Maserati
Maserati is an Italian sports car manufacturer in Modena, the Società Anonima Officine was founded as Alfieri Maserati on 1 December 1914 in Bologna. Trademark is a trident. In the 1950s Maserati racing cars were successful. Among others, Juan Manuel Fangio won with a 250F Formula 1 World Championship in 1957. Nowadays Maserati is part of Fiat Group.
- 3.1 victories in the World Sportscar Championship
History
On 1 December 1914, the five brothers, Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ernesto and Ettore Maserati founded in Bologna, the Società Anonima Officine Alfieri Maserati ( Officine Alfieri Maserati SA ), particularly Alfieri and Carlo were known as a racing driver. The trident as a trademark, the Tridente, comes from the Fountain of Neptune in Bologna. The company initially built exclusively racing cars. 1926 Maserati achieved his first class victory at the Targa Florio in the 1.5 -liter class. 1937 Maserati was incorporated into the industrial empire of Count Adolfo Orsi. 1939 and 1940 Wilbur Shaw won on Maserati at the Indianapolis 500 in 1942 began the construction of trucks with electric motor, which ran until 1955.
1946 Maserati built the first production car, the Maserati A6. Especially in the 1950s, the cars were successful. 1957 Maserati took part with the Maserati 250F and Juan Manuel Fangio at the Formula 1 World Championship, winning his fifth world title. The 3500 GT Touring and later the 3500 Sebring emerged as examples of the most desirable sports cars of its time. Maserati came under state receivership.
In 1960 the production of the Maserati Tipo 61, because of its characteristic space frame better known as the "Bird Cage ". As an engine supplier for Cooper Maserati 1967 celebrated his last Formula 1 success. The models Quattroporte I, Mistral (Mediterranean wind), Mexico and Ghibli ( Tunisian Sahara Wind ) formed the lineup this time. The Ghibli was one of the fastest road sports car of its era and a great commercial success. It was built in 1247 pieces, of which 125 pieces as Spyder. Maserati thus achieved in this period similarly high production numbers like Ferrari.
From 1968 Citroën was over 60 percent of the company shares; Giulio Alfieri was chief designer and designed models like the Khamsin ( Ostsaharawind ), the Quattroporte III, the Bora ( the Adriatic wind) and the Merak. Most models were named after winds. The Indy appeared in 1969 as a 2 2 coupe and continued the line of the Ghibli with extended space continues. About 1000 copies with 4.2 -liter and 4.9 -liter V8 engine were built. By 1975, created prototypes for a new generation of models, including the " Shimun " by Giugiaro, intended as a successor to the Indy. Citroën used for the SM the V6 engine in the Merak and built more than 12,000 copies.
1981, the Biturbo was presented, a sporty two-door coupe, the Maserati despite initial quality problems ensured the survival. It was built in many variants to 1999 and constantly improved. Some models were Biturbo Si, 222, 228, 425, 430, 422, v 2:24, 4:24 v or Biturbo Spyder, Karif or racing. There motors with 2.0 l for export later 2.5 l and 2.8 l aggregates. First with three -valve technology, and later with four valves per cylinder. A 3.2- V8 was constructed which was used first in the Shamal with 326 hp and later slightly modified in the sedan Quattroporte IV and Coupe 3200 GT was used.
In 1991 Maserati Barchetta the homologated whose Barchetta Stradale street version was never built in series before. Nevertheless, there are some few approved Barchetta - all converted racing versions. A Barchetta received the 2.8 -liter V6 engine, while the originals with a 2.0 -liter engine drove the race.
In 1993, Fiat acquired a majority of Maserati, Eugenio Alzati became managing director. Under his leadership, the Ghibli II and the Quattroporte IV emerged based on the bi-turbo engine series. On July 7, 1997 under Maserati Ferrari Fiat presented. Ferrari initially acquired 50 % in order to take over the following year, Maserati completely. Ferrari initially invested in a new production facility, which is still one of the most advanced for super sports cars.
2004 presented the trident brand Homologationsstraßenmodell the Maserati MC12 based on the Ferrari Enzo for the FIA GT Championship. 25 road versions were awarded to " loyal customers " of the brand. Because of a short-term change in the regulations, the MC12 had to start out of competition.
In 2005, the Fiat holding Maserati broke out of the Ferrari Maserati Group and leads them as an independent AG analogous to Ferrari. The close collaboration between Maserati and Ferrari continued to exist.
