History of Maserati

Maserati. You may not know very much about this specific brand of automobile. But it is very well known throughout the world. There is a reason that people really want to own one of these great, luxurious cars. Here is a history of Maserati for you to look over. If you enjoy learning about cars, then take a moment to learn more about this Italian automobile.

Maserati: Then and Now

Maserati was founded in 1914 in Bologna. It was founded by the six Maserati brothers. They were all together up until Alfieri Maserati’s death on 1932. In 1937, the living brothers sold their remaining shares to the Orsi family who relocated the company headquarters to Modena in 1940.

During the Orsi ownership many great things happened. They became very big into the racing. They even won an Indianapolis 500 in 1940, and again the year after. When the World War came, they stopped producing their cars in order to help produce parts that would help the Italian army. They even tried very hard to get a car going that would be suitable for Benito Mussolini. The war came to a close and so did the Maserati Brothers relationship. They ended their involvement shortly after the war finished. Then in 1957, Maserati became focused on road cars, and came up with their first 6 cylinder engine.

1968 brought on a new owner. Citroen came onto the scene, although Adolfo Orsi still remained the president. This new ownership brought a renewed sense of urgency, and cars were produced in large numbers. But this relationship was short lived because Citroen went bankrupt in 1974. In 1975 it was made known to everyone that Maserati had been surviving on government controlled funding. But even this was barely helping them stay afloat.

De Tomaso brought the company in 1975 and helped bring it back onto its feet. This company was able to do so well because they worked very closely with the Chrysler group. Chrysler even helped them out by purchasing a portion of Maserati. This relationship between Maserati and De Tomaso lasted almost two decades before the next change over.

1993 was the year Fiat took over. They combined with another power in Ferrari. Fiat sold 50% of the company to Ferrari who had been a long time rival of Maserati. Fiat was able to produce one new Maserati model on their own in 1999, but that same year Ferrari took complete control. They turned it into their own luxury division. They got rid of the old 1940s factory in favor of a newer one.

It seems as though Maserati has never found a strong home. This continued when they were returned to Fiat in 2005. General Motors and Fiat had an agreement to work together but that fell through, so Maserati was returned to Fiat. This has lead to plan to build a sports and luxury division using Maserati at the forefront. Fiat was paid 2 billion dollars because of the previous agreement. That year Fiat took over, they sold over 2,000 cars in the United States