The car maker that emphasises ‘Excellence Through Passion’ was born on December 1 1914, in Bologna, once the Maserati brothers Alfieri, Bindo, Ettore and Ernesto harnessed their love for mechanics and speed into building racing cars and making spark plugs. In 1926, Maserati produced its first car – the Tipo 26 – scoring a victory on its debut inside the 1926 Targa Florio. It was eventually around this point that another Maserati brother, Mario, used his artistic talents to make Maserati’s trident emblem – driven by Fountain of Neptune in Bologna. Six years later however, tragedy struck when Alfieri Maserati died from liver complications. Despite the setback, Bindo, Ettore and Ernesto continued to construct racing cars until 1937, once they sold their shares inside the company towards the Adolfo Orsi family. Orsi demanded the firm be relocated to Modena (where it remains today ), while he allowed the Maserati brothers to carry on doing work in engineering roles inside the company. Further racing successes followed, using the Maserati 8CTF winning the 1939 and 1940 Indianapolis 500. During the Second World War, the Maserati brothers focused their attentions on building spark plugs along with other components to the Italian war effort. Towards finished from the war, key engineers from Fiat and Alfa Romeo were brought in by Orsi, further ruffling the Maserati brothers’ feathers and essentially side-lining them. In 1947 they walked from the company That They‘d founded, happening to launch the OSCA Italian sports car company. Shortly after their exit, Adolfo Orsi got an open road car bug, signing off such projects like the Maserati 4CLT, 8CLT, A6-series and also the iconic A6GS. In 1954, the Italian company launched the Maserati 250F racing car to compete in Formula One. Powered using a 2. 5-litre straight-six engine firing out 270bhp at 8, 000rpm and proficient at 180mph, it propelled the legendary Argentinian racer Juan Manuel Fangio during the very first half the 1954 season and his entire 1957 drivers’ World Championship crown. Following the 1957 Mille Miglia Guidizzolo tragedy, Maserati pulled from racing altogether and immersed itself in producing luxury road cars. This era proved a golden period to the Italian manufacturer, using the creation from the 3500GT that year, the V8-powered 5000 in 1959 and also the Vignale-bodied Sebring 3 years later. In 1963, the Mistral 2+2 coupe and spider were launched together with the company’s first four-door car – the Quattroporte – the latter two cars penned by Pietro Frua. The stunning Maserati Ghibli two-seater coupe debuted in 1967, as the Ghibli Spider was unveiled 2 yrs later. It featured a 330bhp 4. 7-litre V8 early on and will sprint from 0-60mph in 6. 8sec and onto 154mph. Following a financial deal between Adolfo Orsi and General Peron of Argentina went sour inside the late-1950s, the Italian banks began that will put heat on Maserati’s property. The new models through the entire 1960s were profitable sufficient to keep your creditors at bay, but time was running out. In 1967 it became apparent that Citroën was curious about making a flagship GT car with Maserati, and thus in December 1967 Orsi sold a 60 per cent share in Maserati towards the French carmaker – Citroën acquiring Maserati outright by 1971. The partnership produced audacious cars such as the Merak, Khamsin and Bora, but when Citroën sales were hit hard from the 1973 oil crisis, the bean-counters lost patience using the profit-dwindling Italian car firm. Under French ownership, employee numbers had inflated from 300 employees in 1968 to 900 in 1974, but productivity had fallen from 600 to 500 cars each year. By May 1975, Citroën declared Maserati bankrupt. Three months later, Alejandro De Tomaso bought a 30 per cent share inside the company using the help of public holding company GEPI. De Tomaso cut senior management and also the workforce by half and set about launching new models as the Maserati Kyalami, Quattroporte III, Biturbo and Ghibli II. Throughout the 1980s, focus shifted far from mid-engined sports cars to less expensive boxy-styled, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive coupes. The Biturbo would be a BMW 3-series rivalling 200bhp V6 available like a coupe or saloon and will hit over 130mph. However, development was too hasty and it was eventually poorly made. Maserati reached arguably its lowest ebb in 1989, using the ‘Chrysler TC by Maserati’ – essentially a re-badged Dodge Daytona marrying a Chrysler body having a Maserati engine – the motoring press at that time describing it as “taking the worst from each partner. ”In 1993 Alejandro De Tomaso suffered a stroke and sold his 51 per cent share in Maserati to Fiat, with considerable investment ploughed into Maserati from the Italian company. Under Fiat’s reign, the Maserati 3200GT was launched in 1998, proving to become a turning point and injecting Maserati with much-needed integrity it severely lacked. Fiat later sold a 50 per cent share to Ferrari, who later took full control, making Maserati its luxury division. In 2004, the Maserati MC12 supercar was unleashed. Designed and built upon the Ferrari Enzo chassis it was eventually developed to signal Maserati’s go back to racing after 37 years. Power came given by a Ferrari Enzo-derived 6. 0-litre V12 lump with 620bhp at 7500rpm, via a six-speed semi-automatic transmission. The MC12 was good for 0-62mph in 3. 8sec and also a top speed of 205mph. Only 55 examples were made. That same year, the fifth-generation Maserati Quattroporte was released, powered by a similar 395bhp 4. 2-litre V8 unit coming from the 4200GT and GranTurismo. A year later, Ferrari gave up the corporate to Alfa Romeo under Fiat Auto and in 2007 Maserati turned a profit for the very first time in 17 years under Fiat Group ownership. Using the sixth-generation Maserati Quattroporte and BMW 5-series rivalling Ghibli currently on sale, and also the luxury SUV market locked firmly in Maserati’s crosshairs using its Levante crossover slated for 2015, the Italian car company is better placed than ever. “Maserati stands today in the fringe of an unparalleled strategic and industrial growth that could see our presence inside the world rise to 50, 000 units a year by 2015, ” says Maserati’s CEO Harald Wester. Aaron Smith History of Maserati - picture special
