Maserati - a luxury Italian sports and racing car, first made in 1914. It was made to compete directly with other European cars, such as the Aston Martin, Jaguar, BMW and Audi. The company has gone through many changes and is now owned by Fiat.
The first car was designed by the Maserati brothers. The stylishly designed 2-liter engine did not succeed in the racetrack, and thus large cars with 4-16 cylinders were made one after another. Maserati was a small company in the 30s, but it still went well with Mercedes and Audi. After the Second World War, many engineers from Fiat and Alfa Romeo joined the Maserati, and the new Maserati 4-CLT and A6 series were developed. In the 50s, Maserati continued to dominate the racetrack. Newer cars during the 60s included the Mistral, Vignale and Quattroporte. With financial crises in the late 60s, Citroen took over ownership and built Maserati Bora and Merak.
After several turbulent years, the company restructured the car and built the front engine coupe, like the Maserati Turbo. Other Maserati cars released in the 1980s include Shamal, Ghibli and Racing. The company worked together with Chrysler and tried to enter the American market. Chrysler tried to change the Maserati, but the success was short-lived. Although the Maserati 3200 GT was fast and elegant, it was also expensive.
In 1999, Ferrari took over part of the property and returned it from the verge of bankruptcy. Today, Maserati is back under Fiat control. Fiat continues to produce sports and luxury sedans. In the US market, only about 2,000 Maserati cars are sold annually.
Maserati Quattroporte and Gran Turisomo did well and returned the company to green. In 2003, the MC 12 was released and at $ 700,000 for a car, only one hand was sold. With the current economic darkness, Maserati will either do something cheap for the consumer to buy or close a store.
