Maserati is celebrating past, present and future success at the Frankfurt International Motor Show with a motor sport display that brings together the historic Maserati 250F in which Juan Manuel Fangio won 50 years ago what is described as the greatest Formula One victory of all time and the modern Maserati MC12 that dominates the FIA GT World Championship; success today is marked by the Quattroporte, the best selling Maserati of all time and debuting in its latest form, the Quattroporte Sport GT S, and future success is assured by the announcement that the Maserati GranTurismo, deliveries of which have just started in Europe, is sold out well into 2008.

FIFTY YEARS AFTER FANGIO’S VICTORY, MASERATI’S RACING SUCCESS CONTINUES

2007 is a very important year for Maserati — a year of meaningful anniversaries not only for the standard production (A6 and 3500 GT), but also as far as racing is concerned. In 1957, Juan Manuel Fangio won the F1 World Championship Drivers’ title at the wheel of the Maserati 250 F, partly thanks to a great comeback that brought him victory at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. The car that Fangio used that day, with VIN number 2529, is on display on the Maserati stand at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Today, Maserati is still a star of GT races. It leads the FIA GT1 Constructors’ Championship, which it won in 2005, and is at the top of Team and Driver rankings, thanks to the German-run Vitaphone Racing Team, with Michael Bartels and Thomas Biagi, flying the flag for Italy. The aim for 2007 is to continue this winning sequence which began with the debut of the MC12 in 2004 (by winning two Team titles and one Drivers’ championship, as well as two editions of the Spa 24 hour race, again with the Vitaphone Racing Team). This year, there are six Maserati MC12s lined up, driven by the Playteam, Vitaphone Racing Team and JMB Racing.

As a testament to the technological excellence and great potential of Maserati as a supercar factory, we recall that the production of the MC12 Versione Corse, in only 12 units, derives from the MC12 GT1. The MC12 Versione Corse, also on display on the Maserati stand at the Frankfurt Motorshow, is not homologated for road use or any racing activity and can be used exclusively on track during private test sessions.

2007 – INCREASE IN SALES VOLUMES AND POSITIVE ECONOMIC RESULTS

In the second quarter of 2007, Maserati’s revenues were € 177 million, which represents a 19.6% increase compared to the same period in 2006. This improvement can mainly be attributed to the excellent performance of the new Quattroporte Automatic, which is proving to be a success in all markets. During the second quarter of 2007, Maserati achieved a positive operating result (€ 1 million) for the first time since 1993, the year in which it was acquired by the Fiat Group. This turnaround, compared to the € 7 million loss for the same period in 2006, is due to the increase in volumes and major cost-cutting exercises carried out over the past 12 months.

In the first half of the year, Maserati’s revenue amounted to € 344 million, up 27.9% compared to the same period of the previous year. During the first six months, Maserati largely broke even, in terms of its ordinary operating profit. There was a clear improvement compared to the same period for the previous year, in which it recorded a loss of € 26 million.
 

The Quattroporte’s positioning in its segment, that of luxury sport sedans with a power output of over 300hp, and price range between € 80,000 and 150,000, is extremely satisfactory. A study of the average figures for January-June 2007, in the world's top eight car markets (Italy, UK, Germany, France and Switzerland, in Europe), plus the USA, Japan and Australia, showed that the Quattroporte is the third most popular vehicle in its category. It is the second most popular, if the analysis is limited to the five European countries. Specifically, the best performance was achieved in Italy and France, where the Quattroporte is top of its segment, while in Switzerland and Australia it is second.

The GranTurismo has been an outstanding success since its unveiling at the Geneva Motorshow. This year’s production has sold out already, and the first vehicles were delivered to the showrooms in July. By the end of 2007, approximately 2000 GranTurismo will have been delivered.

The alignment of sales results for the past two years has represented a phase of consolidation, ready for the vigorous period of growth which Maserati is set to embark on this year, with a fully overhauled product range and an ambitious objective: 7,000 vehicles delivered to customers. The United States is still Maserati’s leading market, with around 40% of turnover (together with Canada). Italy is always in second place as the European leader, ahead of Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, China and Australia.

Maserati is now present in 59 countries and five continents, with a total network of over 272 dealers. India will certainly be of potential interest to Maserati in the future. Equally significant in terms of company growth and expansion is its collaboration with Alfa Romeo, to produce the 8C Competizione.

ECO-COMPATIBILITY

Protecting the environment, reducing fuel consumption and emissions and the constant improvement of safety are increasingly important issues on which Maserati is working at a cracking pace, without losing any of the performance or content typical of its cars, in the best Trident tradition. As we have already seen with the Quattroporte Automatic and the Quattroporte Sport GT S, substantial improvements have been made in terms of fuel saving, with a reduction of 9% (non-urban driving mode), which obviously leads to reduced emissions. The designers have reduced consumption on the GranTurismo by a further 3%.

On the safety front, Maserati is introducing an absolute first for the car industry — a new technical solution developed in collaboration with Brembo: the floating dual-cast brake disc manufactured in two materials, cast iron and aluminium. The advantages offered by this brake disc include: weight reduction (between 15% and 20%), greater comfort, corrosion and wear reduction and better component performance.