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Maserati history: the best Maserati sports cars from 90 years

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The roots of M aserati models can be found in Bologna, Italy. On December 1, 1914, Alfieri Maserati founded the 'Società Anonima Officine Alfieri Maserati' as one of seven brothers in the Maserati family.


Construction of racing cars had supreme Priority

At the beginning of the company's history, the focus was on building racing cars. Alfieri Maserati, himself a successful racing driver, created the first Maserati with the Tipo 26, which immediately won the Targa Florio in its class with Alfieri at the wheel. In 1926 the company emblem was also created: the famous trident designed by brother Mario - the only one of the brothers not a technician but an artist.

On March 3, 1932, Alfieri died at the age of only 44 from the long-term consequences of a racing accident. Then another of the brothers got into the business - henceforth Maserati was managed by Bindo, Ernesto and Ettore. In 1937 the Maserati brothers sold their shares to the Orsi family. The brothers remained chief engineers until 1948.

Maserati A6 1500 first street car

After the Second World War, Maserati's first street car was finally created: the A6 1500. This and the following models were characteristic of this In-line six-cylinder - in the A6 1500 with 1.5 liter displacement. The Gran Turismo principle should continue into the present. The successor to the A6 1500 was the 2000 Gran Turismo Tipo A6G, which was manufactured from 1950 to 1951. The low number of units can be explained by the low success of the car - it was too slow.

Maserati reached the peak of its racing successes in 1957. Juan Manuel Fangio won the world championship with the 250 F. In the same year, Maserati withdrew from racing, but later still developed racing cars like the legendary Birdcage or provided Cooper in Formula 1 engines.

Maserati series production begins in 1958 Stelle

1958 marked a turning point in the history of Maserati. From then on, serial car production was the top priority. The 3500 GT started. However, the symbiosis of racing and series production was also evident here - the three-and-a-half-liter six-cylinder engine came from the Tipo 350 racing carS. Maserati survived the financial hardship in 1958 only with the 3500 GT, of which 20 units were sold per month, making it the first Maserati to make a lot of money.

The first Maserati with 90-degree The V8 engine was the 5000 GT (1959 to 1966), which the new chief designer Giulio Alfieri built for the Shah of Persia. The engine here also came from a racing car - the Tipo 450S. One of the most important models is the Quattroporte, which is still around today and which marked the first four-door model in Maserati's history. The Quattroporte I was built from 1963 to 1969

Citroën takes over shares from the Orsi family

Maserati was unable to follow the trend towards mid-engine sports cars in the 1970s revoke. That is why the Bora celebrated its premiere in Geneva in March 1971, and production started at the end of the year. The highlight: The driver's seat could not be adjusted, but the pedals and steering wheel could. The hydraulics came from Citroën - because in 1968 the French manufacturer took over shares in the Orsi family. The demand for the Bora was limited.

The Merak was more or less a result of the symbiosis of Maserati and Citroën. Maserati developed a V6 engine for the Citroën SM, which was now also used in the Merak. Parts of the interior also came from the SM.

In 1976, the second generation of the Quattroporte followed, which was still made with Citroën participation and shared all the technology with the SM. This made it the first and so far only post-war Maserati with front-wheel drive. The mostly built Maserati before the biturbo era remained the third generation Quattroporte, which was manufactured from 1979 to 1990.

1982 the biturbo start Era

From 1982 the Biturbo , which ended the Alfieri era. Because development costs had to be kept low, it remained the only new model from Maserati in a number of variations for 20 years. Also the Karif , Shamal and Ghibli were more or less biturbo clones. Even the fourth generation Quattroporte from 1994 was based on the biturbo design. The Chrysler TC by Maserati emerged from the short marriage between Maserati and Chrysler - an American luxury convertible. In 1993 Fiat took over the brand, in 1997 it was assigned to Ferrari.

The new beginning after the Biturbos was the Coupé in 1998 3200 GT. Instead of a V6 engine, a V8 was found under the hood again . Not only was the rear-wheel drive characteristic, but also the unusual arrangement of the rear lights. Maserati with the Spyder finally returned to its roots (from 2001), the 4200 GT and the Quattroporte the fifth generation (from 2003).

Back to racing with the MC12 Corsa

The Italian company found its way back to the race track with the super sports car MC 12 Corsa, which was intended for twelve selected customers worldwide. The car is not street legal and is only intended for private test drives on the racetrack. The monocoque is made of carbon fiber, under the hood sits a 6-liter V12 with 755 hp.

2007 was a similar sporty move with the Gran Turismo and in 2008 with the Gran Turismo S continue. Also in 2008 was the sixth generation of the long-running Quattroporte presented. At the IAA 2009, Maserati unveiled the Gran Cabrio, which was launched in spring 2010.

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