In the second quarter of 2007 Maserati drove for the first time in 17 years under Fiat - directed to the profit zone. 2007 was a record year for the manufacturer. Maserati achieved the highest sales in its now more than 90 -year history and delivered over 7,300 vehicles worldwide to customers.
Models
Timeline
The four-door models
In addition to sports cars and GTs Maserati looks back on a long tradition of four-door sports sedans: the Quattroporte and the four-door Biturbo. The latest generation of the Quattroporte has been produced since the beginning of 2013.
With 5.26 meters, the vehicle is much longer than the built by the summer of 2003 until the end of 2012 the fifth generation. The body is made primarily of aluminum. First, the vehicle with a 3.8 -liter twin-turbo V8 with an output of 390 kW is equipped (530 hp). The power transmission takes over an eight- speed automatic transmission from ZF, the maximum speed is 307 km / h
In addition to the 3.8-liter V8 ( Quattroporte GTS), a 3.0-liter V6 biturbo ( Quattroporte S) with 301 kW ( 410 hp ) yet is offered.
The Quattroporte had between its release in 1963 and the beginning of the 1990s, along with the Jaguar saloons of a certain unique position in the marketing and advertising industry. The arrivierten heads of large, successful advertising companies in Italy, France and Germany ( or those who intended to produce this image at client ) drove often either a Jaguar or even a Maserati Quattroporte, identification of power and symbol of elegant Italian design, instead of as a crude perceived limousines from Mercedes -Benz or similar provider. This is also transported as a cliché in the comedy film by Doris Dorrie men.
The Biturbo family
On the anniversary of its founding on December 14, 1981, the " turbo " was introduced with 2.0 -liter V6 engine and 180 hp and sold in the following year in Italy. Maserati Biturbo designated as the two-door sedan, and elsewhere but was often classified as a coupe. The Biturbo created many models and model variants. This also had to do with the tax law in Italy, the vehicles over 2.0 liters taxed extremely high. Therefore Maserati had offered mostly two similar vehicles with similar specs and each 2.0 or 2.5 / 2.8 liter displacement. Added to this was the long adherence to the carburetor and the hesitant introduction of the catalyst.
From the various versions only a few to more than 2000 units were sold vary by model. The 4.18v for example, was only offered in Italy and placed there only 77 times - in this model sat Maserati for the first time an anti-lock system. For the small Italian car manufacturer but also those sales were intoxicating because it had until the introduction of the Biturbo annually just a " handful " sold vehicles.
But the initial rush to the new "small" Maserati subsided, when einstellten engine damage in this high-performance engine. Broken Timing Belt by eating camshafts were some Biturbos before the 30,000 km mark quit the service. Maserati was forced to rectify and to suggest its customers a meticulous adherence to the service intervals. Even better was then also the following engine generation from 1988. The teething problems were cured and the carburetor had outlived its usefulness. Although these late three-and four-valve engines were continued as maintenance intensive, but also as a reliable and robust. Despite the significant quality leap in late 1988, the engines continued to suffer from the bad reputation that brought the first generation of engines with it.
In addition to the usual numerical designations for the twin-turbo series there were also some special models. In the spring of 1988, the two-door sports car Karif came on the market, which was designed based on the Biturbo Spyder and implemented on an idea by Alejandro De Tomaso. He had a 2.8-liter 3V engine ( with catalytic converter) made 225 hp. On demand there was for Maserati a sharper camshaft for the engine and this brought power to 285 hp. Due to the short wheelbase ( 2.4 m) and the front engine of Karif was difficult to manage. The Karif is designed to supplement the Maserati model range as high-performance model and produced only in limited numbers (220).
The tip of the Biturbo era formed the Shamal. He was taken in late 1989 on the market. Powered by a V8 engine with 3.2 liter displacement and twin turbochargers had this exceptional sports car performance, but connected to the same requirements for the pilot, as in Karif. From " Shamal " were from autumn 1989 until the end of 1995 only 326 copies built.
A special model, the Maserati Barchetta as an uncompromising racing car with central frame with a composite chassis ( a specialty of de Tomaso ) with 2.0 -liter twin turbo has been built in an edition of 17 pieces for a race series in 1991. After that Maserati still tried unsuccessfully to build a road version. Today, about three provided with approval of the approximately $ 100,000 expensive cars and the rest are scattered all over the world.
