However, this failed and plans were scrapped. Once the war was over, Maserati resumed making cars, including the Maserati A6 series. Around this time, some key players joined Maserati including Alberto Massimino, an old Fiat engineer who oversaw design for all racing models for the next ten years.
He also had experience at both Alfa Romeo and Ferrari. Argentinian racing driver Juan-Manuel Fangio raced for Maserati for a number of years during the s. He won several championships including the world championship in with the Maserati F. One of the reasons Maserati withdrew from racing was because of the Guidizzolo tragedy during the Mille Miglia. The driver, the co-pilot and nine bystanders were killed. Five of those killed were children.
Though Maserati did still build cars for private racers, they started to become more focused on building grand tourers. In , they launched the Maserati GT. It was the first ground-up grand tourer design and the first series produced car.
The design for the Quattroporte came from the Maserati GT. The model was introduced in November at the Turin Motor Show, with regular production starting in The model was also marketed to the United States. However, regulations mandated that there were to be twin round headlamps in place of the single rectangular ones found on the European Models.
The second generation was launched in after making its debut at the Paris Motor Show. It was considerably different than the first Quattroporte and was built on an extended Citroen SM chassis.
Therefore, most of these vehicles were sold in the Middle East and Spain. The current Quattroporte was introduced in and is larger than any of its predecessors. It has a twin-turbocharged V6 and V8 petrol engines as well as a turbodiesel.
In , Citroen took over Maserati with Adolfo Orsi remaining the nominal president. It started as a joint venture, of which was made public in the January of Maserati would design and manufacture an engine for the Citroen SM, the upcoming Citroen flagship car.
He wins four of the eight GP's needed to win the world title: Argentina, Monaco, France and most importantly, Germany. The "White Dame", as the first prototype of the GT is called, is Maserati's answer to the car market during the economic boom years. From Maserati also introduces the GTI, famous for being the first car with direct injection in Italy.
The Shah of Persia is also impressed by the White Dame, but wants something even more exclusive. The famous engineer Giulio Alfieri takes up the challenge and finally realizes his long awaited dream: putting the 8 cylinder of the S the car in which Fangio had won the famous 12 Hours of Sebring in a GranTurismo.
The "Shah of Persia" is still considered to be one of the finest models by collectors and car historians. It has gold and precious wood finishes and is the most exclusive and luxurious car in the world at the time.
Even though Maserati has abandoned the race track, the desire for racing remains in its blood. Thus is born, from a project by engineer Giulio Alfieri, the legendary Tipo Lightweight, extremely sporty and powerful, the Mistral is the first Maserati to be identified with the name of a famous wind. The idea of mounting a Maserati race engine in a sedan is suggested to 'Commendatore' Orsi by the journalist Gino Rancati. At the Turin Motor Show in Maserati shocks the auto world with the introduction of the Quattroporte, the fastest sedan in the world.
The design project is a joint effort by engineers Alfieri and Pietro Frua, who designs the body. In , The Sebring is the evolution of the GT. It is named after the Florida autodrome where famous driver Juan Manuel Fangio won the 12 Hours in For those who so desired, automatic transmission was available together with spoked wheels and even air conditioning: accessories which were unheard of at the time.
From around the middle of the 60's Maserati starts to become famous for its collaboration with well-known Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, a relationship that would last for years to come. His first project, the 8 cylinder Ghibli, debuts at the Turin Auto Show in and is an immediate success. Maserati originally planned on producing on a hundred cars but production was immediately increased to The company is organised by model and becomes more structured thanks to the influence of the French automaker, following its corporate example.
Everything changes, but some things remain the same: the propelling and innovative force of Maserati, which never ceases to propose new models to the market.
In famous designer Giorgetto Giugiaro creates a new masterpiece: the Bora, another Maserati named, by no coincidence, after a famous wind. Also unforgettable is the Merak, described by Adolfo Orsi Jr. Although never put into production it is still considered as one of his most celebrated concept cars.
It remained such until President Pertini always rode in this car, even during a visit to Maranello which became famous because Enzo Ferrari, in acknowledgment of the long rivalry between the two famous companies in Modena, refused to go and meet the presidential Maserati upon its arrival. The Maserati Quattroporte continues to be synonymous with elegance and style, so much so that it appears in many films in the 80's.
