From 20 December to 23 February, Maserati steals the show at Autoworld Brussels with the exhibition Maserati 110 years. As we are used to from Autoworld, this expo is again more than worth visiting. In total, around 50 cars are shown in this expo.
Expect to see some cars never before seen in our country. These include some specially custom-made Maserati cars. Only one example of these cars has often been made and they are usually well hidden in private collections.
The expo is divided into two, the part on the ground floor is mainly about racing. Once you have climbed the stairs you end up with the touring cars.
Touring cars
Maserati A6 1500 Pininfarina
The first one you walk up to is the Maserati A6 1500 Pininfarina. The A6 1500 was Maserati’s first touring car and was unveiled at the 1947 Genevè Motor Show. The car marked the transition from racing cars to luxury touring cars. The A6 1500 featured a tubular steel chassis and independent front suspension. Only 61 examples of the A6 1500 were produced so the one shown here can safely be considered rare.
Maserati A6 GCS/54 Berlinetta Pininfarina
Perhaps one of the most beautiful Maserati’s ever made is this A6GCS/54 Berlinetta Pininfarina. At the 1954 Turin Motor Show, this Maserati 2000 Sport was unveiled. It was an A6GCS with an elegant closed ‘Berlinetta’ bodywork by Pininfarina. The car was initially designed as an open two-seater for road racing. Adding a closed body made the car even better in terms of handling and performance.
As a result, this A6GCS/54 Berlinetta Pininfarina was widely appreciated by the drivers of the time. With only four units ever produced, this Maserati is among one of the most coveted historic Maseratis.
Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder hardtop
Due to a dispute with Ferrari, Pininfarina was not allowed to work for Maserati. However, that did not prevent other leading coachbuilders from working for Maserati. Thus, above we see the Giovanni Michelotti-designed Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder equipped with a hardtop. Built by Carrozzeria Vignale, the car marked Maserati’s entry into the world of luxury open sports cars.
Maserati Mistral Coupé
Produced between 1963 and 1969, the Mistral was the first Maserati to be named after a wind. The Mistral featured the famous six-in-line engine and was available as a coupé and spyder. With only 828 and 124 produced, this is another rare Maserati. It is a design by Pietro Frua, who we come across later in the article with perhaps the most beautiful Maserati ever produced.
Maserati Bora
When in 1968 Maserati came into the hands of Citroën, the company regained more financial resources and was able to return to work on a new model. In 1971, Maserati launched the Bora, which was the brand’s first sports car with independent suspension and a rear-mounted engine. The story did not last long because in 1973 during the oil crisis, Maserati saw sales fall by more than half. As a result, Citroën would want to close the factory. However, the Maserati workers occupied the factory halls and kept production going with guarantees from the Italian government. This until a buyer was found in the person of Alejandro de Tomaso.
Maserati A6G/2000 Frua Spyder
This rare design by Pietro Frua shows an exceptionally beautiful spyder. The lines on the bonnet are accentuated by the red stripe in the middle of the bonnet. It is outlined with a fine chrome trim.
The car is equipped with a 1985cc six-in-line engine. The engine features three Weber carburettors and produces 160 hp at 6000 rpm. Furthermore, the car features a four-speed manual transmission. The colour combination used here gives this car an exceptionally nice look.
The red leather-trimmed interior also exudes class. Especially in combination with the dashboard brushed in aluminium. Only fourteen Maserati A6/2000s were built by Frua in 1956-1957, nine of which saw the light of day as a Spider.
Maserati Biturbo 222 Export
Introduced in 1988, the Maserati Biturbo 222 marked an important step in the brand’s design and performance. Designed by Marcello Gandini, the 222 was distinguished from its predecessors by its more rounded nose, newly designed wing mirrors and a rear spoiler. In the following years, several variants were introduced, each with more power. The last variant was the very powerful 222.4v equipped with four valves per cylinder and a double overhead camshaft. This boosted power to 279 hp at 5500 rpm, enabling a top speed of 255 km/h.
Maserati motorbikes
Maserati may not be known for it but they also made motorbikes. So above we see a 125 GT Super from 1957. This L125 T2 was a first in-house development but apparently there was still a good look at how they did it at German DKW. There are several Maserati motorbikes on display in this expo.
Maserati’s big limousines
Maserati, like most other carmakers, also made limousines. After all, they wanted to get a piece of this lucrative market too. The Quattroporte 3, launched in 1979, closed the chapter of front-wheel-drive cars under the reign of Citroën. Production ran until 1990. The design by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign was characterised by its sharp lines and luxurious interior.
The car was offered with either a three-speed automatic from Chrysler or a ZF five-speed manual transmission. The automatic had the most success and that mainly in the US and the Middle East. In 1986 came an even more luxurious version, the Royale which was fitted with a 4.9-litre V8. All in all, the Quattroporte 3 was fairly successful with 2155 units produced including 51 Royales.
Racing cars
Maserati Tipo 26
The Maserati Tipo 26 was the first racing car made by the Maserati brothers to be named Maserati. The Tipo 26 was derived from a Diatto racing car that the Maserati brothers had also used between 1922 and 1926. They developed an in-line 8 cylinder that ended up in the Tipo 26.
Maserati A6GCS Monofaro
It is not possible to show and describe every car on display but we really wanted to include this one. This Maserati A6GCS Monofaro is from 1947 and is also the last real Maserati built under the direction of the Maserati brothers before they founded OSCA.
