The 90th Anniversary celebration last year meant for Maserati reaching an important milestone and jumping into the new cycle of the Company. 

Reflecting on the year that just ended, Maserati's Chief Executive Officer Martin Leach said "2004 was an outstanding year for Maserati, celebrating our 90th Anniversary, growing our presence worldwide, setting new sales and production records, achieving our best quality and customer satisfaction, launching four superb new products and returning to our winning ways in international motorsport".

In spite of the significant growth, Maserati continues to be one of the world's most exclusive marques combining unique Italian design with luxury and a sporting spirit. Maserati's presence at the Detroit Motorshow features a revamped model range, after having celebrated in 2004 two very important events: its 90th Birthday and its winning return to racing with the MC12.

Looking forward to 2005 Martin Leach added "We look forward to reinforcing our exclusive relationship with our clients with our road and competition cars together with introducing more customers to the fascinating world of Maserati. As a result, 2005 should be a further year of growth as we capitalise on the network strengthening and great products launched in 2004".

The 90th Anniversary Celebration officially commemorates the company foundation on December 1st, 1914 in Bologna, initially called Officina Alfieri Maserati. That day, Maserati started its path towards the history of automotive industry and innovation. Maserati was the first car manufacturer to use magnesium alloys for its cylinder heads (1929), the first to use an hydraulic brake system for its race cars (1933) and among the first to fit air conditioning as standard on an executive saloon, with the Quattroporte in 1963. Today the Quattroporte is the only luxury saloon featuring a Transaxle layout (engine at the front, gearbox at the rear in unit with the differential), thus guaranteeing perfect weight balance between the front and rear axles. Maserati's 90th Anniversary was celebrated with an international event, last September in Milan, Modena and Rome, involving over 1000 Maserati enthusiasts, with a parade of 300 cars, both classic and modern, 90 of which were decorated with images from the last 90 years of history.

With regards to its racing activities, Maserati sealed its triumphant return to motor racing with a fantastic one-two finish in Zhuhai, China, the last round of the FIA GT Championship. The two MC12s - numbers 33 and 34 - fielded by the AF Corse teams in the last four races of the season clocked up two wins, three seconds and one third between them, with Bertolini-Salo (who won two of the races) and Herbert-De Simone in their cockpits.

But Maserati's commitment to racing goes well beyond the FIA GT Championship, as Maserati of Washington and Maserati of Houston took part in the Grand-Am (USA) series,  while some private teams obtained good results in the Italian and Spanish GT Championships, with the Trofeo Light cars. The Trident marque also organized the second edition of the Trofeo Vodafone Maserati Europe in 2004 as well as the first season of the Trofeo Brazil, the latter in collaboration with the local importer. The Trofeo's "all-inclusive" formula proved enormously popular with the gentlemen drivers.  Given its success in Europe and Brazil, an American Series of the Trofeo Championship is under consideration.

This year's Championship will feature the Trofeo GranSport, which is derived from the road-going GranSport.

Maserati product range

On the product side, Maserati broadened its range in 2004 with four new models: Quattroporte, GranSport, Spyder 90th Anniversary and the MC12 supercar.

The Quattroporte has proved enormously successful since its unveiling, gathering a collection of international awards for its styling and engineering. The flagship car is the company's pride and joy, with an eight to twelve month waiting list, depending on the market. So strong is the desire to purchase this car in the United States, that all the 60 units produced exclusively for the Dallas based company Neiman-Marcus for its prestigious Christmas catalogue, sold out in just three minutes (while it took a total of 36 minutes to formalise the contracts). The Quattroporte went on sale in North America last summer, and immediately enjoyed commercial success.

With this car Maserati has relaunched the tradition of the Italian luxury executive saloon, where style and elegance are seamlessly married with performance and driving pleasure, features which have always been part of the Trident heritage. The Quattroporte has also become  the car of choice for the Italian President and Government representatives in keeping with the tradition of the previous models.

Also added to the product range in 2004 is the GranSport, the first examples of which were delivered in September. This model has been acclaimed by our younger, more sports-oriented clients - Maserati enthusiasts who are impressed by the even more aggressive look and sound of the new car, its powerful performance and the superbly enhanced driving pleasure it delivers.

