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NEWS
Maserati revs up for 100th anniversary
Italian car-maker will celebrate its road and racing heritage, during its centenary year in 2014Maseratis may not be exactly common on Australian roads – or those of any other places for that matter – but the brand has been around for longer than many of its exotic Italian contemporaries including, perhaps surprisingly to some, Ferrari.
So long, in fact, that the company with the trident logo (inspired by “Fontana del Nettuno” a statue of Neptune gracing a fountain in Bologna) will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2014.
Originally based in Bologna and known for the inspired race car designs of Maserati brothers Alfieri, Bindo, Ettore and Ernesto, the company did not start building road cars until 1947.
But the race cars alone were enough to imprint the Maserati name into Italian folklore. The first, the Tipo 26 that was built in 1926, won the Targa Florio in the same year and set the pace for a formidable run of victories scored by the Trident brand, including the Indianapolis 500 (twice), nine Formula One wins and the 1957 F1 World Championship in the hands of Juan Manuel Fangio driving a Maserati 250F – which has been described as the best Formula One car of all time.
In its racing days, Maserati was no stranger to Australia either, with Stirling Moss, also driving a 250F, winning the 1956 Australian Grand Prix and Reg Hunt, at the wheel of the A6GCM that won the 1953 Italian Grand Prix, stamping the brand’s mark on circuits around the country.
Maserati’s venture into road cars started in 1947 with the A6 grand tourer, while the segment-creating Quattroporte appeared in 1963 as the first four-door sedan to carry the credentials of a two-door supercar.
Today, Maserati is based in Modena, with a stable that includes the latest-generation Quattroporte, as well as the Ghibli. The brand rates as one of the fastest-growing in the all-important North American market and sells in 70 countries around the world including China, which is Maserati’s second largest market after the USA.
The company’s 100th anniversary will be celebrated by a series of activities during 2014, including a bringing-together of an estimated 250 Maseratis from around the globe in Modena that will embrace race track events and tours of Italian roads with a connection to the company’s racing history.
This will be followed by an exhibition of some of the company’s famous racing and road cars at the Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari in Modena.
There’s also a (just released) centennial book titled A Century of History, as well as a dedicated website www.maserati100.com which includes “exhaustive details on the legendary Maserati marque, from its establishment in 1914 to the present day while #Maserati100 is the official hashtag through which anyone can keep track of all the Centennial news, events and content. The new section will allow visitors to learn about Maserati's history through a captivating voyage that takes in unforgettable cars, famous names, a timeline of the most important events, the biggest projects, the innovations and the many achievements in the world of racing. The content is enhanced with downloadable materials and users can even vote for their best-ever Maserati.”
The year will close, with what Maserati describes as a special “dedicated event”, on Sunday, December 14 2014.
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Written byCarsales Staff
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