Tag Archives: Anniversary

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Maserati at 111: The Trident Sharpens for a New Century

Maserati doesn’t do quiet anniversaries. Fresh off unveiling its Meccanica Lirica project and announcing the return of GranTurismo and GranCabrio production to its historic Modena home, the Trident is now celebrating its 111th birthday. That milestone makes Maserati the longest-standing brand in Italy’s fabled Motor Valley—a region where longevity comes only to those who marry heritage with constant reinvention.

And reinvention is exactly what Maserati wants the world to witness as it approaches 2026: the Year of the Trident Centenary. Not a centenary of the company itself, but of the emblem that transformed a small mechanical workshop in Bologna into a global performance icon. In 1926, the first car to wear that badge—the Tipo 26—rolled onto the Targa Florio and promptly won its class. Built by the Maserati brothers. Driven by Alfieri Maserati himself. The DNA was set from day one.

Born in Bologna, Forged in Competition

The story starts earlier than the motorsport glory, of course. In 1914, brothers Alfieri, Ettore, and Ernesto founded Ditta Alfieri Maserati in downtown Bologna—essentially a tiny mechanical workshop powered by curiosity, race-tuned instincts, and an irrepressible love of speed. Another brother, Mario, sketched the now-famous trident after studying the Fountain of Neptune in Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore. Local roots, mythic symbolism.

By 1926, those roots gave rise to the Tipo 26. It wasn’t just the first Maserati; it was the first Maserati to win something. And the wins kept coming: back-to-back victories at the Indianapolis 500, multiple Targa Florio triumphs, nine Formula 1 wins, and Fangio’s 1957 F1 World Championship. The Trident learned early that prestige is earned at full throttle.

Maserati retreated from single-seaters in the late 1950s but reawakened its racing spirit dramatically with the MC12 in the 2000s. Six FIA GT championships later, Maserati had proven it could still dominate the highest tiers of GT competition. Today, the GT2 program continues that arc, bringing Maserati back to circuits around the world.

A New Home, a New Era

A major shift came in 1940 when the Orsi family led Maserati to Modena, opening the Viale Ciro Menotti plant that remains the brand’s beating heart. Postwar Maserati began looking beyond the racetrack, launching its first road car—the A6 1500—in 1947. Then came one of the most important chapters: the 1963 Quattroporte. Before that, no one had combined genuine sports-car performance with full-size luxury-sedan comfort. Maserati didn’t just build a segment—it invented one.

Ownership changes followed. Citroën brought modern manufacturing processes. De Tomaso brought the Biturbo, which became one of the brand’s most successful models. But the modern Maserati renaissance kicked off in the 2000s: the fifth-gen Quattroporte, the first GranTurismo, the GranCabrio, and later a broader lineup including the Ghibli and Levante SUV.

Modena Reinvented

The most transformative moment of the last decade arrived in 2020. Maserati didn’t just debut the MC20—it rebuilt the Viale Ciro Menotti factory to produce it, complete with a dedicated paint shop and the assembly lab for the Nettuno V6. That engine, with its Formula 1–style pre-chamber combustion system, is protected by international patents and made entirely in-house. It’s one of the most advanced powerplants ever installed in a road-legal Italian car.

From there, Maserati filled the pipeline: the Grecale SUV in 2022, the GT2 Stradale in 2023 (a road-legal machine with unmistakable motorsport genes), and the track-only MCXtrema in 2024—62 units, each one wielding an extreme 730-hp version of the Nettuno.

2025: The Next Pivot Point

If Maserati’s 111th year sounds busy, 2025 is even bigger. Production of the MC Pura will begin—a model positioned as the “purest expression” of Maserati energy and performance. Bottega Fuoriserie will debut, blending bespoke creativity between Maserati and Alfa Romeo. And perhaps most symbolic of all, the GranTurismo and GranCabrio are returning home to Modena, built once again at Viale Ciro Menotti where their predecessors first came to life.

