Auto-maniac

Maserati is an Italian manufacturer of racing cars and sports cars, established on December 1, 1914 in Bologna. The company’s headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It is a luxury car manufacturer competing directly with Aston Martin and Jaguar, and sometimes with large German mass-producers, including Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Today, it is owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993. Inside the Fiat Group, Maserati has been initially associated with Ferrari S.p.A., more recently it is part of the sports car Group with Alfa Romeo. The Maserati brothers, Alfieri Maserati, Bindo Maserati, Carlo Maserati, Ettore Maserati, Ernesto Maserati and Mario Maserati, 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 (actually two straight eights mounted parallel to one another). 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.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, where it remains to this day. The brothers continued in engineering roles with the company, however. Racing successes continued, even against the giants of German racing, Auto Union and Mercedes. In 1939, a Maserati 8CTF won the Indianapolis 500, a feat repeated the following year. 

The new Maserati GranTurismo, styled by Pininfarina, will make its worldwide debut at the Geneva Motor Show. The Maserati GranTurismo is a muscular and sporty car, that can be enjoyed every day and at the same time is engaging for the driver. Its excellent handling and sportiveness make it a point of reference in its category. The Maserati GranTurismo is built with particular attention to comfort, choice of materials and details and with enough room for four people, as only Maserati can do. The new Maserati GranTurismo is a high-performance sports car, exciting to drive with a 4.2 liter V8 engine, delivering 405 bhp, and a weight distribution of 49% at the front and 51% at the rear. It is fitted with an automatic gearbox and equipped with an adaptive control system which adjusts the gear-shifting mode to the driving style and the driving conditions.Maserati’s tradition of the Gran Turismo concept dates back to 1947 when the Trident Company, following its clients’ demand, unveiled at the Geneva Motorshow its first Gran Turismo, the A6, designed by the great Pinin Farina. It was the first Maserati road car and was produced in 58 units. The car was acclaimed by the automotive press for its advanced technical content and for its avant-garde style solutions. The new model name – Maserati GranTurismo – is not incidental. Once again, the partnership between Maserati and Pininfarina gives birth to a car that is able to generate emotions and sets itself apart from competitors, due to the technique with which it is built and its unique style. The new Maserati GranTurismo represents a further step towards the completion of the Trident product range, following the worldwide launch of the Quattroporte Automatic at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT has a genuinely exhilarating personality. It has the dual soul of an executive luxury saloon and the kind of dynamic sports car that everyone longs to drive. It quite literally is a dream come true, combining the space, comfort, exclusivity and hand-crafted personalization of a flagship saloon with the nimble dynamic handling of a thoroughbred GT. A whole host of elements contribute to make the Quattroporte a unique car: its light, compact, incredibly responsive 400 bhp 4.2-liter V8 engine, the Maserati DuoSelect electro-hydraulic transmission, the Skyhook adaptive damping system, the MSP (Maserati Stability Programme), and its Transaxle layout. Plus, of course, Pininfarina’s unmistakably Italian and stylish design.The Sport GT version of the Quattroporte was created to further enhance the high performance spirit and sporty character that set the Quattroporte apart from any other executive saloon. From an engineering point of view, the gearbox has been given the most radical overhaul; the Sport button allows the driver to significantly cut gear changing times (which are now 35% faster on average), thanks to a development in the electro-hydraulic transmission system’s CPU. At high engine speeds, the Quattroporte Sport GT’s exhaust system also gives a much deeper rumble to the already sporty sound of the Maserati V8. The 20″ wheels and specific Skyhook adaptive damping software mean a clear improvement in dynamic handling when used in more press-on situations. The wheels, which include the tire pressure monitoring system, are combined with brakes featuring metal weave tubing, cross-drilled discs and titanium-colored calipers.