Italian luxury sports car maker Maserati is celebrating the 111th anniversary of its founding this month, a milestone that makes it the longest-standing brand in Italy’s Motor Valley. The milestone comes as the brand surpasses 8000 sales in Australia and New Zealand since 2005 and ahead of the 100th anniversary of its iconic Trident logo, along with 100 years since its debut in motorsport.

Maserati’s story began in 1914, when Alfieri Maserati and his brothers Ettore and Ernesto founded “Ditta Alfieri Maserati” at Via de’ People 1A in the centre of Bologna. As stated in the individual business declaration document, the new firm officially began operations on December 1, 1914.

The Maserati brothers were passionate about mechanics and had a love for speed, and they were not averse to getting behind the wheel of a race car themselves. Another brother, Mario, contributed by designing the Trident logo – inspired by the Fountain of Neptune in the centre of Bologna – and the final brother, Bindo, joined the Officine Maserati in 1932, following Alfieri’s death in the same year.

4

The first car to bear the Trident was the Tipo 26 – a racing car that made its debut at the 1926 Targa Florio, where it took first place in the up to 1.5-litre class with Alfieri at the wheel. It was the first in a long line of racing achievements, including back-to-back victories at the Indianapolis 500 in the USA (1939 and 1940), four consecutive Targa Florio wins (1937, 1938, 1939, and 1940), nine Formula One wins, and the 1957 Formula One World Championship with Juan Manuel Fangio.

At the end of 1939, with the arrival of the Orsi family, Maserati began its move to Modena, where the Viale Ciro Menotti plant opened on January 1, 1940, and has remained the home of the Trident ever since. In 1947, the collaboration between the Maserati brothers and the brand came to an end, and the first road car, the A6 1500, was introduced.

Then, in 1963, the brand debuted the iconic Quattroporte, creating the segment of high-performance luxury sedans. After a brief period under Citroën ownership from 1968 to 1975, during which the company introduced its first modern industrial processes, the subsequent De Tomaso era (1975–1993) saw the creation and commercial success of one of the brand’s most iconic and best-selling models: the Biturbo.

4

Built on these strong historical and industrial foundations, the more recent phase of the Italian brand’s evolution has been marked by new models and major innovations, starting from 2007. The fifth-generation Quattroporte debuted at the Detroit Auto Show, followed by the GranTurismo at the Geneva Motor Show.

The GranCabrio arrived in 2009; the sixth-generation Quattroporte and the Ghibli in 2013; three years later came the Levante, the first Maserati SUV.

In 2020, with the introduction of the production lines for the new Maserati MC20, the flagship of a new era for the brand, the Viale Ciro Menotti plant underwent a major renewal, complete with an in-house paint shop and an area dedicated to the development and assembly of the revolutionary Maserati Nettuno engine, protected by international patents and 100 per cent made by Maserati.

4

In 2023, it was the turn of the Maserati GT2 Stradale, a street-legal super sports car that unites two iconic Maserati worlds: elegance and racing. The following year, the spotlight fell on the MCXtrema, a track-only vehicle limited to just 62 examples, equipped with an extreme version of the 544kW Nettuno V6 engine.

Santo Ficili, Maserati COO, said in a media statement: “It is a true honour for me to celebrate the first 111 years of Maserati’s history in the city that represents the beating heart of our brand. “For more than a century, it has fuelled a unique vision of performance, design, and craftsmanship, embodying the purest expression of Italian luxury. 

In 2026 the brand will launch its new MCPura supercar, which will replace the MC20 and sit alongside the Grecale SUV, GranTurismo coupe and GranCabrio convertible.

1