Maserati Enthusiasts' Page

The Enthusiasts' Page

- YOU ARE NOW ON PAGE 88
	All things 'Maserati'. News of forthcoming models, owner's cars, tips, 'Marque' reunions and the odd touch of humour! In fact anything of interest to the 'Maseratista'. So if you have any news about Maseratis or have anything owners and enthusiasts should know, send details to maserati123@btopenworld.com	Trident on the inspection plate of a Tipo 8CL

You can click on some pictures for a better view!!





From Lui in Germany
"Hi Enrico, Here is a little update from my Maserati. I got my Modena Performance exhaust system and my 'Trident' emblems. The sound is much better than before. I love it!!!! Greetings from Germany. Lui."





From Håvard in Norway
"Hello! Today I finally got my Norwegian number plates. So the car is registrated in my name. The photos were taken when the car still had the original Italian plates. SMALL STORY: I had two classic cars before I bought the Maserati. An Excalibur from 1971 and a Jaguar XJ6 from 1976. During last winter I started to dream about a collection of cars from what I think is the three main automobile countries (sorry Germany and Japan). Almost forgot that our family car for winter use is a 4WD Nissan. After hours of reading magazines and surfing on the net, I had picked out four models that could match my budget. Maserati Merak, Maserati Indy, Lamborghini Espada and Ferrari 308 GTB. I think they all are beautiful cars! The Ferrari had to go because it only had two seats. The Lamborghini because I was afraid of the huge 12 cylinder complicated engine. Then there was the Merak. It was close race betwen Merak and Indy. Cars are hard to find in Norway. Hamburg is the closest German city and car transporters goes every week to Norway. When I found what seemed to be a nice Indy in Hamburg I decided to go for it. A friend of mine that has been working with cars for years went to the dealer and made a test drive. He was also able to check it for rust. Everthing was fine and I told my friend to buy it. He also arranged the transport all the way to Trondheim. The car is here, one of four Indys in Norway. I'm happy! (Sorry my English). Best regards, Håvard."





From Miguel in Portugal
Hi Enrico, Just a note to inform you that the trip to Modena was great. The Shamal behaved as it should. No problem at all. The distance was 5,259 kms in 8 days. I had good weather most of the time. I left Portugal at 18:30pm of the 26th, drove up to Burgos (Spain) and rested there 3 hours, from 02:30am to 05:30am of 27th. Then I just stopped in Cannes at 17:00pm!! Stopping for refuelling and eating only. The Shamal got better and better the more I drove it. The temperature outside was around 25ºC all the time. The average speed was around 110 Kph and the fuel comsuption was an amazing 10.8 litres per 100 kms. I'm not joking it was a great average. We went to Monte Carlo, late in the night of that day, I never thought that this Maserati was such a "rare bird" in this places. It was amazing. The city was overcrowded because of the Grand Prix, and people just wanted to catch the Shamal on photos. There was even a guy in a F430 spyder that wanted to swap the Ferrari for the Maserati!! Of course it was a joke. But indeed people were happy to look at it. I rested in a hotel in Cannes, leaving for Italy the next day - 28th - were I arrived at 14:00pm just in time to see the F1 Grand Prix and eat a splendid Carbonara. A great place to lunch just on your right once you leave the highway, arriving in Parma. When it was over I drove to Modena and stayed at the Trip Ritz Hotel, not very well located, it is on the back of the military facilities, but clean and quiet. The weather was hot, 32ºC, and cloudy, guessing rain. Indeed it rained that night. On the 29th I had a visit to Ferrari factory. What can I say? Great place, great people, great cars... Unfortunately no photos allowed. I saw several Maseratis being painted there and of course some V8s being manufactured. In the same room Maserati and Ferrari engines are made. Once the bodies painted they go back to Modena to be finished. Regarding the Ferrari cars I have no words to describe them. The F430 is amazing the 612 is awsome and the 599 Fiorano is from other planet!! Of course our Maserati, are great too and the new Quattroporte GT Sport is fantastic. During the afternoon I went to visit Maserati in Viale Ciro Menotti, and I had a great reception. It was not possible to see the inside since it was a surprise visit, but I had some Maserati staff besides me all the time. I took some gifts from them and a huge thanks for driving a Shamal from Portugal to Italy. When I was leaving a middle-aged worker gave me is hand and said that if all the Maserati owners were passionate like me the past of that House would have been a lot better. I'm sure you agree with this, Enrico, since you are a passionate owner too. I still had time to go to Carrozzeria Campana and visit Silvia Vaccari. I parked my Shamal in front of Candini Shop, and I could see Marcello looking at it!! No talking there since it was late in the afternoon and my wife was dreaming of a pizza. On the 30th we visited Firenze, Pisa and Lucca and around 21:00pm we were dining in Genova. I arrived in Menton, near Monte Carlo, at midnight and stayed there till the first of June. I left Menton at around 11:00am that day, and visited Aix-aux-Provence, Marseille and Montpelier. Then I drove non-stop to Zaragoza were I rested 6 hours. On the 2nd of June I drove to Lisbon from Zaragoza - 925 kms - just stopping to eat and refuel... So many miles but still ready to go to China!! These Maserati are great cruisers giving a confortable ride and in great style. NO OTHER CAR CAN MATCH THIS. Regards, Miguel. P.S. Here are some photos starting from Portugal passing France and Italy. The Ferrari/Maserati dealer you see on the photos is Auto Palace in Cannes."

