Our aim is to foster the spirit of the great Maserati marque throughout Queensland and social connections amongst members. We have grown from strength to strength and encourage new members to enjoy further the mystique of the Maserati
Introduction - The name Maserati evokes strong images of a great motor racing past. This emotion culminated in Maserati winning the World Formula 1 Constructors and Drivers Title in 1957. However, what started out as a small workshop specialising in the preparation of race cars for the Italian elite, is now renowned for crafting one of the world’s most stylish and fastest sports coupés, the 3200GT.
Due to its experience gathered from decades of world motorsport, Maserati is also responsible for engineering innovations that form the basis for ordinary road cars today. Among its innovations, the world’s first hydraulic brakes appearing on the Maserati 8C/8CM in 1933. After experimenting with innovations such as disc brakes and fuel injection on the all conquering Maserati 250F race car, these technologies were first introduced to production road cars with the Maserati 3500GT in 1961, template for the current 3200GT coupé. Throughout its 75 year history, Maserati has collected nearly 500 outright race wins, 23 World Championships and 32 Formula 1 Grand Prixs.
Whilst financial mismanagement has seen the famous trident brand pass through various hands over the years, the passion for building beautiful motor cars has never faded. Stunning models of the 1960’s like the A6 1500 Sport, the 3500GT and 5000GT. Striking designs like the Maserati Indy, Bora and Merak all found homes in the driveways of the rich and famous in the 1970’s.
The Maserati story
The name Maserati conjures different images to different people. If, say, you remember the first Mille Miglia or other races of the day, you may remember Alfieri or Ernesto Maserati as builders and drivers of some of the best race cars of the era. For some who remember this era, it was the ever-talented Nuvolari who was the only person able to beat the all-conquering Mercedes/Auto Unions, at the wheel of his Maserati. For some, the name brings back images of the golden years of F1, the Tipo 250F, and all of its successes. Still for others, it was the brilliant GT cars of the sixties and seventies. Exotic, but seemingly very practical when compared to their cross town rivals at the time (Ferrari).
The name Maserati, first and foremost belongs to the family that produced the Maserati brothers. There were seven Maserati brothers (born in Voghera to traindriver Rodolfo Maserati and his wife Carolina Losi): Carlo b 1881; Bindo b 1883; Alfieri b 1885 (he died in infancy and his name was given to the next son); Alfieri b 1887; Mario b 1890; Ettore b 1894; and Ernesto b 1898. All of the Maseratis were involved in the engineering, design, and construction of cars, except for Mario, who was a painter and is presumed to have invented the company trademark, the trident, borrowed from the statue of Neptune in the square of the same name in Bologna.
Carlo, the eldest brother, was the first to become involved with engines. He worked in a bicycle factory in Affori, near Milan and designed a single-cylinder engine for a velocipede, which was later manufactured by Marquis Carcano di Anzano del Parco. Carlo Maserati also raced on Carcano bikes equipped with the engine he had designed, winning a few races and setting a speed record of 50 km/h (31 mph) in 1900.
Carlo moved to Fiat in 1901 when Carcano closed down and then, in 1903, to Isotta Fraschini, where he worked as a mechanic and test driver. He also managed to have his brother Alfieri taken on at Isotta, despite the fact that he was only 16 at the time. He then worked and raced for Bianchi, and went on to become General Manager of Junior. Carlo was the first to actually build a car. This single cylinder engine with the very simple chassis was the first ever Maserati. He built not only cars, but was actually commissioned to build aircraft engines as well. While working for Junior, Carlo raced cars himself. ( Carlo raced a Bianchi at the 1907 Coppa Florio. Unfortunately, he had to stop often to replace the low voltage ignition breaker arms. He still finished seventh. After that, Carlo began replacing low voltage systems with high voltage ones, which alleviated these problems.)
Carlo resigned from Junior, and he took over a plant formerly devoted to pharmaceuticals. There Carlo, with Ettore, converted many ignitions to the high voltage type for private customers. Carlo was working on a radial aircraft engine that he was commissioned to build during this time. Carlo's brilliant but ultimately short career ended in 1929 when he fell ill and died at age 29 - the radial engine was never finished.
Alfieri soon emerged as Carlo's spiritual heir, with the same extrovert personality and skills as a technician and driver. In 1908, Isotta entrusted a car to him which he took to 14th place in the Grand Prix for Voiturettes in Dieppe, in spite of the carburettor breaking. In the meantime, Bindo and Ettore had also joined Isotta Fraschini, where Alfieri had started out as a mechanic and progressed to driving. In 1912, after having represented the company in Argentina, the USA and Great Britain with his brother Ettore, Alfieri was put in charge of Isotta’s customer service structure in Bologna.
The wide-ranging experience he had built up in his career convinced Alfieri that he was ready to explore the possibility of going into business in his own right to exploit his talents and creativity in full. In 1914, he rented office space in Via dé Pepoli, in Bologna’s old town centre and this went on to become, opening on 1 December 1914, the first headquarters of the Società Anonima Officine Alfieri Maserati.