Aimed at a sportier customer base, the GranSport features lower ride height, 19" wheels, more extreme aerodynamic features, a more powerful engine, racing interior with carbon fiber and hi-tech details.

With the Spyder 90th Anniversary, for the first time on display in the US, Maserati unveils its latest limited edition, with a numbered plaque situated on the dashboard. This model was conceived to celebrate Maserati's 90 years of history. The car is displayed in its new Blue Anniversary livery and features carbon-fiber aerodynamic parts and a high-tech interior trim. A real collector's item, with a limited run of just 90 cars for the United States and 90 for the rest of the world.

The Coupé and Spyder Model Year '05 are also on display, updated in terms of styling and technical content from the previous versions, featuring two-tone interior colours and a larger new grille, in line with Maserati's current family feeling. Both are cars that set the standards in their respective categories.

Since last Qtr, the 25 MC12s produced in 2004 started to be delivered to their proud owners. Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, the MC12 immediately reached the hearts of Maserati aficionados and obtained several international awards. The race car which competed in the 2004 FIA GT Championship derived directly from the road-going version. In 2005 Maserati will produce the second run of 25 road cars.

Maserati today

The radical renovation of the factory and headquarters is complete and Maserati has brought its facilities up to full efficiency, growing also in terms of people employed now around 600,  with those in the Racing Department. All infrastructures were also enhanced, including the offices and reception areas. An elegant, futuristic showroom, created in collaboration with renowned designer Ron Arad features a huge loop made from high-tech materials on which the various models in the Maserati range are displayed in truly original fashion.

New showrooms have been inaugurated worldwide, as part of a strategy to consolidate Maserati's presence in the existing markets, as well as to state its presence into new ones: New York's Park Avenue showroom is part of the first group, while Moscow, Shanghai and Budapest are all in new markets for Maserati, now present in 52 countries after the recent launch on the Slovenian and Hungarian markets, with a total of 280 showrooms.

As part of its Commercial strategy, Maserati has also created new factory-owned subsidiaries in the most important markets. Paris-based Maserati West Europe was created in early 2004, managing all the commercial activities in France, Benelux, Holland, Spain and Portugal. It was followed, on October 1st by Maserati UK Ltd, for the UK market and by the Middle East operations (Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and Kuwait), directly managed by the Ferrari-Maserati Group. A joint-venture allowed Maserati to enter the Chinese market.

Commercially it was a very positive year, with over 4,600 units delivered to final customers, volumes which have determined a leap of over 60% when compared to the previous year, 2003. 

Of the more than 2,000 Quattroportes produced, already some  1,900 have  been delivered to customers in the world, an important result when thinking of the great success in markets far away from Italy such as the USA, Japan, Asia and Australia, countries for which shipping time is  over one month.

Quite a positive result also for the GTs, always  well appreciated, especially for the Coupe' which, together with the GranSport available only starting from  last Quarter 2004, sees a rise about 4% in the delivery trend for this model.

Due to the equal success of the sister-brand Ferrari, the Ferrari Maserati Group could reach in 2004 the biggest ever turnover estimated in some 1,5 billion Euros. In 2004 the Group also saw important managerial and organizational evolutions: for Maserati, Martin Leach joined the group on June the 1st as CEO and General Manager, while for Ferrari Jean Todt was named Ferrari Managing Director and Amedeo Felisa Deputy Managing Director.

A new specific department called Brand Development & Partners was created to guarantee for both Brands the most focused management of Sponsors, of licensing and merchandising further development and of all the commercial activities related to the Brand Equity.

Maserati in North America: Quattroporte leads the brand

One year after its North American Debut at the 2005 NAIAS, the Maserati Quattroporte leads the Trident Marque back into North America's most important auto show, having successfully brought Maserati back to the top as a symbol of style and performance.

With around 300 units already delivered to customers, the Quattroporte has become the top choice of car amongst style opinion leaders, top athletes and box office stars, reclaiming the fascination Maserati demanded during La Dolce Vita era in the 1960s. A perfect example of its success is the Special Edition Quattroporte featured in the 2004 Neiman Marcus Christmas Book. Although the sedan was the most expensive car ever offered, the 60 units sold out almost immediately and built a standby list nearly three times as long.  "We are proud to note how much the Maserati brand recognition has solidified in 2004  -not only is Maserati respected for the performance of the cars, but we have found the brand is sought out by those seeking a modern example of Italian style," commented Maurizio Parlato, President and CEO of Ferrari Maserati North America.