No, I'm not pushing it!! Still in Portugal, a brief stop 300 km From Lisbon.		Miguel's Shamal takes a breather! At a petrol station not far from Toulouse

"Miguel, where did you say you put it?!?!" Still at a petrol station not far from Toulouse		We stop for dinner at Nice on the French Riviera

The Auto Palace Ferrari/Maserati dealership in Cannes		Miguel and his Shamal during a stop for lunch near Parma

Outside the Ferrari wind tunnel		Outside the Maserati factory showroom

Inside the factory courtyard		The factory multi-storey car park

At the Maserati factory gate		The Maserati factory site

Maserati and the Shamal		Miguel performs a 'Schumi' at Rascasse!!!





Maserati Will Return to Red
The Trident will field a GranSport Trofeo in red livery, the Italian classical racing colour, in the next 24 Hour of Nuerburgring, on the legendary German circuit that measures 22 kilometres. Red was the colour employed by Italian competition cars before the advent of sponsors. Red was the colour in which Juan Manuel Fangio took the 1957 F1 world title in his Maserati 250 F at the Nordschleife, universally considered the greatest of his career. Red was also the colour of the Maserati 300 S that was victorious in the 1000 kilometres of Nuerburgring with the extraordinary crew of Moss-Behra-Taruffi-Schell at the wheel.

Copyright Maserati Racing Red for Maserati!!!!

The colour of the Maserati GranSport Trofeo is the same hue as that in which the Modenese company won these races. The vehicles, like Fangio’s championship winning 250 F, were further enhanced by yellow piping around the grille. In the driving seat of the GranSport Trofeo in the official competition will be the French star, Jacques Laffite. He will be flanked by the Italian Gianni Giudici, American Patrick Hong and Englishman Richard Meaden. Maserati will be going back to the past in one respect but will innovate and look to the future in another. The “Maserati R&D Factory Team” will line up for the 24 Hour in a GranSport “Laboratorio”. This vehicle is the sole example on which experimental solutions are tested before their possible introduction on racing and standard models. Among the modifications on the car is the new carbon fibre driveshaft with a new sequential gearbox. The GranSport “Laboratorio” features the team Vitaphone livery in which the House of the Trident won the 2005 24 Hours of Spa and the Constructors’ Cup in the 2005 FIA GT Championship. At the wheel alternated Andrea Bertolini, German Michael Bartels, Belgian Eric Van de Poele and the gentleman driver, Gianni Giudici (who appeared in two cars). Both vehicles are equipped with Pirelli tyres, with which Maserati has renewed its partnership agreement for a further two years. Yesterday, in the rain, the cars made their debut on the Adria circuit for a test session that continued today, ahead of the German race. “The 24 Hour of Nuerburgring is a great challenge for us”, declared Giorgio Ascanelli, Maserati Corse’s Technical Director. “Crossing the finish line will be the main aim. We have prepared the cars in order to prove the reliability of Maserati vehicles. The GranSport Trofeo and the GranSport “Laboratorio” were not designed with only performance mind but also with safety paramount for taking on circuits like Nuerburgring. The GranSport Trofeo is also very similar to the standard model and in this extreme competition it will be fully put to the test. However, this is the type of challenge that Maserati is looking for. The “Laboratorio” car is developed on the base of the already well tested GranSport GT3, a model to which we have made some changes in order to bring it into line with the DMSB-24 Hour regulations in force at Nuerburgring. The realisation of the project was concluded in a few short months, thanks to the advanced planning system and experience gained in GT competition”. Jaques Laffite was also pleased with the two day test session: “I am satisfied, firstly at coming back to Maserati, a fine Marque that constructs marvellous vehicles. The GranSport Trofeo is perfect for this race. It has a lively engine and an easy handling that will be useful in the 24 Hour. Second, it is Nuerburgring we are talking about. This is one of my favourite tracks and where I have won in many different categories. However, the 24 Hour is one event I am missing and so I eagerly accepted Maserati’s offer”.





