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This week, Carrozzeria Touring has unveiled two new Maserati-based cars, including the Quattroporte based Bellagio Fastback and the GranTurismo inspired A8 GCS.

In March 1957 the 3500GT was unveiled to the world at the ‘Salon International de l’Auto’ in Geneva, featuring a body by Allemano, and a second by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan. While Allemano was the traditional designer for vehicles coming from ‘The house of the Trident,’ the elegant Superllegera design from Carrozzeria won out. This was to be Maserati’s first mass-production Gran Turismo, and would lay the foundation upon which Maserati would build, eventually leading to today’s Gran Turismo.

Carrozzeria Touring holds a special place in Maserati’s history, which gives these new models more significance than they might otherwise enjoy.

This is the Carrozzeria Touring Maserati Quattroporte Bellagio Fastback, a 5-door version of the Quattroporte. This car was first shown to the public this week at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, on the shores of Lake Como in Italy. Truly a beautiful alternative to the SUV.

And this is the Carrozzeria Touring Maserati A8 GCS. While you might think this is essentially a re-skinned Gran Turismo, it is actually a traditional body-on-frame sports car which shares only engine and transmission with the GT. The car shows a tasteful mix of retro and modern, with a stunning fastback body.

It is worth noting that neither of these cars will be mass-produced, and you’re not likely to see a Carrozzeria Touring badge on a Maserati any time soon, but clearly they are still a world-class design house, and they are still going strong after 80+ years.

The Quattroporte Collezione Cento is the ultra-exclusive, high-tech limited edition of the world’s finest sports sedan, and this is your invitation to view it in person.

“Collezione Cento”, Italian for “Collection of One Hundred”, signals the rarity of this technological, performance and luxury tour de force. The famed Maserati factory will create only 100 of these automotive jewels for clients worldwide, and only a few will be made available to discerning North American enthusiasts. With paint available in an exclusive striking ivory white unique to the Cento, a chromed honeycomb finish for the grille and side air vents, and special 20″ ball-polished alloy wheels, the exterior literally reflects the car’s special status.

Maserati designers and engineers reserved the strongest magic for the Cento’s exciting cabin. Interior badging and the famed Trident logo on the shift lever are in authentic mother of pearl complemented by the texture of Wengé wood trim. The buttery soft leather is, of course, Poltrona Frau, and the seats feature distinctive diamond-stitching that evokes the opulence and craftsmanship of motoring’s first golden era.

While every Quattroporte entertains the occupants of its front seats with breathtaking performance and handling, the Cento reserves some special treats for those riding in the highly adjustable, climate-controlled rear seats. They will enjoy the tremendous personalized multimedia experience offered by Maserati’s leading edge technological innovation and accessibility. As the car traverses cities and continents, the Cento’s rear seat passengers can use the built-in Windows-based PC and large integrated LCD screens and a fold-away wireless keyboard to surf the World Wide Web, manage and enjoy their music through iTunes, and check their e-mail. The multimedia system even includes a matched set of wireless headsets for listening to music and enjoying movies on the built-in DVD player. This is the ultimate in Twenty First Century motoring.

Come and enjoy the craftsmanship and technology of the exclusive Quattroporte Collezione Cento on display only at the Maserati Corporate Showroom, 410 Park Avenue & 55th Street, New York, NY 10022 Stop in any time during business hours or phone ahead to set up a special appointment.

Where:
The Maserati Corporate Showroom
410 Park Avenue at 55th Street
New York, NY

When:
10AM to 7PM Monday through Friday
11AM to 5PM Saturday

Phone Number: 212-593-2080

After a first-year run of hosting all of the Formula 1 races live at the dealership, we’re pleased to announce that we will be hosting all of the races during the 2008 season as well. On March 17, the season gets underway and like last year, we’re planning a big event to celebrate. (Conveniently it’s also St. Patrick’s Day.)

The 2008 season should be exciting – last year’s championship wasn’t decided until the final race, we’ve got two new tracks including a night race in Singapore, traction control has been banned, and as always, we expect plenty of drama.

Come enjoy the camaraderie of a group of race fanatics as we celebrate the wins, debate the losses, and participate in the car hobby throughout the year. Throughout the 2008 season we will be adding additional after-race drives, car shows, and other enthusiast events.