At Societá Anonima Officine Alfieri Maserati, Alfieri specialised in Isotta Fraschini's and after the war founded a spark-plug factory initially at Milan, later moving it to Bologna. However, Maserati was little more than a garage run by a family of motoring enthusiasts who had a tradition of superlative craftsmanship and a passion for cutting-edge engineering. It was there that the first race cars were built, using the chassis' from Isotta Fraschini coupled with aircraft engines. Cars from Diatto were also modified for a short time. Suffice it to say, Maserati was on the map, building cars for customers and winning races. Thus Maserati started building race cars. Currently only 4 automotive manufacturers exist that were founded on racing. These are Maserati, Ferrari, Lotus and McLaren. Of these four, Maserati is the oldest by far.
(Alfieri began his career as a racing driver and soon proved his worth, winning on the Susa-Moncenisio, the Mugello Circuit and the Aosta-Great Saint Bernard. Diatto offered him a chance to design cars for the company and even to race with them. Unfortunately, in 1924, having dominated the San Sebastiano GP, he was disqualified for five years, even though he had retired, for having replaced the 2-litre engine in his car with a 3-litre unit. The penalty was lifted a few months later. Away from the racing world, Alfieri dedicated himself entirely to the workshop and in 1926, after leaving Diatto, he produced the Tipo 26, the first all-Maserati car, and the first to sport the trident trademark.)
But the real route lay in constructing one's own vehicles, and thus they built their first complete car, with an 8 cylinder dohc in-line 1.5-litre engine fitted with a Roots supercharger. This first true Maserati "production" car, the Tipo 26, did not emerge until 14 April 1926. Where better to premiere the first Maserati, but at the racetrack, where it won the Targa Florio on 25 April 1926? This was the birth of the Maserati trademark as we know it today, being the first car to bear the Maserati Trudent. The symbol was taken from Giambologna's Neptune designed by his brother Mario, and was to become the signifying feature of future Maseratis. Alfieri drove brilliant races, first in class, and ahead of many other larger displacement machines, even though he had to stop once for a burst radiator hose!!
In 1927, Alfieri had a serious accident in the Messina Cup with the Tipo 26B, after taking third place at the Targa Florio. But even with him sidelined, Maserati still won the Italian Constructors' Championship and Ernesto Maserati, the Italian Drivers' title. In 1929 the V4 appeared, with a 16-cylinder engine, making its debut at the Italian Grand Prix and setting the world Class C speed record over 10 km at 246.069 km/h in Cremona, with Baconin Borzacchini. The record set by the V4 helped to enhance the company’s image and guaranteed a considerable influx of funds, allowing the company and its activities to expand.
The rapid rise to engineering and racing supremacy was celebrated in magnificent style in 1929 when Maserati shattered the world land speed record over 10km with a speed of 246.069 km/h. The car was the V4 powered by an amazing 280 BHP 16-cylinder 3961cc engine and was driven by Baconin Borzacchini. The same combination racked up Maserati's first Grand Prix victory at Tripoli a year later.
Meanwhile, the Maserati operation expanded in all directions. The first Maserati Grand Tourer with a Castagna body made its debut at the Milan Show in 1931. Count Theo Rossi di Montelera also employed a Maserati engine on his powerboat, which went on to win the world water speed record in the same year. This was the first record in a long series of Maserati successes in the powerboat sector.
In 1931 came the 4CTR and the front-wheel-drive 8C 2500, the last car to be designed by Alfieri Maserati, who died on 3 March 1932, aged 44. An enormous crowd attended his funeral in Bologna, including workers from the plant, famous drivers, and ordinary people, who wanted to show their affection for the great man. Alfieri's death did not discourage the Maserati brothers; Bindo left Isotta Fraschini and returned to Bologna to continue the great venture began by Alfieri, with Ernesto and Ettore. The remaining brothers continued the work with successful models such as the Tipo 8CM and 6CM emerging under their direction. However, from 1932 till 1939, after Alfieri's death, Maserati cars were built and raced principally by Ernesto. Ernesto was also the sole engine designer after Alfieri's death. He drove the cars with some success and this led to many of his sales.
In 1933, Tazio Nuvolari joined the team, making a significant technical contribution, particularly in the fine tuning of the chassis, adapting it to the characteristics of the new engine; Nuvolari won the Belgian Grand Prix, and those of Montenero and Nice. That was when Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union began a sustained assault on the racing scene, making life difficult for Maserati in the more important races.
However, Maserati's racing activities continued to be intense and successful. Maserati cars were winning races on tracks all over Europe and the brand was rapidly gaining a reputation for advanced engineering. Among its innovations, the world's first hydraulic brakes appeared on the 8C/8CM in 1933. This was the same car that Giuseppe Campari drove to victory in the French Grand Prix and Tazio Nuvolari did the same in the Belgian and Nice Grand Prix. 1934 brought another world speed record (222km/h) in the 1100cc class. The car was the 4CM, the driver Giuseppe Furmanik.