A Heritage That Still Feels Hand-Built

“We’re celebrating 111 years in the city that represents the beating heart of our brand,” said Maserati COO Santo Ficili. “The know-how preserved here for more than a century shapes our vision of performance, design, and craftsmanship.”

That’s a polished executive quote—but in Maserati’s case, it happens to ring true. Few automakers can claim a lineage that stretches from century-old race cars to cutting-edge carbon-fiber supercars without losing their soul along the way.

The Trident has made it this far by refusing to become ordinary. And if 2025 is any indication, Maserati’s next century won’t be quieter—it’ll just be faster.

Source: Maserati

News

BUGATTI VEYRON AT 20: WHEN SPEED BECAME ART

Twenty years. That’s how long it’s been since the world collectively dropped its cappuccino and muttered, “They’ve done what?”

Back in 2005, the Bugatti Veyron wasn’t just a car — it was an event. A four-wheeled declaration of war against physics, logic, and fuel economy. It was a rolling supernova that made 1,001 horsepower seem like a reasonable number, and £1 million look like pocket change if you wanted to own the future.

Two decades later, the hypercar that rewired our neurons is being toasted around the world. Bugatti’s pulled out the full royal procession — festivals in Molsheim, collectors’ tours, and, fittingly, a glitzy pilgrimage to Las Vegas where 47 Veyrons gleamed under the Nevada sun like gemstones scattered by a billionaire with too much time and not enough sense.

Vegas, Baby. Vegas.

The Concours at Wynn Las Vegas was the chosen altar, its manicured lawns shimmering beneath an impossible lineup of engineering divinity. Among the faithful: a brooding Sang Noir, blacker than a moonless night but with an interior the colour of molten rubies. A Sang Bleu, the first Bugatti to flaunt exposed blue carbon — basically the automotive equivalent of wearing a Savile Row tuxedo to the gym.

And then there was the Veyron ‘Vagues de Lumière’, a hand-painted symphony of light and shadow that looks like Picasso went drag-racing. This one, we’re told, recently inspired two bespoke Chiron Super Sports. Of course it did — when you paint light itself, inspiration tends to follow.

Sprinkled among these unicorns were the record-smashing Super Sport, the prototype oddities, and the ‘Les Légendes de Bugatti’ editions, each one a love letter to racing heroes like Jean-Pierre Wimille.

A Line-Up of Legends

Over on Bugatti’s official stand, a white Veyron Super Sport stood at the centre like a marble deity — a reminder that beneath all the opulence beats a W16 heart so furious it once shattered the world speed record. Around it, the brand’s modern descendants — Chiron, Divo, Centodieci, Bolide, W16 Mistral — and the incoming Tourbillon, now armed with a V16 so mighty it practically hums in Latin. Each is a descendent of the Veyron’s DNA, carrying that same impossible ambition that once made a Volkswagen boardroom collectively gulp.

The Tour d’Elegance

As the desert sun rose over Sin City, 66 Bugattis rolled out for the Tour d’Elegance — a parade of power, wealth, and questionable restraint. The Strip turned into an oil-painted canvas of speed: chrome glinting, engines murmuring like orchestras tuning before the crescendo. Tourists blinked, phones raised, and somewhere an Elvis impersonator briefly forgot his lyrics.

Every Veyron in motion was a moving reminder of the car’s purpose — not just to go fast, but to prove that perfection could be engineered, bottled, and given a quad-turbo soundtrack.

Legacy of a Legend

Christophe Piochon, Bugatti’s President and one of the men who helped build the original Veyron dream, summed it up best:

“The story of the Veyron is one that will be told through generations. It defied convention, broke new ground, and realized the impossible dream of Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Piëch.”

It’s hard to argue. The Veyron didn’t just move the goalposts — it melted them down and turned them into a sculpture. It created a new word — hypercar — and a new expectation: that a machine could be both absurdly powerful and impossibly beautiful.