That this car was called ‘Monofaro’ will not surprise anyone we think. It was a design by Medardo Fantuzzi that was not only aesthetic but also functional. This is one of the three factory cars that Juan Manuel Fangio, among others, raced. The car features a six-in-line with 1978 cc capacity and produces 120 hp. The car weighed between 580 and 670 kg and reached 190 km/h.
Osca 4CLT-48 V12
This Osca is from 1949 and was initially powered by Maserati’s reliable 4-cylinder engine. In 1950, it was raced at the highest level by Prince Birabongse. ‘Bira’ Bhanudej was a Thai royal and experienced racing driver. In 1951, the car was upgraded including an OSCA V12 engine. The car had a victorious debut in the Richmond Trophy at Goodwood but afterwards struggled to match the superior performance of rivals like Ferrari and Alfa Romeo.
Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage Drogo
The Maserati Tipo 61 is one of the most important sports cars of the 1960s. Like the Tipo 63 discussed further, the Tipo 61 also has a tubular frame. More than 200 pieces of tube were used to assemble the chassis. This creates a very strong structure that looks like a birdcage when the bodywork is removed. The car features a 4 cylinder 2896cc engine that produces 240 hp at 7000 rpm. Thanks to its low weight of 590 kg, the Tipo 61 reaches 274 km/h. We mounted our Go-Pro in a Tipo 61 during Spa-Classic, click on the link to take a ride along.
Maserati Tipo 63
Introduced in 1961, the Tipo 63 was a collaboration between Maserati and Count Giovanni Volpi’s Serenissima racing team. The 3998 cc V12 produced 430 hp at 8000 rpm. The low weight of just 820 kg is achieved partly due to the tubular chassis executed in magnesium. The car is nicknamed ‘Birdcage’ and if you see the chassis without bodywork around it, it looks like a birdcage. The Tipo 63 debuted at the 1961 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, reliability left something to be desired and an early abandonment followed.
Maserati 250F
Perhaps the most beautiful Formula 1 car ever made. Or at least that’s kind of our opinion. The design of the 250F came from the hand of Gioachino Colombo who had also previously worked for Alfa Romeo. The 250F used the SSG six-in-line engine with 2493 cc capacity.
The engine produced 220 hp at 7400 rpm. A total of 26 Maserati 250F were built, during its career the 250F managed to win a total of eight F1 races. All wins are credited to Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss, both of whom spoke highly of the 250F for the rest of their lives.
At the end of its career, a 250F was fitted with an all-new V12 engine. This 2.5-litre V12 produced 320 hp at a staggering 12000 rpm. However, it was only raced once because the money tap was turned off. It was the most powerful 2.5 litre at the time. We also put our Go-Pro in a Maserati 250F, take a ride with us?
Maserati Tipo 420/M/58 Eldorado
From afar it looks somewhat like the Maserati 250F from earlier in the article, nothing could be further from the truth. Although the car was based on a reinforced chassis of the 250F, it used a modified engine from the Maserati 450S. The car was specially built to take part in the second edition of the ‘Race of Two Worlds’ This race covered 500 miles and was meant to bring the racing culture of Europe and America closer together. The event took place at the revamped Monza circuit which, with its high-speed oval, was ideal for single-seaters.
The engine was a 4.2-litre V8 fitted with four twin Webers and produced 410 hp at 8000 rpm. A notable fact is that due to the high power as well as torque, the car had only two gears with the first one actually only serving for starting. The car reached speeds of over 350km/h, so the vertical stabiliser fin was no luxury.
Former factory driver Stirling Moss was entered for the race. The Americans may have had the upper hand but Moss was fastest among the Europeans. Moss was very lucky here because at a speed of 250 km/h his steering rod broke. He survived the crash unscathed but later described the accident as the most terrifying he ever experienced.
We conclude this article with the MC12 and MC20 duo. The MC20 may be a great car but for me, the MC12 Corsa ‘Cent 100’ Edition steals the show in every way here. This MC12 Corsa ‘Cent 100’ Edition was specially built for the 100th anniversary of the brand with the trident.
The car is extra special because of its paintwork. For instance, the bodywork is decorated with numerous references to Maserati’s heyday in motorsport. Thus, we see Stirling Moss in a 250F, the MC12 FIA GT cars as well as a sketch of the Goodwood hillclimb.
The MC12 Corsa features the familiar 6-litre V12 engine, which here has been tweaked to 580 hp by a restrictor on the air intake. The MC12 Corsa got its baptism of fire at the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
At the 2018 Festival of Speed, we at Wheels-and-things saw the MC12 Corsa ‘Cent 100’ Edition in action. By the way, the Maserati Tipo 420/M/58 Eldorado was also present there. You can check out the report via this link.
Conclusion
If you are a Maserati enthusiast then this is a no-brainer, this is where you just have to come. And maybe you should visit not once but even twice. Because during your first visit, you might miss certain things.
It is not only interesting for the Maserati enthusiast, even as a car enthusiast in general, you cannot go around this brand. Maserati has made a huge mark on the car industry and not least on motorsport. With cars like the 250F or the Tipo 61, it couldn’t be any different.
Tickets can be bought online at Autoworld or you can just visit every day. In fact, the museum is open 7 out of 7.