The last model of the twin-turbo series was released in the spring of 1992 Ghibli II, an elegant sports coupe with 2.0 -liter or 2.8 - liter engine. 1995 and 1996, a racing series was launched, the Maserati Ghibli Open Cup. The cars were based on the road-going version of the Ghibli II and had a 2.0 - liter engine with at least 330 hp, the vehicle weight of 1160 kg had an easy game. The racing series in 1995 was very successful in the context of ITC, 1996, the second season of Fiat and Ferrari, the new masters was stopped in Modena, the cars were faster than the Ferrari F355 Challenge. As a tribute to the racing series, there was a limited edition of 50 copies special version, the Ghibli Cup, also with 330 hp from 2.0 liters of displacement, which is still the highest specific power output of a production engine to date.
The initial technical problems that model diversity and the ever-changing type numbers are the reasons for the sharp drop in prices of used vehicles. Today Biturbo are good to get far below their actual value. And real collector vehicles they are likely to be on the requested Zagato Spyder and some rare special models never. When Zagato Spyder, the end of 1994, only a total of about 2800 was built in times of the fall of 1984, rising price trends are already visible. It was only from 3200 GT, which is also counted among the Biturbo, larger quantities could be sold.
The 3200 GT
By Italdesign ( Giugiaro ) drawn Maserati 3200 GT Maserati remembered on his story, which is characterized by four-seat, fast Gran Turismo. Not by chance does the model name reference to the first successful selling series vehicle from Maserati, the 3500 GT ( the WG6 was the first production car, but brought no profit).
The colored but not very profitable era Biturbo has not yet been fully completed, because the 3.2 -liter V8 biturbo luxury coupe comes from the Shamal and the Quattroporte IV
From summer 1998, the 3200GT was at the dealership. With its 272 kW ( 370 hp) (3200 GTA: 271 kW with automatic transmission) and the incomparable interior could inspire a broader consumer base coupe again.
The characteristic boomerang lights in LED technology were made at the end of 2001 model change to the optically almost identical Maserati Coupé and lost when newly introduced convertible with the traditional name Spyder and shortened wheelbase because of the rules in the USA. Also the V8 Biturbo was replaced by a new process developed by Ferrari V8 naturally aspirated engine.
The construction of the Coupé and Spyder ended in mid- 2007.
Current Models
Currently four models are offered:
- The Maserati Gran Turismo ( since September 2007)
- Maserati GranCabrio (since May 2010)
- The Maserati Quattroporte (since February 2013 )
- The Maserati Ghibli III (from September 2013)
In addition to these models, a small series called Maserati MC12 still available, which is an evolution of the Ferrari Enzo.
In autumn 2007, the Maserati Gran Turismo only appeared with 4.2- liter engine and 2008, the stronger GranTurismo S with 4.7 -liter engine. This is also offered as Gran Turismo S Automatic since 2009.
A full-fledged four-seater convertible with an elegant fabric top on the basis of the GranTurismo S Automatic - - At the Frankfurt Motor Show 2009, the Maserati GranCabrio had its world premiere. Production at the Maserati factory in Modena at the Viale Ciro Menotti has been running since early 2010; the first convertibles were delivered in May 2010.
At the IAA in Frankfurt 2011, the Maserati Kubang SUV model was presented. It is based on a Jeep platform and is expected to hit the market in 2013.
The variants of the Ferrari-/Maserati-V8-Motoren:
Gear:
- Gran Turismo: ZF 6 -speed automatic
- Gran Turismo S: ZF 6-speed sequential gearbox with paddle shift on the steering wheel
- Gran Turismo S Automatic: ZF 6 -speed automatic
- GranCabrio: ZF 6 -speed automatic
The ZF automatic offer the following modes: Auto Normal Mode, Auto Sport Mode, Auto ICE mode, Manual mode.
Auto Normal mode automatically shifts the gears on the driving style. In calm driving style at low engine speeds for comfort and if the driving style is sporty pronounced at higher speeds.
The transitions Autosport fashions change 40% faster than the normal mode, downshifts during power-off before a curve, activates the stability control, the skyhook suspension agrees harder and opens the exhaust valves from 3000 rpm ( in GranTurismo S, S Automatic and GranCabrio ).
Auto ICE mode reduces maximum torque, prevents starting in first gear and allows gear changes only below 3000 rpm.
The sequential circuit has the following modes: Manual Normal and Manual Sport, Manual Sport with MC- Shift, Auto Normal, Auto Sport, Auto ICE modes.
Performance: