History of the Maserati car brand

The Italian automobile company Maserati specializes in the production of sports cars with a spectacular appearance, original design and excellent technical characteristics. The company is part of one of the world's largest automotive corporations "FIAT".

While many car brands were created by the implementation of the ideas of one person, the same cannot be said about Maserati. After all, the company is the result of the work of several brothers, each of whom made his own individual contribution to its development. The car brand Maserati is heard by many and is associated with premium cars, with beautiful and unusual racing cars. The history of the emergence and development of the company is interesting.

Founder

The future founders of the Maserati automobile company were born into the family of Rudolfo and Carolina Maserati. The family had seven children, but one of the babies died in infancy. Six brothers Carlo, Bindo, Alfieri, Mario, Ettore and Ernesto became the founders of the Italian automaker, whose name is known and recognized by everyone today.

The idea to create cars came to mind of his older brother Carlo. He had the necessary experience for this, thanks to the development of aviation engines. He was also fond of car racing and decided to combine his two hobbies together. He wanted to better understand the technical capabilities of racing cars, their limits. Carlo was personally involved in races and had a problem with the ignition system. Then he decided to investigate and eliminate the causes of these breakdowns. During this time he worked for Junior, but quit after the race. Together with Ettore, they invested in the purchase of a small factory and began replacing low-voltage ignition systems with high-voltage ones. Carlo had a dream to create his own racing car, but he was unable to realize his plan due to illness and death in 1910.

The brothers suffered the loss of Carlo hard, but decided to realize his plan. In 1914, the company "Officine Alfieri Maserati" appeared, Alfieri took up its creation. Mario took up the development of the logo, which became a trident. The new company began to produce cars, engines and spark plugs. At first, the brothers’ idea was more like creating a “studio for cars”, where they could be improved, changed the external fork, or better equipped. Such services were of interest to racing drivers, and the Maserati brothers themselves were not indifferent to racing. Ernesto personally raced in a car with an engine constructed from half an aircraft engine. Later, the brothers received an order to create a motor for a racing car. These were the first steps for the development of the Maserati automaker.

The Maserati brothers are actively involved in the races, although they are defeated at the first attempts. This was no reason for them to give up and in 1926 the Maserati car, driven by Alfieri, won the Florio Cup race. This only proved that the engines created by the Maserati brothers are really powerful and can compete with other developments. This was followed by another series of victories in major and famous car races. Ernesto, who often drove racing cars from Maserati, became the champion of Italy, which finally consolidated the irrefutable success of the Maserati brothers. Racers from all over the world dreamed of being behind the wheel of this brand.

Emblem

Maserati has taken on the challenge of producing luxury cars in a unique style. The brand is associated with a sports car with a strong equipment, expensive interior and unique design. The brand's logo comes from the statue of Neptune in Bologna. The famous landmark caught the attention of one of the Maserati brothers. Mario was an artist and personally drew the first company logo.

Family friend Diego de Sterlich came up with the idea to use the trident of Neptune in the logo, which is associated with strength and energy. This was ideal for a manufacturer of racing cars that excel in their speed and power. At the same time, the fountain where the statue of Neptune is located is located in the hometown of the Maserati brothers, which was also significant for them.

The logo was oval. The bottom was blue and the top was white. A red trident was located on a white background. The name of the company was written on the blue part in white letters. The emblem has hardly changed. The presence of red and blue in it was no coincidence. There is a version that the trident was chosen in the form of the symbol of the three brothers who made the most efforts to create the company. We are talking about Alfieri, Ettore and Ernesto. For some, the trident is more associated with the crown, which would also be appropriate for Maserati.

In 2020, for a long time, changes were made to the appearance of the logo for the first time. A rejection of the colors familiar to many was made. The trident has become monochrome, which gives it more elegance. Many other familiar elements have disappeared from the oval frame. The logo has become more stylish and graceful. The carmaker is committed to tradition, but strives to update the emblem in accordance with current trends. At the same time, the essence of the emblem has been preserved, but in a new guise.

Automotive brand history in models

The automaker Maserati specializes not only in the production of racing cars, gradually after the founding of the company, talks began about the launch of production cars. At first, very few of these machines were produced, but gradually serial production began to grow.

In 1932, Alfieri dies and his younger brother Ernesto takes over. He not only personally took part in the races, but also established himself as an experienced engineer. His achievements were impressive, among which is the first use of a hydraulic brake booster. The Maserati were excellent engineers and developers, but they were poorly oriented in the field of finance. Therefore, in 1937, the company was sold to the Orsi brothers. Having given the leadership to other hands, the Maserati brothers devoted themselves entirely to work on the creation of new cars and their components.

Made history with the Tipo 26, built for racing and delivering excellent results on the track. The Maserati 8CTF is called the real “racing legend”. The Maserati A6 1500 model was also released, which ordinary drivers could purchase. Orsi put more emphasis on mass production cars, but at the same time they did not forget about the participation of Maserati in the races. Until 1957, the A6, A6G and A6G54 models were produced from the assembly lines of the factory. The emphasis was on wealthy buyers who want to drive high-quality cars that can develop great speed. Over the years of racing has created a strong competition between Ferrari and Maserati. Both automakers boasted great achievements in the design of racing cars.

The first production car was the A6 1500 Grand Tourer, which was released after the end of the war in 1947. In 1957, a tragic event occurred that prompted the automaker to abandon the production of racing cars. This was due to the death of people in an accident at the Mille Miglia races.

In 1961, the world saw a redesigned coupe with an aluminum body 3500GT. This is how the first Italian injection vehicle was born. Launched in the 50s, the 5000 GT pushed the company towards the idea of ​​producing more expensive and luxurious cars, but to order.

Since 1970, many new models have been released, including the Maserati Bora, Maserati Quattroporte II. Work is noticeable to improve the device of cars, engines and components are constantly being modernized. But during this period, the demand for expensive cars decreased, which required the company to revise its policy to save itself. It was about the complete bankruptcy and liquidation of the enterprise.

1976 saw the release of the Kyalami and the Quattroporte III, meeting the needs of the time. After that, the Biturbo model came out, distinguished by good finish and at the same time affordable cost. The Shamal and Ghibli II were released in the early 90s. Since 1993, Maserati, like many other car manufacturers on the verge of bankruptcy, has been bought out by FIAT. From that moment on, the revival of the automobile brand began. A new car was released with an upgraded coupe from the 3200 GT.

In the 21st century, the company became the property of Ferrari and began to produce luxury cars. The automaker has a devoted following worldwide. At the same time, the brand has always been associated with elite cars, which in some way made it legendary, but also repeatedly pushed it to bankruptcy. There are always elements of luxury and high cost, the design of the models is very unusual and immediately attracts attention. Maserati cars have left their significant mark in the history of the automotive industry and it is possible that they will still loudly declare themselves in the future.