Maserati Gets The Bird

It was back to the future for Pininfarina at the Geneva show. The Italian firm unveiled the Maserati Birdcage 75th concept to celebrate three-quarters of a century in business.

Auto Express Car Reviews

09th March 2005

It's the car we predicted would be at the event in issue 846, and was inspired by classic racing Maseratis from the past. Styling cues include wheelarches which stand taller than the driver's seat, just as they did on the Sixties' Birdcage Tipo 63 racers.

With the upper front half of the bodyshell opening to allow access, the aluminium lattice of the sub-frame is visible above and below the dash. It recreates the feature that gave the original Birdcage models their name.

The stunning design is only 1.09 metres tall and has 20-inch wheels on the front and 22-inch rims at the back. Ultra-lightweight carbon fibre is used for the passenger tub and bodywork, but even so the 4.6-metre-long car tips the scales at 1,500kg. Based on the Maserati MC12 supercar, which itself borrows from Ferrari's Enzo, it's powered by a 6.0-litre V12 engine.

The cabin includes a Motorola command screen featuring the latest technology. The communications giant even timed the launch of its new mobile phone range - called iDEN - to coincide with the unveiling.