Officine Alfieri Maserati was founded on December 1, 1914, in Bologna, Italy. Since then, Maserati has played a consistently leading role in the development of the sports car and its culture. More than a century of activity has brought with it glorious achievements, both on the road and the track, as well as more challenging times, which have helped forge the company’s character and personality.

However, the history of Maserati involves more than its glorious sporting achievements and the launch of great road cars. The company has also developed industrially over the years. Its relocation from Bologna to the current site in Viale Ciro Menotti, Modena, in 1940, is one of the main events in its history.

But even today, its worldwide reach emanates from its historic Maserati headquarters. Maserati is now a global brand operating in more than 70 markets. Uniquely, Maserati has succeeded in embodying within its cars both heritage and innovation, memory and vision, the past and the future. Its heart may be in its Italian roots, but its eyes are firmly focused on the future.

Today, Maserati pride is reflected in the values that define the marque. In this section, you can relive Maserati’s enthralling history and get to know the people, achievements and cars that have made the brand famous.

Every Maserati has always been graced with an elegant, distinctive radiator grille, one with a very special meaning.

From the mid-1930s onward, radiator grilles became especially distinctive. The Maserati 6CM saw the first use of a new grille featuring chromed fillets with a rounded, extremely sinuous form. Similar shapes, with fillet grilles, also appeared on the Maserati 8CTF and the 4CLT, both cars which were to become part of the marque’s racing history.

The Maserati Tipo 26 had chromed trims on its grille, bringing prestige to the front end of the car and underlining its sporty elegance. As the years passed, new combinations were tried: the Maserati 8CM introduced a black grille with chrome edging that created a break between the colors of the grille and the bodywork, generating depth and giving the car an even more original look.

As the radiator grilles of its racing cars evolved, Maserati also paid great attention to styling the grilles of its road cars. One example is the Maserati A6 from the late 1940s, with its distinctive chromed grille that emphasized the car’s impressive front end. On some versions, such as the A6G/2000, the grille also included the Trident logo, placed in the center and highlighted by its chrome finish.

As the years passed, the cars’ power increased and engineers needed better cooling solutions. In the 1960s and ‘70s, as the design of the cars became more streamlined, radiator grilles varied a great deal from model to model. The radiator grille on the Ghibli had a chromed surround and a Trident badge in the middle, while the Indy did not have a grille as such, since the engine was cooled by a number of air inlets in the underside of the nose.

Radiator grilles continued to evolve in the 1980s, with angular car features combined with simple but striking grilles, as in the case of the Maserati Biturbo.

The trend has continued through to the current design of the Maserati GranTurismo, with the chromed Trident badge proudly displayed on a black background, just as on the new Maserati Ghibli and Maserati Quattroporte, with their expressive grilles that underline their elegant, sporting personalities.

Through the evolution of its designs, Maserati has led the way in automotive fashion, with unique cars, elegant yet athletic, always with highly personal and distinctive lines. From the rounded, curving details of the early years, Maserati automobiles gradually evolved to become larger, longer and more streamlined.

Then in the 1960s design evolved further, with clean lines, sinuous surfaces and a unique style recognizable all over the world. The shapes of the 1970s were more angular, as technological developments led to new aerodynamic solutions, flat lines and sharp edges. These forms evolved into the right-angled shapes of the 1980s and ’90s, which themselves opened the way for the sleek lines of today, more rounded but equally streamlined and eye-catching.

Over the years, Maserati has worked with many established engineers and designers, such as Giugiaro, Zagato, Ramaciotti and Pininfarina. Having worked together on several projects, Maserati and Pininfarina have created some of the most popular designs and concept cars of all time, including the Birdcage 75th, heralded as one of the most iconic Maserati models in recent history.