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A 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R grand prix car has grown to be the foremost valuable car ever sold at auction. The car, which Fangio drove to succeed the 1954 German and Swiss grand prix, sold for £19, 601, 500 in the Goodwood Festival of Speed on Friday. Auction house Bonhams, which conducted the sale, said the car is that the most valuable motor car ever sold at auction, the foremost valuable formula 1 racing car ever sold and also the most valuable Mercedes-Benz. The value beat the previous record of £10, 086, 400 purchased a Ferrari Testa Rossa in 2011. Chassis number 00006 / 54 carried a 2. 5-litre straight eight fuel injected engine, all-independent suspension, inboard brakes and was constructed around a spaceframe chassis. The car was built in answer FIA guidelines limiting capacity to 2. 5-litres and banning the usage of superchargers. Mercedes missed the very first two rounds from the 1954 championship, but dominated on its return in France. Inside the hands of Fangio, chassis 00006 / 54 took pole position and also the chequered flag in the Nürburgring and also the win and fastest lap at the listed round at Bremgarten near Bern. Ex-Fangio Mercedes sells for £19. 6m
A brand new 'servo' stamping line, the very first of their kind to become built inside the UK, is installed at Jaguar Land Rover's Halewood plant with a price of £45 million. The new line includes a combined press stamping capacity of a couple 7900 tonnes. It‘ll stamp both steel and aluminium panels for cars produced in the factory, currently the Land Rover Freelander 2 and also the Range Rover Evoque. In a position to handle more weight and work on higher speeds than traditional mechanical presses, the new line is much more efficient, and likewise includes an energy recovery system which draws energy from its action and converts it to electricity. Jaguar Land Rover says the press's design enables the workers to alter its metal moulds within five minutes, when compared with the 55 minutes it might usually take using older presses. Around 700 panels are produced in the Halewood site every hour, adding up to some total of a couple 25 million each year. The firm says trial pressings by using the new line will begin next month before full-scale stamping starts in summer time. By autumn, JLR officials say the line ought to be making as much as 20 strikes per minute. Jaguar Land Rover invests £45 million in Halewood factory
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The 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed will require place between 26-29 June 2014. The theme from the festival will certainly be : suggestion:inch,inches,in[click to edit]')" onmouseout="UnTip()">" Addicted to winning - the unbeatable champions of motorsport suggestion:inch,inches,in[click to edit]')" onmouseout="UnTip()">". The event organisers say the theme suggestion:inch,inches,in[click to edit]')" onmouseout="UnTip()">" will celebrate the legendary drivers and riders, teams and manufacturers, that have swept all before them with their sport. suggestion:inch,inches,in[click to edit]')" onmouseout="UnTip()">" Manufacturer celebrations include Bentley, who won five 24 Hours of Le Mans races inside the 1920s, the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows, and Juan Manuel Fangio's five Formula One world titles. Lotus and Porsche will also be expected to celebrate their motorsport achievements. Legendary motorcycle riders John Surtees, Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini, Kenny Roberts and Valentino Rossie may also be honoured. Alongside the most theme, the Festival may also be celebrating the centenary of Maserati, and also the marque will possess a dedicated class inside the annual concours d'elegance. Other significant events include marking 100 years because the 1914 French Grand Prix, 60 years from the Jaguar D-type, the 50th anniversary of Mini's first Monte Carlo Rally victory and also the 40th anniversary of McLaren's first F1 title. The well-known Goodwood hillclimb will again return, having a star-studded line-up of drivers expected. This year saw the 20th anniversary from the event, with highlights including the planet dynamic debut of the McLaren P1, and public debuts for the Porsche 918 Spyder and the Jaguar C-X75. The Moving Motor Show, which provides enables prospective car buyers to test drive the newest models, may also be running on Thursday 26 June. Other notable appearances included the Alfa Romeo 4C, the Volkswagen XL1 and Jaguar's special design study, the Project 7. The Goodwood Revival also will return in 2014, and can run between September 12-14. Click here to discover previous Goodwood Festival of Speed galleries. Goodwood Festival of Speed 2014 dates announced
Jaguar Land Rover's new four-cylinder engine family will certainly be called Ingenium, the corporate has revealed. The new engines will certainly be built at a brand new facility next towards the M54 motorway north of Wolverhampton. Autocar understands the first pre-production diesel Ingenium engines are close to come from the line. Petrol engine production will start in 2015. The Ingenium engine will first be fitted towards the upcoming Jaguar XE baby saloon, which should arrive in showrooms in 12 months time. JLR has not released anymore details in regards to the new engines, other in order to claim that they‘re going to offer class-leading performance and economy. A version from the Ingenium four-pot engine also will find its way into an upcoming hybrid version from the Range Rover Sport. A really high power petrol Ingenium four-cylinder may also be applied inside the Jaguar F-type. Jaguar Land Rover gives name to new four-pot engine range