The Biturbo is the most symbolic car of the 80's. The first sedans were launched on 14 December , the birthday of Maserati, i. The Biturbo would end up being the most widely produced Maserati of all time.
In its multiple versions and evolutions, from the Spyder to the Biturbo S, between and around 37, would be produced in total. For Maserati the future begins in with its acquisition by the Fiat Group. Giovanni Agnelli, with incredible foresight, understands the enormous potential of this still small Italian icon of excellence. The partnership between the two most famous car manufacturers in Modena is destined to become even more famous than their old rivalry.
With the move to Ferrari the Maserati production line is initially halted. The objective is clear: completely close down the Modena factory, remodernise it and equip it with the most up-to-date production lines.
At seventeen, while working in a bicycle factory in Affori MI , he designed and built a single cylinder engine for bikes, the first Maserati engine in history. He obtained financial support from the Marquis Michele Carcano from Anzano del Parco, and this is how Carcano motor bicycles were. Racing was the main advertising medium of the time, and it was Carlo himself who brought his creations into the race.
The speed record of 10 km at the Padova-Bovolenta and other victories earned him the attention of Vincenzo Lancia, who in had him hired into Fiat. He stayed there for three years, before moving to Milan to Isotta Fraschini as a test driver and assistant in the rehearsal room, bringing his brother Alfieri with him. Carlo however, wanted to race again. Together with Ettore he decided to start his own business and embark on a new adventure, but a lung disease definitely stopped him in his tracks when he was only 29 years old.
The head of the family role passed to Alfieri, who entered as an apprentice thanks to his older brother, and in a short time he managed to work his way up in Isotta Fraschini, proving to excel not only in mechanics but also in public relations. Like Carlo, he had a passion for speed and a sense of family priorities.
He became a driver and called his brother Ettore to the company, who helped him to expand to the Americas. After having accumulated experience around the world, including a long commercial stay in Latin America, Alfieri could vent all his initiatives.
After about a year as representative of Isotta Fraschini in Bologna, in Alfieri, 27 years old at the time, decided to realise his dream of working together with his brothers. Bindo preferred to stay in Milan. Ettore and little Ernesto, on the other hand, joined him without hesitation. On Tuesday 1 December Alfieri, Ettore and Ernesto Maserati opened a garage with an adjoining mechanical workshop for car repairs. A few months after, however, Italy threw itself into the abyss of the First World War and Alfieri and Ettore were called to the front line.
The workshop remained in the hands of Ernesto, then sixteen, before he also left in The three came back together in Bologna immediately after the end of the war, unhurt and with a wealth of experience. The desire to act was overwhelming but the space in the workshop was small. They needed to establish a new headquarters, which brothers found on the other side of Bologna, in Pontevecchio, in a building overlooking a part of the Via Emilia called Levante, which the first SUV was named after, almost a hundred years later.
On 1 April Alfieri, Ettore and Ernesto resumed their activities at full capacity, which consisted of the development and modification of racing cars. They still had no desire to produce them, but they did have the desire to drive them, especially Alfieri, who came back to racing in He did so with a SCAT with three liters of displacement, purchased as a war remnant and modified together with the brothers, at Parma-Poggio di Berceto.
The difference in competitiveness was too great, and Alfieri was unable to make his mark. Alfieri then decided to take the situation into his own hands. He bought an Isotta Fraschini frame and combined it with an eight-cylinder Hispano-Suiza engine. In July , at Mugello, the Special Type ranked fourth. A month later, at the Susa-Moncenisio, with his brother Ernesto at his side, the Special Type gave the Maseratis their first victory in racing.
He competed at the Gentlemen Grand Prix of Brescia, where he came fourth, before putting it back in the garage in favor of Isotta Fraschini again, modified in the Maserati workshop. The car was named after Alfieri Maserati and the numbers of cylinders in the engine. The A6 was the first Maserati to be designed for daily driving. At this time, Maserati also expanded the product line to include sports cars and grand touring GT vehicles, as well. The first Maserati GT was the A6, which was a huge success after its production in At the Turin Motor Show in , Maserati presented the first Quattroporte four-door , which introduced an entirely new category to the marketplace: the luxury sports sedan.
The first Quattroporte entered production in It was equipped with a 4-liter, V8 engine, capable of hp. It was fitted with either a five-speed manual transmission or three-speed automatic transmission.
0コメント