini talking about Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale

Category:Maserati Category:Companies based in Bologna Category:Companies established in 1914 Category:Italian brands Category:Car manufacturers of Italy Category:Luxury brands