This success led the brothers to direct output toward this area. In 1936, they found a patron in Gino Rovere who invested a great deal in the company and appointed Nino Farina, his "protégé", as Chairman. The 6CM appeared, which gave Maserati the competitive edge in the voiturette class.
In 1937, the Maserati brothers handed over the financial management of their company to the Orsi family, while keeping their hands on the engineering side of the business. As stipulated in the contract, the Maserati brothers continued to work with the Orsi family for ten years. Note should be made of the 1939 and 1940 victories at the Indianapolis 500 with the 8CTF, a 3-litre eight cylinder with twin superchargers. They remain the only Indianapolis victories by an Italian marque.
The Orsi family control opened the way to operations on a much broader scale, which bore fruit in two successive race wins on United States soil. In 1939 and 1940, Maserati won the Indianapolis 500 with Wilbur Shaw in an 8CTF. That made Maserati the first and only Italian constructor to win the legendary American race.
Meanwhile in 1939, the firm moved to its now celebrated premises on Viale Ciro Menotti in Modena. It is here that its extraordinary creativity was deployed in the service of the Italian war effort as it converted to the production of machine tools, electrical components, spark plugs and even electric vehicles. Once the war ended, Maserati got back to its normal business, creating the Maserati A6 1500 Sport, around which Pininfarina built an elegant coupé body. The racing version was the A6GCS, a highly original streamlined barchetta with offset engine and motorbike-type wings separate from the body. This is the car that Alberto Ascari drove to victory on its first outing at Modena.
The Orsi family wanted to build road cars, and thus the families fell out, the remaining Maserati brothers leaving the firm that bears their name in 1947 to found OSCA.
The A6 emerged in 1946, followed by the A6G and the A6G54. These cars were still really a sideline to the motorsport side of the business, and were used in many races, as well as forming the basis for more potent competition cars. These years saw the last real effort in motorsport by the Trident, concentrating on the newly formed Formula One championship with involvement also in the Sport category.
In 1947, Ferrari and Maserati launched an exciting all-Italian duel on the racetracks all over the world. After several wins, life became less easy for Maserati in the 1950s as Alfa Romeo and Ferrari were extremely competitive. In 1953, Gioacchino Colombo was appointed Chief Engineer and modified the A6GCM. The team was also strengthened by the arrival of drivers of the calibre of Fangio, Gonzalez, Marimon, Bonetto and de Graffenried, and brought home some important victories in the 1953 season; in fact, Fangio won that year's Italian Grand Prix from Ascari and Farina in Ferraris. Colombo also laid the foundation for the Maserati 250F.
However, if these were the years of a Maserati revival, they also saw the arrival of a powerful new rival. In 1953, the Maserati A6GCM 2000, with Juan Manual Fangio at the wheel, came second in the World Championship behind Alberto Ascari in a Ferrari.
1954 saw the debut of the legendary Maserati 250F with a 2500cc 6-cylinder engine and transverse rear gearbox unit. This was the car that started out by winning Fangio the Argentine Grand Prix and ultimately the World Drivers' title. At the same time, several A6G spyder and coupé models with bodies by Frua, Allemano and Zagato came out.
In 1955, an aerodynamic 250F with a wrap-around body was created for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. In the meantime, Maserati was experimenting with advanced engineering systems like disc brakes and fuel injection. Maserati brought its Grand Prix career to a glorious finale in 1957 at the end of a triumphant season, which started out with the first three places in Argentina and ended with Fangio's world title in the 250F. That same year, Maserati designed a 12-cylinder 2500cc engine for Formula 1 and previewed the 3500GT 2+2 seater sports coupé at the Geneva Show. It was the start of a new era for the trident marque - concentrating on producing the world's best coupés and sports saloons.
Welcome to the Maserati Club of Queensland Inc.
Carlo resigned from Junior, and he took over a plant formerly devoted to pharmaceuticals. There Carlo, with Ettore, converted many ignitions to the high voltage type for private customers. Carlo was working on a radial aircraft engine that he was commissioned to build during this time. Carlo's brilliant but ultimately short career ended in 1929 when he fell ill and died at age 29 - the radial engine was never finished.
At Societá Anonima Officine Alfieri Maserati, Alfieri specialised in Isotta Fraschini's and after the war founded a spark-plug factory initially at Milan, later moving it to Bologna. However, Maserati was little more than a garage run by a family of motoring enthusiasts who had a tradition of superlative craftsmanship and a passion for cutting-edge engineering. It was there that the first race cars were built, using the chassis' from Isotta Fraschini coupled with aircraft engines. Cars from Diatto were also modified for a short time. Suffice it to say, Maserati was on the map, building cars for customers and winning races. Thus Maserati started building race cars. Currently only 4 automotive manufacturers exist that were founded on racing. These are Maserati, Ferrari, Lotus and McLaren. Of these four, Maserati is the oldest by far..png)
.png)
