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The five brothers Maserati of Bologna, Italy formed Maserati, an iconic name in fast cars, in 1914. Each of the brothers had been involved in motor vehicle making and racing since the beginning of the century. Initially they concentrated on working with other manufacturers, principally Diatto. In 1926, Diatto withdrew from racing car production after a major crash and Maserati began building their own.
The eldest brother, Alfieri, died in 1932. In 1937, the surviving brothers sold the business to the Orsi family, who moved Maserati production to Modena in 1940, from where it has never moved. Maserati concentrated on building and racing cars, until another tragedy in the 1957 Mille Miglia forced them to pull out and switch focus to road cars.
Maserati's first high performance, luxury car was the Sebring in 1962. It was followed by the Mistral coupe in 1963. Their first Spyder followed the next year, along with the simply named four-door, the Quattroporte.
Maserati sales, like every other manufacturer in the luxury, high-performance end of the market, are low volume. This can cause problems with investment and business stability. Maserati have been unable to avoid this fate. Orsi sold to Citroen in 1968, which had a big impact model design and production volume. The mid-engined Bora was the fruit of this approach, followed by the Merak and Khamsin.
Alessandro de Tomaso took over in 1975, introducing the Kyalami and Quattroporte III before the 1980s saw a step change in design exemplified by the Biturbo; cheaper, with a more aggressive, raw performance, square styled and front-engined.
In 1993, Fiat became the latest owner and has brought great stability to this famous marque, whose greatest achievements have been of dominating the racing lines. The 3200 GT changed Maserati's game and has been followed by the Spyder, the 4200 Coupe, and more recently, the Grantourismo and Grancabrio. Used Maserati cars of these types form an enticing second hand Maserati market.
