The Maserati 1957- 2007, 50 anni dal Mondiale di F1 (50 years since the F1 title) exhibition has been inaugurated at the Bonfanti-Vimar museum. The exhibition celebrates the F1 victory secured by the then fledgling Trident team. The car that took the crown was the 250F single-seater with five-time world champion, Manuel Fangio, behind the wheel.

Some twenty exclusive Maseratis, never before gathered together, will be on display. These include the first Maserati ever produced: the Type 26. The car boasted an enormous 16 cylinder V5 from 1932. The unit delivered 360 bhp and reached 270 kph. There will be two 250Fs on show and a 1961 Birdcage Type 63 with a V12 engine and a tubular chassis that was considered an engineering masterpiece in the 1950s and 60s.

Also featuring will be the exciting MC12 that won last year's FIA GT championship. This is a mid-engined Gran Turismo fitted with a six-litre V12 that puts out 630 bhp. Among the other Maseratis on show is the 3500GT, a model that marked, in 1957, production on an industrial scale at the Modenese company. Memorabilia, documents and historical objects, such as a steering wheel from the 250F driven by Fangio at the 1957 GP of Germany (held at the Nürburgring) can also be admired. The race is widely deemed to be his best ever performance. Once he had crossed the line, his mechanics dismantled the car so that it could be preserved for ever.

Numerous personalities from the motor-racing world attended the exhibition’s inauguration. These included Maria Teresa de Filippis, the first woman to appear in Formula 1, the Maserati legend and two-time winner of the Mille Miglia, Giannino Marzotto, and the eternal ‘rival’ Maurizio Bruno, as he always lined up in Ferrari colours. Representing Maserati SpA and with four years of Coupé Trofeo experience behind him was Paolo Bozzetto. He was flanked by Renzo Ruffo, son of the motorcycling world champion, Bruno Ruffo, who also raced for Maserati. The surprise of the evening was the presence of Eugenio Razelli, President of Magneti Marelli and ANFIA, the umbrella association for all of Italy’s automobile industries.

Maserati Spa, the Maserati Club and renowned collectors all contributed to the exhibition. The exhibition can be visited until 21 October and will be open every day except Monday.

The Luigi Bonfanti Automobile Museum is located in Bassano del Grappa. It added the name of sponsor Vimar to its own. It is different from most other car museums in not having a permanent collection, the museum founded in 1993 by Luigi Bonfanti has thematic displays, each lasting a few months. The museum organises temporary exhibitions of vintage, sports and racing cars. A Fiat Abarth 1000 Pininfarina and the 1912 Fiat fire-engine are included in the permanent display.
 

Meanwhile for the second consecutive year on 29th April the Fiorano racetrack has played as the theatre for the first race of the Maserati Club members. The track welcomed more than 50 Maserati cars, both classical and modern, that were free to run - divided into small groups - in a day-long race under a wonderful vernal sunshine. There were more than 150 participants in all: among them also a considerable number of foreign members coming from Holland, Switzerland, Norway and Japan.

The weekend began on Saturday the 28th with a reception in Maserati Spa in Modena, with a tasty lunch in the company restaurant and the classical factory tour through the production lines. On the afternoon, the Military Academy of Modena opened its door, exceptionally for the Maserati Club, for a visit of the elegant Ducal Palace.

The usual gastronomic appointment with the Emilian specialities was hosted in the famous restaurant "Il Cavallino" in Maranello. After a brief relaxing night in the prestigious Hotel Maranello Palace, the meeting on the race track on Sunday Morning for the exclusive opportunity to drive our cars on the Fiorano circuit, with a rich coffee break and lunch in the convention hall. It was a good opportunity to look up to outstanding cars brought on the track by our collector members, like the resounding V5 rebuilt by Igor Zanisi around the rarest engine 16 cylinders of the '30s or the Barchetta of Nicola Sculco.

After some free laps, it was a surprise for the drivers the setting up of a reduced track with cones created for an ability race against the clock. In the evening, the classical regularity race on the whole circuit (3 Km circa). The waiting participants were able to test the Quattroporte Automatic set on disposal by the Maserati team.

The proud winners were: For the ability race - classical cars- 1. Mauro Grotto (ghibli 1994 2 serie), 2. Giovanni Langone (Shamal) and 3. Walter Gualdrini (Shamal). For the ability race - modern cars- 1. Sergio Pagnini (Coupè CambioCorsa) 2. Mauro Gherardi (Mc Victory) and 3.Bruno Vitta (GranSport). For the regularity race 1. Antonio Scarpetta (Ghibli), 2. Cesare Cella (Spyder CambioCorsa), 3. Dino Dini (Coupè).

The next appointment of the Maserati Club will have place in Bassano del Grappa from the 1st-3rd June for the historical cars and from the 15th-17th for the modern cars.