Monday, 21st July, 2014: Maserati is set to take top billing at Silverstone Classic 2014 as its Centenary celebrations get into full swing.

- Maserati Centenary celebrations in the UK continue

- Maserati is official featured ‘Celebration Marque’ at Silverstone Classic 2014

- Celebratory cavalcade of 200+ past and present Maserati models on Sunday led by Sir Stirling Moss in the
  legendary F1 GP winning 250F

- Special guest Alfieri Maserati, son of Ernesto Maserati, in attendance

- Silverstone Classic 25th - 27th July

Maserati is the official ‘Celebration Marque’ at this year’s classic racing festival, which promises to play host to one of the largest gatherings of Maserati models the UK has ever witnessed. The celebrations will culminate in a cavalcade of more than 200 past and present Maseratis led by Sir Stirling Moss.

The legendary Maserati racer will lead a stunning parade of Trident-badge models around the Silverstone circuit at noon on Sunday 27 July, behind the wheel of the iconic Grand Prix winning 250F, and will be joined in the parade by special guest Alfieri Maserati, son of company co-founder Ernesto Maserati. A wide selection of models from Maserati’s illustrious past will also be represented in the line-up, ranging from the classic Tipo 61 Birdcage to modern greats like the GranTurismo MC Stradale.

Peter Denton, Region Manager Maserati North Europe, said: “The UK is a crucially important market for Maserati and the level of support and enthusiasm for the brand here is outstanding. With 2014 being our Centenary and sales up 223 per cent year-on-year it is an exciting time for us. The Silverstone Classic promises to be a fantastic showcase of Maserati’s glorious racing heritage and the arrival in showrooms of the company’s new Ghibli and Quattroporte Diesel models heralds the beginning of another exciting chapter in the Maserati story.”

Maserati enjoys a long-established relationship with the home of British motorsport as Luigi Villoresi, driving a Maserati, won the first British Grand Prix hosted by the Northamptonshire circuit, in 1948.

Text courtesy of Maserati.

"Throughout the entire summer MASERATI celebrates its 100th anniversary at AUTOWORLD with more than 30 historic models on display.

From 4th July through to 31st August 2014 one can once again admire a gorgeous collection of cars hiding a great deal of history on the mezzanine floor of the museum. These Italian ‘bella macchina’ bearing the Trident are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year – reason enough for Autoworld to dedicate its summer exhibition to this marque.

In total more than 30 historic models will be brought together on the mezzanine floor, all loaned out by private collectors from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Together they narrate the story of a century of development of fabulous race machines and design relating to one of the most renowned Italian constructors in history.

Amongst others, visitors will have the opportunity to admire an A6G Pinin Farina, several generations of the Quattroporte, a Mistral, a Ghibli, an Indy, a Bora, a Merak and a Khamsin, in addition to various race cars on show as a silent witness of the marque’s impressive record of achievements, such as an A6GSC (Mille Miglia 1954), single-seaters such as the 8CM (1934) and the 4CLT (1948), a 3500 GT and Ghibli Compétition. They will also enjoy the company of a Birdcage from the ‘60s and a Barchetta from the nineties.

And if that was not enough, enthusiasts of contemporary cars will come into their own with a selection of modern Maserati machinery, which have been allocated space in the temporary exhibition zone, such as the Ghibli, a Gran Turismo Cabriolet and Coupé as also a Quattroporte, all made available thanks to Maserati Belux. Enough cars to let both young and old dream about to their hearts content…

HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL

When in December 1914 the brothers Alfieri, Ettore and Ernesto established the family company ‘Officine Alfieri Maserati’ in Bologna, the passion for speed and mechanics was already well anchored in their genes: their father was totally smitten about everything relating to ‘the big steel horse that blows off steam’.

Even before setting to work in Bologna the Maserati brothers had previously built engines – not only for cars, but for aeroplanes also, and had tried their luck in motorsport. This was especially true for Carlo, the eldest brother, who enjoyed life to the full and finally died prematurely in 1909, remaining forever after an example to his younger brothers.

In 1914 the workshop in Bologna concentrated mainly on the maintenance and tuning of racing cars and the production of their particularly renowned sparkplugs. The Trident, the marque’s emblem, was the creation of the artist Mario, another one of the seven Maserati brothers. His inspiration came from one of the most distinctive symbols of the city of Bologna: the Trident on Neptune’s statue that adorns the fountain in the Piazza Maggiore, a sign of strength and vigour. But it would take until 1925 before the emblem appeared on the first racing car to bear the name Maserati: the Tipo 26.

Maserati’s history is one of many ups and downs, with several magnificent victories, culminating in 1957 with the supreme award in the Formula 1 World Championship, offering Fangio his fifth World Champion title at the wheel of the superb Maserati 250F.

But in that same year a series of accidents in the last race of the Sport-Prototypes on the circuit of Caracas (Venezuela) destroyed the entire team. Aldolfo Orso, the factory owner, decided to shut down the sports department and focus exclusively on the production of road-going models (Stradale), with the exception of a few racing cars still on the order books. The ‘Birdcages’ are the best examples of these.

And so a new era began for Maserati. The 3500 GT and the Quattroporte were the first production models, followed by the Sebring, the Mistral, the Mexico, the Indy and the Ghibli.

In the late ‘60s Citroën saves the marque from ruination and gives birth to new models such as the Bora, the Khamsin and the Kyalami. The six-cylinder engine of the small Merak is brought back into the planning for the Citroën-Maserati, but in turn Citroën experiences difficulties, and from that moment on it is the Argentinean Alejandro De Tomaso who comes to the rescue of the Italian marque bearing the Trident. He opts for mass production and discontinues the production of the V8 powered GT models. The Biturbo of 1982 and its variants finally save the Maserati marque. At the beginning of the ‘90s a V8 engine once again sees the light of day in the Shamal and the marque makes its comeback on the race circuits.

History can sometimes play funny tricks. In 1999, Ferrari passes from being a rival to becoming a partner through its acquisition of Maserati. The partnership of the two most reputable Italian automotive manufacturers was to become so successful that in the meanwhile many had forgotten that they had previously been sworn enemies. The most beautiful GT cars roll out of the factory in 2004. That same year the MC12 sees the light of day. The German team VitaPhone Racing won the FIA GT Championship six consecutive times, as also the 24 Hours of Spa three times with Belgian driver Eric Van de Poele at the wheel. The Maserati Trofeo also achieved some considerable success in the one-make championship….

Today, with the Quattroporte V and the new Ghibli Maserati holds all the trump cards to celebrate its centenary in style."Below you will find

My special thanks to the CCDA for allowing me to publish a few of their excellent photos.

Below you will find a sample of the models on display, but you may view even more images of the other Maseratis on display in this wonderful exhibition in the CCDA's Photo Shoot at thesportscoupe.com/

You can find out more about the CCDA at www.thesportscoupe.com/.