I’ve loaded the entire 2008 schedule into this calendar: (times posted = door opening times – subject to change as events are updated)

To view or subscribe to this Google Calendar click here.

I maintain an e-mail announcement list for the Formula 1 events here at the dealership, for all of the Cars & Coffee events, and other events of interest to high-end automotive enthusiasts. To sign up for this list, send me an e-mail mark.potter@morries.com. I send out an e-mail once every two weeks on average – so don’t worry about your inbox being filled with junk.

I ran across some great vintage racing footage of Fangio behind the wheel of the Maserati 250F:

“In his memoirs, Giulio Borsari, one of the most famous mechanics to have worked for both Maserati and then Ferrari, says “the Nürburgring is recognised as Fangio’s greatest victory in his entire career: on that occasion he drove impeccably, sealing his fifth world title.””

“On lap 12, Fangio came into the pits for his planned tyre change, but unfortunately, the mechanics lost a rear knock-off spinner under the car. Fangio, frustrated to say the least, not only sat and watched as his advantage was lost but also saw the distance between him and the leading car increase dramatically. When he got back into the race, the “Maestro” was 45 seconds behind the first Ferrari. Fangio recalled: “I was really disappointed. I was on the way to win the race and take my fifth world championship, but there were only 10 laps to go and I realised that there was little hope of winning unless I managed to do something very special.” “

“Although after the race Fangio declared “I had never driven like that before, and I knew I never would again”, his courage, strength and sensitivity led him to win a magnificent victory on the Eifel mountains. With this success, he earned a permanent place in Formula 1 history and legend. And with him, so did the 250F.”

Maserati has setup a great minisite to celebrate Fangio’s success behind the wheel: maseraticelebratesfangio.com

After a hugely successful 2007 season, Maserati is once again offering a full season of performance driving instruction with their world-class ‘Master Maserati’ program. This represents your chance to learn from some of the best drivers in the world – 10 instructors under the direction of Ivan Capelli (Veteran of 98 Gran Prix races in F1). Vehicles include the brand new GranTurismo (5), the brand new Quattroporte Sport GTS (2), as well as the GranSport (6), and Trofeo Race Cars (2).

The 2008 Maserati Master GT 2-Day driving course is organized by Maserati Spa, open to existing and potential owners, with an emphasis on the GranTurismo and safe driving techniques. The course takes place at the Varano de Melegari autodrome, a technically demanding track perfectly suited to driver training. The track boasts centrally controlled artificial rain, low grip resin, a skid machine, on-board telemetry, and lecture room with video-replay feedback.

Groups of 24 people per course are split into 3-4 smaller groups of 6-8 participants each, with track time broken up among the different vehicles, and progressing from classroom theory through demonstration laps in the Maserati Trofeo. Topics covered include emergency braking, power oversteer with and without ASR, high-speed pendulum turns, a high-speed contest, and laps on track following a “pace” car – under a green not yellow flag… Educational sessions are broken up with on-track time with telemetry analysis.

Each exercise is tailored to improving your skills as a driver, and to get the most enjoyment out of your current or future Maseratis. After all – these cars are meant to be driven, and with Maserati’s 90 years of racing history – its in their blood.

• Dates: 23/24 April, 28/29 May, 10/11 June, 27/28 August, 18/19 September, 8/9 October, 27/28 October
• Accommodations at Hotel Palace Maria Luigia, a 4-star superior hotel in Parma, Italy. Dinners at exclusive local restaurants, lunches at the track.
• Price: € 3700 (incl. VAT) per participant, all-inclusive; €784 per companion

Speaking of racing, new for 2008 is the Master Maserati Master Racing program.

The Master Maserati Racing course is designed for a limited number of participants, who can now spend a whole day at the wheel of the Maserati Trofeo and the Maserati GranSport. This is a unique opportunity to experience the thrill of Maserati competitions with the support of a highly professional staff and the latest equipment.

• The Racing course is limited to 12 participants, and utilizes the Maserati Trofeo, GranSport, and GranTurismo vehicles.
• Cost: €3999 per participant, all-inclusive

For more information, or to sign-up, please e-mail me: mark.potter (at) morries (dot) com