Maserati

Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer, established by the Maserati brothers in 1914. Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ettore and Ernesto Maserati shared a keen interest in automobiles and motor racing, and produced a range of successful 4, 6, 8 and 16 cylinder racing cars during this early period. The company was sold to Orsi in 1937, but three of the brothers stayed on in engineering roles. The racing triumphs continued, culminating in two consecutive Indianapolis 500 wins for the Maserati 8CTF model in 1939 and 1940. Maserati recovered strongly from the tumult of the Second World War with the Maserati A6 series, and the A6GCM and 250F models, which enjoyed considerable racing success. The company began to shift its focus to road cars in the late 1950s, producing the 3500 2+2 and Ghibli model coupes, and Maserati’s first four-door car, the Quattroporte, which is still manufactured today. When Citroen took control of the company in 1968, production of Maserati vehicles increased dramatically. New models were introduced, including the Maserati Bora, the Merak and the Khamsin. The 1973 oil crisis thwarted this ambitious expansion, however, and in 1975 the company was again sold, this time to former racer Alessandro De Tomasso. After limited success throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Maserati has experienced something of a renaissance under new parent company Fiat – owners of the Maserati marque since 1993. The company has since produced the Maserati 3200 GT, the Spider and Coupe and the popular GranTurismo. Maserati re-established their racing credibility in 2003 with the Maserati MC12, which has since won another three F1A GT team championships.