A Brief History of Maserati Part III
On the Road

by Pete Vack
Photos Copyright Alessandro Gerelli

Maserati Supercage, or Tipo 63.

In the early 1960s, Maserati again came up with a winning sports car, the Tipo 61 and 62 Birdcage Maserati. This was followed by rather abortive attempts with the Tipo 63, a rear-engined car, and the Tipo 151, a coupe with the V-8, but only the Tipo 61 and 62 Birdcages had any success.

The 90 degree V-8 had other uses, however. It became the powerplant for the 5000GT series, with a total production of about 36 cars. Bought by only the very rich, these were the top of the line Maseratis, built from 1959 to 1964.

Sebring

The well-sorted 3500 six continued to be used in GT cars, as the 3500GT was replaced by the Mistral in 1963/64, along with the Quattroporte (4 door) which made further use of the V-8.

Mistral

Another 2+2 coupe equipped with the six was the Sebring, with a 3.7 liter engine. The Mexico replaced the 5000GT, again using the V-8 with 4.7 liters. Maserati introduced the familiar and beautiful Ghibli at the Turin show in 1966. Again using the 4.7 V-8, the Ghibli remains a favorite of Maserati collectors today.

Indy

The Orsi era was waning. After over 30 at the helm of the Maserati the Orsis sold the majority interest to Citroen in 1969. At the time, Citroen was owned by Michelin and Fiat.

Ghibli

The Indy, a sporting four seater with the traditional V-8 was the first car to be introduced after the Citroen takeover. The Khamsin followed, rather unsuccessfully. Citroen was responsible for the mid-engined Bora of 1972, while the V-8 now powered Bora’s sibling, the Merak.

Bora

The Citroen era did not last long. By 1975, Maserati was costing Citroen a fortune and Peugeot had taken control of Citroen. In 1975, Maserati produced only 201 cars, and disaster was approaching. Maserati was rescued by ex-race driver and Pantera creator Alesandro De Tomaso, who took control with the aid of loans from the Italian government. Still using the V-8, De Tomaso brought out the Kyalami, a restyled De Tomaso Longchamps, in 1976. The firm continued to produce the Bora, Merak, Khamsin, and added yet another Quattroporte to the line.

Khamsin

Enter the Biturbo Maserati (1984-88), a twin-turbocharged –V-6 which looked like a BMW but did not feature the reliability of the German car. The glory days were gone. De Tomaso eventually arranged a very complex series of sales, which included the ill-fated Chrysler-Maserati venture in the mid 1980s. Fiat eventually took controlling interest in Maserati in the early 1990s, and eventually sold the Maserati company to Ferrari, which of course is also owned by Fiat.

Biturbo Spider(photo Vack)

In the meantime, Maserati production continued. The Biturbo variants were many, and included the Karif (1988), the Spyder, 228, and 222 series. The Ghibli II was a V-6 turbo presented in 1993, and in 1996 a Quattroporte V-6 was available. The tried and true Maserati V-8, which first saw the light of day in 1957, was still in use in 1990 in the Shamal, and again in 1996 in the V-8 version of the new Quattroporte.

Barchetta

Ironically, yet hopefully, the future of the Maserti name is now the responsibility of its great traditional rival, Ferrari. While the new generation of Maseratis may not be the sales leaders Ferrari had hope for, they are once again producing an outstanding road car, and back in racing again with the Trofeo.

Tipo 8C and the Maserati Spyder--many turns between the two. (photo, Vack)