Traveling down Olympic Blvd in Beverly Hills California, there is no shortage of rubberneck worthy Italian luxury cars revving their engines towards the next stoplight.
Lamborghinis, Ferraris and perhaps less well known to the average American, the Maserati, which celebrated its 100th birthday on December 1st of this year. To commemorate the historic milestone, Maserati is taking a tour of the world hosting gatherings of Maserati owners and sponsoring events such as Polo tournaments in Montecarlo, London, Dubai and Palm Springs.
Like many Italian success stories, this one begins as a family endeavor, involving many of the Maserati brothers but primarily, Alfieri, Ettore and Ernesto. Setting up shop in Bologna in 1914, it was artist and brother Mario who took inspiration from the city and styled the Maserati logo after the trident carried by Neptune’s statue in Piazza Maggiore.
The brothers first major contribution to the world was not, however, with cars but in airplanes, having created the spark plugs used in the plane flown by poet Gabriele d’Annunzio in his 1918 attack on Vienna during the First World War. It took more than a decade before the car manufacturer would make a name for itself on land. In 1929, the Maserati V4 set a land speed world record at 246.069 km/h (153mph), which remained unbeaten until 1937. Maserati would continue to set and break world records throughout its innovative 100-year history.
But the best is yet to come for the car company. 2014 has been a record breaking year in terms of product sales in North America, exceeding both 2012 and 2013 sales combined. Focusing on more consumer friendly products, such as the Quattro porte Sedan that seamlessly blends comfort and size for a family of five with the acceleration power of a sports car going from 0-60 mph in 5.1 seconds.
If space isn’t an issue and you are in a real hurry, the GranTourismo MC Centennial Edition clocks in at 4.5 seconds and starts at the *reasonable* base price of only $143,400. For that chunk of change, I’m not sure any of us have been good enough for Santa to bring us one.
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