The Maserati Birdcage 75th is coming to a dealership near you later this month – that is, if you live in Texas.

Ferrari-Maserati of Houston are pleased to announce that,  immediately following   the Pininfarina designed-and-built concept car’s United States debut appearance at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Eleganza - to be held at Monterey in California on 21st August - this stunning Maserati supercar will be in residence at the Texas-based dealership for two weeks.

Created by legendary Italian design house Pininfarina in celebration of their 75th anniversary this year, the Birdcage 75th is a fully-operational, futuristic-looking supercar concept. The concept passionately reinterprets many styling cues from Maserati’s glorious heritage, including the fabled ‘Birdcage’ racers of the late 1950s and 1960s while utilising the basic platform of Maserati’s current production supercar, the MC12.

The original Birdcage development program started in mid 1959 when Maserati finally initiated the  development of a new sports-racing car programme after two years of concentration on expanding their road-going sportscar range. New technology conceived by chief engineer Giulio Alfieri resulted in a remarkably light framework, using a complex design of cross-braced, steel micro tubing. This tubing combined the chassis and body frame; the visible technology—seen through the racing windscreen-- soon received the “Birdcage” nickname. The low slung look of the original was achieved through mounting the 2-litre dry sump engine at a 45 degree angle. The first T60 prototype was introduced to the international racing scene in the last round of the 1959 European Hill Climb series, with a victory on its maiden race by Ordoardo Govoni. Govani had done testing on the “Birdcage” (as had British driver Sterling Moss) and was previously European Hill Climb Champion in 1956 in a Maserati A6GCS.  Entrusted with the factory prototype T60 for the final round in the 1959 series, at the famous Pontedecimo-Giovi event, Govani scored a notable first victory for the type and promptly ordered the first production car as soon as it would be ready. According to the factory documentation, Odoardo Govoni took delivery of chassis no. 2460 on the 13th May 1960. From 1960-1963 Govoni campaigned this car extensively in Northern Italian events, primarily hill-climbs on closed roads and occasional track races. His effectiveness was such that he was crowned Italian Champion twice and was runner-up twice in four years, in this very competitive 2-litre classification. From this auspicious start, a legend of a car was born, and it is from this classic sports-racing icon where the modern-day Pininfarina supercar concept gains its name. The Birdcage 75th represents the best of Maserati’s spirit, tradition and its vision of the future.

“I’m delighted that we have been chosen by Motorola and Pininfarina to be the first dealership worldwide to present this simply astounding concept car,” comments Giuseppe Risi, the President of Ferrari-Maserati of Houston. “The combination of  Italian design and Motorola’s advanced electronics systems is potent and innovative. The Birdcage 75th clearly demonstrates that the Maserati brand is firmly back in the thick of the action in the USA, and that a bright future awaits.”  Ferrari-Maserati of  Houston is one of North America’s most important dealerships, and is also the home to Risi Competizione – the USA’s most successful Ferrari racing team and the home for the Maserati MC12 ALMS Racing program in America.

The Birdcage 75th was premiered by Motorola/Pininfarina/ Pirelli on the occasion of the 75th Geneva Salon on 1^st March 2005, where it won the “Best Concept” at the show award from respected US magazine, Autoweek and a panel of European automotive journalists.

Created by Pininfarina - in conjunction with technical partner Motorola and tire giant Pirelli – the Birdcage 75^th  concept supercar has made a series of high profile appearances over the course of the early summer,  headlining the Italian Design House’s anniversary commemorations, including an appearance at the Villa d’Este Concours d’Eleganza in Switzerland, and at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it was fired up in anger for the first time – and driven up the famous ‘Goodwood Hill’ by Alfa-Maserati CEO Karl-Heinz Kalbfell and Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, a noted Ferrari and Maserati enthusiast.

Ferrari-Maserati of Houston

Ferrari-Maserati of Houston, Texas, is one of North America’s biggest and most successful Prancing Horse Dealerships’. For over 25 years, the dealership has provided services and facilities that fully encompasses all aspects of purchasing, owning, maintaining and repairing any Ferrari or Maserati sportscar.

Ferrari-Maserati of Houston  maintain a superb and plentiful parts warehouse stocked with factory authorized spare and replacement parts for the current range of Ferrari and Maserati automobiles as well as vintage models. The parts departments are connected by internet to the Parts Departments at Ferrari of North America, Ferrari SpA, Maserati, and specialist suppliers of classic Ferrari parts, accessories, clothing, and memorabilia.
 

Meanwhile, the dealership’s fully air-conditioned workshop complex is state-of-the-art and staffed by Ferrari and Maserati certified technicians. Like the factory in Italy, the dealership is self-contained, and offers facilities for all types of vehicle service and repair: engine rebuilding, normal service, restoration, body and paintwork, and even gearbox or suspension rebuilding. The integration of all of these capabilities on one site provides consistent, thorough quality through the range of services.

The factory-authorized body shop, designed by PPG,  is one of five factory authorized facilities in North America and one of the most sophisticated facilities in the country, completely equipped to handle all types of repairs to Ferrari and Maserati road cars, race cars, and collector cars. It has been specifically designed and equipped to work on today’s modern cars, which make extensive use of aluminum and high-performance metal alloys and advanced composites, ranging from Kevlar to carbon fiber. The shop   features Accu-Draft Preparation Stations and Paint Booths, the factory-authorized Car Bench Frame Machine, a Megatronic Welding Machine (for use on alloys)  and the PPG Paint System. It has been built specifically to handle the entire spectrum of repairs for damaged vehicles, from mechanical work to bodywork.

Risi Competizione

Risi Competizione is a professional racing team organized and managed by Giuseppe Risi, the owner and dealer principal of Ferrari Maserati of Houston, and previously the owner of Ferrari Maserati of Dallas. One of the world’s top teams in sports car and endurance racing, Risi Competizione has recently raced its own Ferrari 360GT in the ALMS GT2 class. The team has had superb results running the Ferrari 333SP, winning it’s class at Le Mans, overall winner of the Petite Le Mans, and World Sports Car champion. This year Risi Competizione is strategically and logistically supporting Maserati Reparto Corse who are running the Maserati MC12 in the ALMS series for the first time.

Ferrari of Houston also provide technical, racing, and logistical support for select clients who are taking part in the  Ferrari Challenge; and the Ferrari of Houston (and Ferrari of Dallas) team have produced more Championship Challenge drivers’ than any other team in North America. At the end of the Challenge Season, Drivers are invited to the World Championships which are staged in Italy at one of the famous Italian tracks. In 2002, a Risi managed and prepared team consisting of two Lola-Nissans, completed a perfect season, winning the SRPII Grand American championship with 10 wins, 10 poles, and 10 fastest laps. The team also won its class at the 24 Hours of Daytona and was placed third overall. Risi Competizione’s 360GT was on the podium for every race it entered in 2002 and won the IMSA trophy for the best private team in ALMS. It kicked off the next year with second overall at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.