Visitors' attention will be firmly focused on the Maserati Birdcage 75th when it makes a centre stage appearance at the Los Angeles Auto Show which takes place from 6th to 15th January 2006 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The splendid concept car was designed by Pininfarina using the Maserati MC12 as a base. The Birdcage 75th is set to amaze the US public, a population that embraces technological innovation.

Also at the LA Auto Show Ken Okuyama, design director for Turin-based Pininfarina, the world’s oldest established automotive styling house, will provide a first-hand look into reinterpreting an automotive icon – the Maserati Birdcage – as a guest speaker at the Design Los Angeles automobile designers’ conference.

The Maserati Birdcage 75th was created to celebrate Pininfarina’s 75th anniversary and is based on the road racing chassis of the Maserati MC 12. The car pays homage to the storied tradition of extreme sports prototypes highlighted in the Italian renaissance of car design from the fifties through the early seventies. “With the Maserati Birdcage 75th, Okuyama and his team have created a spectacular concept car that is the embodiment of every auto enthusiast’s dream,” said Chuck Pelly conference director for Design Los Angeles. “We are elated to have him at our conference; his insight and passion for auto design is sure to inspire our audience.”

“We wanted to do something very special,” Okuyama said of the design for the Birdcage 75th. “We wanted to give a future vision to a younger generation, to people outside the auto industry and to those who have aspirations of becoming the car designers of the future.” The Maserati Birdcage 75th will be on display in the Maserati exhibition area throughout media and public days. Okuyama worked as designer for Pininfarina from 1995 to 2000. During that period, he created highly praised designs for production cars such as the Ferrari Enzo, the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, the Maserati Quattroporte and successful prototype cars that included the Peugeot Nautilus and the Ferrari Rossa. He also supervised production projects for Alfa Romeo, Honda, Mitsubishi and Peugeot. After a four-year tenure as chair of the transportation design department at Art Center College of Design, Okuyama returned to the prestigious firm in 2004 as creative director and since July 1, 2005 holds the position of design director.
 

Alongside the Birdcage 75th on the Maserati stand, visitors will be able to admire the Quattroporte Sport GT (in Grigio Touring), a vehicle which will be making its debut in the important US market at the show. The Maserati line-up will also feature another car making its first appearance on US soil. The model in question is the GranSport Spyder, this example finished in Blu Nettuno. It will accompany the highly praised GranSport, in Nero Carbonio, on the stand.

The Los Angeles Auto Show will be held from 6 to 15 January at the Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 South Figueroa Street. The Maserati stand will be situated in the “Concourse Hall” pavilion. Meanwhile, in less than a year, the Los Angeles Auto Show will reach a new stage in its development as it moves to permanent November show dates. In recognition of the move, the theme of “A New Beginning” has been adopted for the 2007 show, which will be held in November 2006. Starting next November, the LA Auto Show will have its own time slot on the global auto show calendar without any conflict or overlap with the Detroit Auto Show or the holiday period. Automobile manufacturers already have plans to take full advantage of the increased opportunities for promotion and publicity the new show dates provide. Recognizing the significance of the new dates, the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles (OICA), the world automobile trade association, has designated the 2007 show with international status.

The past will also be represented by the theme, as the show will be celebrating its 100-year anniversary in 2007. The first LA Auto Show was held Jan. 21-28, 1907 at Morley’s Skating Rink in downtown Los Angeles. Although the show has grown immensely since 1907, its current home at the LA Convention Center is located only about four blocks from where it all began 100 years ago. According to LA Auto Show General Manager Andy Fuzesi, “The 2007 show, with its date change and theme, may become the most significant development in the show’s history.”