Everything you need to know about Maserati

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Tuesday, 1 Sep 2026 10:54 0 6 autotech

The famous Italian luxury sports car manufacturer Maserati is currently experiencing more change under its latest owners. But how much do you know about the company and its history?

Maserati is based in the northern Italian city of Modena, although it’s probably only the second-most-famous car company associated with the city. For car enthusiasts, Modena is best known as the home town of the legendary Enzo Ferrari and his famous racing team, although Enzo moved his operation a dozen miles down the road to the town of Maranello during the second world war. But that’s another story.

So who or what is Maserati?

The Maserati story started with six brothers born in Modena between 1881 and 1898. The brothers (Carlo, Bindo, Alfieri, Mario, Ettore and Ernesto) were quickly enthused by the then-revolutionary new automobile, so they set up a family firm in 1914 in Bologna, about 30 miles east of Modena. They started out made spark plugs but, before long, the brothers moved into building and racing cars for other companies.

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The first car to be called a Maserati, the Tipo 26, appeared in 1926. It made its debut at the Targa Florio, a famous road race around Sicily, driven by Alfieri Maserati to a win in its class and ninth place overall.

The early years of Maserati were all about racing, including two victories at the Indianapolis 500 in America. Maserati’s greatest success came in 1957 when it won the Formula 1 World Championship, but on-track successes masked serious financial problems and Maserati withdrew its team from motorsport at the end of that year. It did keep on building racing cars for wealthy customers, however.

By this time, the brothers had long sold up to an Italian industrialist named Adolfo Orsi, but continued to work for Maserati for many years. This marked the start of a chaotic few decades for the company, during which it changed owners on a fairly regular basis.

Orsi moved the Maserati factory to the family’s home town of Modena in 1940 and the first Maserati road car, called the A6, appeared in 1947. This marked the start of a period of great success for the company, which grew even further after the introduction of a whole new type of car, the Quattroporte luxury sports saloon, in 1963.

In 1968, Maserati was sold to French car maker Citroën, but the 1973 oil crisis pushed Maserati, and Citroën, almost to oblivion and in 1975 it was jointly acquired by the Italian state and former racing driver Alejandro De Tomaso, who owned his own sports car company.

De Tomaso’s control of the company lasted until 1993 when Maserati was bought by automotive giant Fiat, which also owned Ferrari. Maserati was subsequently positioned as Ferrari’s luxury arm and this arrangement lasted until 2005 when Maserati was split from Ferrari and attached to another Fiat-owned sports car brand, Alfa Romeo.

Fiat merged with US car giant Chrysler in 2014 and then, in 2021, Fiat-Chrysler joined with the French PSA Group (owner of Peugeot, Citroën, Vauxhall and others) to form Stellantis Automobiles. This wheeling and dealing brought Maserati back into the same family as one of its former owners, Citroën.

Recent times, however, have been a little more difficult for Maserati. Declining sales, blamed on a combination of the range being cut from six to four models and less demand on the Chinese market, saw Stellantis indicating it might sell its luxury brand. While this threat appears to be have been rowed back on, Maserati’s future direction remains less than certain. The brand registered 372 cars in the UK in 2025, down from 469 in 2024.

Maserati Sebring, 1962

What models does Maserati have and what else is coming?

Maserati offers a four-strong model range, currently without its most historic and flagship model, the Quattroporte – the first example of the marque’s four-door (quattro porte in Italian) saloon appeared in 1963. The latest sixth generation model, of similar size to the BMW 7 Series, was dropped in 2023 and its planned replacement by an all-electric version in 2025 postponed in the light of changing trends in the transition to EVs. Latest rumours suggest that when a new Quattroporte goes on sale, potentially in 2028, it will have a hybrid powertrain.

Another model with a long-standing name, the Ghibli (pronounced ‘jib-lee’) also signed off at the end of 2023. The final versions of the slightly smaller saloon (think BMW 5 Series in size) were pitched as the last Maseratis with V8 engines.