Ettore Bugatti once said, “If comparable, it is no longer Bugatti.” Standing on that Las Vegas lawn, surrounded by 8-figure icons of engineering, you couldn’t help but agree.

The Veyron wasn’t comparable in 2005. It still isn’t in 2025.

Because the Veyron didn’t just rewrite the rulebook.
It set it on fire, watched the flames reflect off its polished carbon bodywork, and drove off into the horizon — at 253 mph.

Source: Bugatti

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Lamborghini Celebrates a Decade of Polo Storico with the Oldest Bull in Existence

Automobili Lamborghini returned to Auto e Moto d’Epoca for the third consecutive year, but this time, the House of the Raging Bull isn’t just showing cars—it’s celebrating history itself. Inside BolognaFiere’s Hall 29, amid the hum of classic engines and the scent of vintage leather, Lamborghini marks the tenth anniversary of its heritage division, Polo Storico, with a display that feels less like an exhibition and more like a pilgrimage to the brand’s origins.

Front and center stands the oldest Lamborghini ever built: the 350 GT, chassis no. 2—the very first production car to wear the Sant’Agata nameplate. For enthusiasts, it’s more than a museum piece; it’s the blueprint for everything Lamborghini would become. Presented in 1964 at the Geneva Motor Show, this sleek grand tourer signaled Ferruccio Lamborghini’s audacious challenge to Ferrari’s dominance and established the company’s grand-touring DNA.

This particular 350 GT, currently undergoing authenticity certification by Polo Storico, carries even more mystique. Under its long aluminum hood lies a 3.5-liter V12, conceived by the legendary Giotto Bizzarrini and refined for the road by Paolo Stanzani. The bodywork, crafted by Carrozzeria Touring using the firm’s signature Superleggera construction method, remains a masterclass in Italian design minimalism—elegant, restrained, and purposeful. But perhaps the most fascinating detail isn’t mechanical at all: the car wears a prototype Lamborghini badge, rendered in white and black rather than the now-iconic gold-on-black bull motif. It’s a glimpse into Ferruccio’s earliest design ambitions before the brand found its final identity.

Alongside the car sits a treasure from the archives: a full-scale 1:1 interior study of the 350 GT, dated 1963—the oldest surviving Lamborghini technical drawing. The massive plan, yellowed with age, stands as a symbol of Polo Storico’s dedication to preserving the fine details of Lamborghini’s evolution, from its earliest lines on paper to the roaring V12s that followed.

Giuliano Cassataro, Lamborghini’s Head of After Sales, calls the exhibit the perfect closing chapter for a year-long celebration of Polo Storico’s tenth anniversary. “We couldn’t tell our story better than by showcasing the car with which it all began—the 350 GT,” Cassataro says. “At the same time, our presence in Bologna allows us to present our future activities, which will see the timeless Miura at the center of new initiatives dedicated to our clients and collectors.”

And the future of heritage looks bright. Lamborghini used the occasion to announce a major new event planned for 2026—the Lamborghini Polo Storico Tour, marking the 60th anniversary of the Miura, the car that birthed the term “supercar.” The tour promises to gather collectors and owners in celebration of the model that redefined automotive passion in the late 1960s.

Auto e Moto d’Epoca, now held in Bologna after years in Padua, remains Europe’s premier showcase for automotive nostalgia—a place where enthusiasts come to trade stories, parts, and dreams. For Lamborghini, though, it’s a statement: history isn’t something to admire from a distance; it’s something to preserve, celebrate, and keep alive.

As visitors wander through Hall 29’s Motor Valley section, they’re greeted not by marketing gloss or modern hypercar theatrics, but by a simple, powerful truth: before the Countach, before the Aventador, before the Revuelto, there was the 350 GT. And fifty-nine years later, its heartbeat still echoes through every Lamborghini that follows.

Source: Lamborghini