From ABC Brianza in Italy
"Dear Sirs, Here is our latest brochure showing the new Maserati models by ABC. Best regards, Laura Brianza."





From Roger in the UK
"Hi Henry, Thought you might be amused by my day out at my local Crawley Car Show. I knew the weather was likely to be wet, but I like to support local events, so off I set in my nicely polished 222 4v on the half-mile journey to a nearby sports field. In fact Crawley Council had agreed with the organisers that if the weather was to be wet, that we should transfer to hard standing in a nearby car park; however the council then decided that they would only make that decision on the morning in question which was too late for the organisers to make the necessary re-arrangements. (And we had early morning rain). So on to the sports field I gingerly drove, just as the rain began again. Fine, no problems here, just keep it nice and gentle, and now turn in to line up with this row of cars. Turn? The laws of mud physics obviously dictate that in a Maserati the most effective way of braking and losing traction is to input a movement on the steering wheel, however slight. Miraculously I kept her moving and slithered to a halt in just about the right place. 9.30 am; I'm an early arrival and with more cars coming onto the field, and regular heavy showers, by lunchtime it was Quagmire City. Fortunately one exhibitor with a Mini decided to go home and bring back his classic Land-Rover, which did sterling service as a tow-truck. And to be fair to Crawley Council they provided a pick-up truck to haul cars off their not very sports-like field. After the prizegiving many cars started to make early exits, and I helped push some out of ruts. The bigger heavier cars (the show attracts many Americans) had problems as their rear wheels just dug deeper into the soft clay mud. I sat in my car for a while smugly planning to get a good run across a relatively mud-free area of grass, then just keep it moving in 2nd gear all the way to the concrete exit ramp. No chance! Mud physics won again. I could reverse onto a grippier patch, move forward OK for a yard or so then just bog down. I reckon that 2.8 V6 is a heavy lump and pushes the front wheels in, then the rears lose traction as they fight to push the fronts out of the gloop, then the rears dig holes! Anyway along comes Crawley Council's pickup to tow me out. (Well now I'll be getting something back for the community charge I pay 'em). So off we go with me practicing my four wheel drifts at 10mph. Needless to say this all contrived to fill up the wheel arches with more mud. Moral of this tale: Maseratis are not made for grass-track racing. Footnote: Despite all this I enjoyed it, and so did the car, getting a cup for runner-up in the 90s class. Regards (or should that be Mud-guards!) Roger."

Roger's artistic touches!!		Oi! I've just cleaned that....

Raindrops kept falling on my head!		Just as well, I didn't buy a Spyder!!!





From Gaia in Germany
"Hallo Enrico, In reply to Roger's recent grass track test. I want to agree that the Maserati 222 and 2.24v are the worst cars on mud and grass that I have EVER owned. I found out a trick: Pull the handbrake a little and the Ranger diff will block immediately up to 100% when torque came up. So it is very good to drive in grass or mud. Gaia."





MORE FOR THE ENTHUSIAST