Somewhat younger is the GranTurismo, a two-door coupe and a major rival to the likes of the Bentley Continental GT and even the Porsche 911. The third-generation model arrived in 2025, looking like its predecessor save for the V6 rather than V8 engines, but it is actually a whole new car underneath. Alongside it was an all electric model, the GranTurismo Folgore, and both the V6 and EV are also available as drop-top GranCabrio models.

Maserati was one of the earliest of the luxury brands to go the SUV route. Its first SUV, a large model called the Levante, launched in 2016, and in 2022 it was joined by a smaller sister, the Grecale. This has underpinnings shared with a car boasting a rather stronger 4×4 pedigree, the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Levante ended production in 2024 but the Gracale has since gained an electric sister, again called Folgore.

Current Maserati range

In 2022 Maserati launched a range-topping supercar, the MC20 – the first mid-engined model from the brand since 2005. Designed to rival the likes of Lamborghini, McLaren and especially Ferrari and offered in coupe and ‘Cielo’ convertible versions, it was lightly facelifted in early 2026 and renamed the MCPura. The updates are mainly cosmetic and the powertrain remains unchanged, a twin-turbo V6 producing more than 620hp.

Maserati gives very little advance details of new models but we do know that the Paris Motor Show in October 2026 will see the unveiling of a concept car and then in December details of both a forthcoming new sports car and SUV. These are widely expected to be the next-generation Quattroporte and Levante.

Folgore – it’s Italian for ‘lightning’ and is the name Maserati gives to its EV models

Where can I try a Maserati car?

If you are interested in buying a Maserati, you should be prepared to travel. Being an exclusive manufacturer means there are not many dealers selling new Maseratis and difficult sales figures in recent times have not improved matters.

From 12 sites in 2024 there are now just eight official Maserati outlets in the UK, all of them in England. And the retraction seems to have put the brakes on the most recent Maserati ‘Store’ concept – this aimed to be less car dealership and more retail outlet, combining showroom and workshop and letting customers create their bespoke cars in the way one would specify a made-to-measure suit from a tailor.

The first Maserati Store opened in Hatfield, north of London, in September 2023, with Maserati’s official UK brand ambassador David Beckham doing the honours, but there has been no major expansion of the concept.

Due to their limited production and high values, classic Maseratis are traded through specialist dealer networks and auction houses all over the world. As a result, there are many old models here in the UK today that were originally delivered to other countries but have found their way here over the years.

What makes Maserati different to the rest?

Maserati was, for several years, a sister to Ferrari and the two brands’ cars are still built in the same district of Italy. In fact, bodies for some Maserati models are still built by Ferrari in Maranello and then transported up the road to the Maserati factory in Modena.

Some versions of the Quattroporte, Ghibli and Levante also used V8 engines designed and built by Ferrari, until increasing concerns over emissions saw this arrangement end as Maserati shifted to its own V6 engine designs.

While Ferraris are all about performance over occupant comfort, Maseratis are principally grand tourers – their impressive levels of performance are matched by the luxury, cars in which it is easy to clock up hundreds of miles in opulent comfort.

A Maserati fact to impress your friends

The Maserati badge is a trident and was created by one of the brothers, Mario Maserati, in 1920. He was apparently inspired by the ‘Fountain of Neptune’ statue depicting the legendary sea god that stands in the Piazza Magiore in Bologna. The logo was considered appropriate as it both recalls the founding city of the Maserati company and also signifies strength and vigour.

Summary

Many observers might consider that Maserati sits forever in the shadow of its more famous neighbour, Ferrari. It shouldn’t be that way – the brand has just as much Italian history and a motorsport tradition that saw F1 world championship success in the 1950s, underlining the performance pedigree of its cars.

With such credentials, plus a degree of luxury one won’t see in Ferraris, Maseratis remain highly desirable cars. While recent times have seen not the first challenging period for this marque, if you like the idea of a fine Italian sporting saloon, SUV or sports car that has far greater exclusivity than a run-of-the-mill BMW, Audi or Porsche, maybe a Maserati could be just right for you.

This feature was originally published in February 2024 and updated in August 2026.