100 years of Maserati: the brand's most beautiful cars
Maserati celebrates its centenary this month, we round up the brand's prettiest ever models
This month sees iconic Italian car maker Maserati celebrate its centenary. Founded on 1 December 1914 in Bologna, Maserati can now look back on 100 years of activity that has brought some of the most striking and beautiful cars in the world to life.
With swarms of elegant race cars, production models and one-off concepts to its name, Maserati’s car design record stands comparison with the best in the business.
To mark 100 years of production, we have put together a gallery of Maserati’s most beautiful and eye-catching designs. Iconic race cars such as the 250F raced by Juan Manuel Fangio in the Formula 1 World Championship and more recent concept cars such as the Alferi make the list.
Maserati Tipo 61
The Tipo 61 is commonly referred as the Maserati Birdcage thanks to its complex tubular space frame chassis. It competed at Le Mans during 1959 and 1961.
Maserati Birdcage 75th
Introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 2005, the Birdcage marked the 75th anniversary of the design house Pininfarina. It was built on the carbon chassis of the MC12 GT1 race car.
Maserati A6 GCS
The A6 GCS was launched back in the fifties and penned by infamous design house Pininfarina. Sleek but sporty the A6 GCS weighed only 740kg.
Maserati 250F
Famously raced by Juan Miguel Fangio during the 1954 Formula 1 season, the 250F was powered by a 220bhp 2.5-litre straight-six engine. Other drivers to race the 250F included Sir Stirling Moss.
Maserati 3500 GT
The 3500 GT was produced both as a coupe and a spider during 1957 and 1964. It was the firm's first attempt at large voume prodcution for a GT car.
Maserati Tipo 26M
Built as a race car during the 1930s, the 26M evolved from the original eight-cylinder Tipo 26 into a single-seat racer. 13 were produced and used in endurance races.
Maserati Alfieri
Maserati celebrated it’s centenary at Goodwood earlier this year, but previewed its future with the Alfieri concept, a Jaguar F-Type rival confirmed for production in 2016.
The Quattroporte is now in its sixth-generation but the previous iteration of the four-door saloon remains a favourite. It was unveiled back in 2003 and powered by a 4.2-litre naturally aspirated V8 engine.
Maserati Gran Turismo
The Gran Turismo was a two-door, four-seat coupe manufactured using mechanical components from the Ferrari 599 GTB. Production of the coupe looks set to end next year with a replacement model set to arrive in 2016.
Maserati MC12
Developed alongside the Ferrari Enzo, the MC12 was a limited run production car with only 50 examples available to buyers. A racing variant was also developed to complete in the FIA GT Championship.
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