Ferrari and Maserati – How have the hard-fought rivals become allies? – Car World – Car

"Italian car manufacturers are closely linked – their stories and pasts are different, but most of them belong to the same group today. Companies like Maserati and Ferrari have similar approaches to racing cars and adapting their technology to everyday cars. It is quite natural that after decades of competition, competitors have decided to use the strengths of both manufacturers to build better cars together, "said Evelina Avina, head of the Maserati brand.

The history of all major Italian automakers is intimately linked, names that no longer exist, such as De Tomaso, playing a major role in this story. But the common history of Ferrari and Maserati is unique, even in the Italian context.

Maserati won many unique victories in the 20th century, including Formula One titles, but was followed by a tragic accident at the Mille Miglia race in 1957, after which the company stopped making motor racing and focused on producing cars everyday. Of course, the race did not completely disappear from the manufacturer's daily routine: Maserati cars were still used in motorsport, but mainly in private teams, while the builder's competent engineers continued to support the development of the car. This is the year of the appearance of Maserati cars most prominent, now costing hundreds of thousands, even millions of euros, such as the 3500 GT, the 5000 GT, the Mistral, the first generation Quattroporte and Ghibli.

At the same time, Ferrari was gaining popularity – Enzo Ferrari, the founder of the company, was focusing on motorsport. This paid off later, allowing dozens to win Formula 1 and other races and championships.

20th century In the 1970s, some shares of Ferrari and Maserati were sold and, a few years later, the fuel crisis resulted in a reduction of the demand for sports cars worldwide by tens of percent, severely affecting both manufacturers. Maserati thus pbaded under the control of another sports car manufacturer, De Tomaso.

After the emergence of a number of successful models, such as Biturbo, Maserati was once again changing, with major shareholders changing. In 1993, the majority of Maserati shares were integrated into a group that also owned Ferrari and is now known as FCA. Only a few years later, in 1999, Ferrari had total control of Maserati.

Sports and luxury – two in one

The members of this union have perfectly complemented each other. Since its creation, Maserati has been recognized as a manufacturer of luxury and exclusive sports cars. Ferrari, for its part, was famous for owning the best sports cars in the world, the most powerful engines and the compatibility of car suspensions.

But how to build the perfect car? The answer is simple: allow the Maserati to design the bodywork and the interior of the car, while allowing the Ferrari to take care of the engine. This is the case of all Maserati cars since 2002 and the first results of this collaboration were the Coupé and Spyder models equipped with 4.2 liter naturally aspirated engines. The same engine was soon used in the Quattroporte, but the two manufacturers that have the most impact on the world and that rely on the same platform are the Ferrari Enzo and the Maserati MC12.

The MC12 marked the return of Maserati in motorsport and allowed the automaker to win impressive victories, including four FIA GT World Championship titles and five team wins from 2005 to 2009. Often compared to Enzo , the MC12 proved its excellence on the legendary track Nürburgring Nordshlaife – the MC12 achieved a lap in 7: 24.29 in one lap, completing the track 1 second faster than his counterpart Enzo.

The collaboration between the two legendary car manufacturers did not stop there: the 4.7 liter Ferrari engines were also used in the Maserati GranCabrio and GranTurismo. Later, the new generation Quattroporte, Ghibli and Levante models were equipped with Ferrari 3 and 3.8 liter gasoline engines with two turbochargers. The most powerful of them was used on the Quattroporte GTS, reaching 390 kW (530 hp). The luxury sedan is capable of driving at 100 km / h in just 4.7 seconds.

Not only did the two brands come together to produce high quality cars, but Maserati's price in the premium segment was also very competitive. For example, an exclusive Levante SUV costs € 77,000 and a luxury Ghibli sedan costs € 72,000.

Maserati has already announced its intention to expand its model range and develop new engines over the next ten years to develop high-performance hybrid power plants alongside powerful Ferrari engines.