Confirming Maserati's position has been the exceptional sales and orders of the exclusive GranSport Coupe, a car that incorporates racing know-how directly into the already excellent platform of the Coupe Cambiocorsa.  A beautiful new Spyder, named in honor of Maserati's 90th Anniversary, will complete the Maserati line-up and is making its North American debut in Detroit.

Traditionally sought after by the motion-picture and television industries, in 2004 Maserati has enjoyed another strong year of product placements.  Today Masearti models are featured in top television shows such as Sopranos on HBO and the red-hot Desperate Housewives on ABC, one of the top-ten television shows in America this season.  In both shows a Maserati is driven by a main character.  Maserati is also part of the Nip/Tuck show on F/X, a cable channel of FOX; and is of course featured in the most popular show on American television today, CSI on CBS.

Maserati has substantially invested in all phases of its Dealership network, focusing on each area necessary for the success of the brand, including Service, Parts and After-Sales and customer care, while insuring the dealer points are elegantly executed spaces which express the DNA of the brand where performance and lifestyle are equally blended. The overall number of retail points has increased to 50 including Canada. In mid November 2004, Maserati also opened a Corporate showroom with Ferrari in the heart of New York City, at the corner of Park Avenue and 55th Street in Manhattan.

Maserati North America Inc., located in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, was established on January 1st, 2001 and is headed by Maurizio Parlato, President and CEO, now in his third year at the head of Maserati's largest market worldwide.  Maserati North America is the sole importer and distributor of Maseratis in North America and is responsible for all organization and operating requirements for the marque in the United States and Canada, including the technical training and spare parts service.  Maserati North America has a retail facility on the West Coast of the United States, Maserati of San Francisco.

Maserati Racing Division

On September 5th, the AF Corse racing team lined up two Maserati MC12s, driven by Andrea Bertolini/Mika Salo and Johnny Herbert/Fabrizio De Simone, at the Imola round of the FIA GT Championship. The two supercars were debuting in what is the top endurance category but immediately made it to the podium, taking both second and third positions. The MC12's first victory came soon after on September 19th, just as the 90th Anniversary Celebrations were taking place. Andrea Bertolini and Mika Salo dominated the Oschersleben (Germany) round of the FIA GT Championship, very fittingly in the country that is the Trident marque's second largest market. Last but not least, at the closing race of the season at Zhuhai in China, another rapidly growing car market, the two MC12s crossed the line in first and second positions with Bertolini/Salo ahead of Herbert/De Simone.
 
This season definitively sealed to the Maserati's success on the track, resulting of its talent for constant innovation, and contributing in huge part to the creation of the Trident legend: from Juan Manuel Fangio's triumphant win in the 1957 F1 World Championship at the wheel of the 250F, to the evergreen prestigious chapter written by Wilbur Shaw when he won the Indy 500 twice (1939-1940) in the 8CTF, which now takes pride of place in the "Hall of Fame" of the Indianapolis Museum.

Innovation also on the Trofeo Maserati Championship side. The new Maserati Trofeo version of the GranSport will be the star of the Trident marque's one-make Championship in 2005. The car is the result of the experience gained during the two first seasons of the Championship and is inspired by the production GranSport. The car's overall aerodynamic efficiency also been significantly enhanced, by working on the front section, introducing an all-new flat underbody and a new rear spoiler. The braking system has also been improved.

The 90° V 8-cylinder engine now delivers 425bhp at 7,200 rpm, thanks to new mapping and the upping of its rev limiter to 8.000 rpm. New Pirelli tyres are also fitted, with a new size and compound.  The Trofeo GranSport, which is 25 kg lighter than the current Trofeo as a result of honing of its body and interior, thus offers significantly improved performance all-round as highlighted in recent development tests.

The Maserati GranSport Light is a further development of the Trofeo, and it's homologated to compete in the US series, as well as in the National and European GT series.