The Trident Turns 100 In 2026—Here’s What Maserati’s Trademark Filing Reveals
Maserati filed an international trademark for the phrase ‘1926 2026 100 YEARS OF THE TRIDENT’ on August 17, 2026, and the filing tells a clearer story than most trademark applications do. This isn’t a leaked project or a hint at a mystery model—it’s formal global protection for a centenary campaign Maserati had already announced publicly, and the three trademark classes it covers map out exactly how big the brand intends to play this anniversary.
The Trident emblem made its competition debut on April 25, 1926, when Alfieri Maserati drove the Tipo 26 at the Targa Florio and won his class. That race marked the birth of Maserati’s racing identity—distinct from the company itself, which was founded in 1914. What turns 100 in 2026 is the emblem and the competitive spirit it represents, and Maserati announced on April 27, 2026, that the entire year would be designated the ‘Year of the Trident,’ encompassing sporting events, concours appearances, product presentations, cultural initiatives, owner activities, and historical storytelling.
Three Trademark Classes, Three Distinct Pillars Of The Campaign
The international application covers three classes of goods, each pointing to a different strand of the centenary initiative.
Class 12 protects the phrase across vehicles—cars, sports cars, racing cars, EVs, SUVs, vehicle components, and related accessories. That breadth is standard protective language, but it does leave the door open for centenary-badged production cars, commemorative plaques, liveries, or Fuoriserie commissions. Maserati has already tied special vehicle presentations to Year of the Trident activities, so centenary special editions are a plausible outcome, even if the trademark alone doesn’t confirm a specific new model.
Class 25 covers clothing and lifestyle products: jackets, shirts, hats, racing apparel, shoes. For a brand with Maserati’s heritage cachet, a centenary merchandise line is a natural commercial move, and this class makes the intent explicit.
Class 28 extends protection to scale models, model kits, RC cars, toy cars, and gaming products. For collectors who track Maserati’s history through die-cast and scale reproductions, this signals a coordinated run of commemorative collectibles tied to the anniversary.
Why The Filing Timeline Matters
The sequence of filings is worth understanding. Maserati announced the centenary campaign publicly on April 27, 2026. An Italian priority application followed on June 22, 2026. The international application—the one that extends protection across multiple jurisdictions—was filed August 17, 2026. That progression shows a brand formalizing protection around an initiative already in motion, not a company quietly registering a project before anyone knows about it.
The distinction matters for how to read the filing. Trademark applicants routinely claim broad categories of goods to prevent third parties from co-opting their branding. The inclusion of ‘electric cars’ or ‘sports cars’ in Class 12 doesn’t mean Maserati is launching a vehicle for every item listed—it means the centenary phrase is locked down against unauthorized use across those categories globally.
What Collectors And Enthusiasts Should Actually Watch For
The most likely outcomes are straightforward: the ‘1926 2026 100 YEARS OF THE TRIDENT’ logo and slogan appearing on commemorative merchandise, scale models, event materials, and possibly badges or trim elements on production cars. The more interesting possibility—centenary special editions or bespoke Fuoriserie builds carrying the branding—is plausible given Maserati’s recent practice of tying limited vehicles to major milestones, but it remains unconfirmed by this filing alone.
What the trademark does confirm is that Maserati is treating the Trident’s centennial as a commercially and culturally significant global moment, not a quiet internal anniversary. For enthusiasts and collectors, the year ahead should bring a coordinated wave of heritage content, events, and edition vehicles. Whether that includes a true collector-grade centenary car is the question worth watching.
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