Date: 29 July 2014

Maserati centennial exhibition open throughout the summer

A unique exhibition in terms of the quality of the models on show, like the only remaining V4 16 cylinder and the A6 1500 of 1947, Maserati’s first road-going car. It’s held at the MEF, the Museo Enzo Ferrari, which “looks at” the Maserati headquarters in Viale Ciro Menotti, Modena and which also exhibits extraordinary Ferraris and Alfa Romeos.

A month on from the opening of the exhibition dedicated to the Maserati centennial, MASERATI 100 - A Century of Pure Italian Luxury Sports Cars , the initial response from the public has been highly positive, with nearly 20,000 visitors. The celebration of a century of history for a car manufacturer allows the public to relive the story of an epoch and thrill, as they observe the course of events and unfolding of technological progress both through the cars on display and a film that stirs the passion of visitors with no fewer than 19 different projectors. Through anecdotes, curiosities, stories of exceptional men, rare and prestigious vehicles, also due to their current financial value.

Visitors have the opportunity – unique, rather than rare – to admire the only Maserati Tipo V4 Sport 16 cylinderstill remaining in the world. In 1929 Alfieri Maserati twinned two 2-litre engines from the Tipo 26 in a single crankcase, with the two crankshafts linked by gears. On 28th September of the same year in Cremona, Baconin Borzacchini set the World Record for the Flying 10 Kilometres with the Tipo V4, at an average speed of 246.069 km/h. A second car was created in the following years, and this is the one on display. The model was delivered to its owner, the Pope’s doctor Riccardo Galeazzi, in 1932. He had it modified by Zagato in 1934 with an open-topped two-seater sports body. The Maserati Tipo V4 Sport Zagato is one of the jewels in a precious private American collection, and it is extremely rare for it to be seen in Europe: one more reason not to miss the exhibition in Modena.

Another car with great historical value is the A6 1500 of 1947, the first road-going car built by Maserati. The prototype was presented in 1947 at the Geneva Motor Show: a coupé with retractable headlights designed by Battista “Pinin” Farina, with the racing engine of the 1500 6CM fitted on a new tubular chassis. Design work began in Modena in 1940 and continued through World War 2. The car on show is the third chassis and took part in the 1st Italian Coachwork Show at the Triennale Exhibition in Milan. The car was exported to Argentina in 1950. Returning to Italy in the late 1970s, in 2007 it became part of the Nicolis Museum’s collection. The Museum restored it to its original configuration. Compared to the first A6 1500, it features some aesthetic differences in the headlights, the double side windows, the rear window and the form of the tail end.

In keeping with the exhibition venue, dedicated to Enzo Ferrari as it was the birthplace of the extraordinary Modena-born car manufacturer, visitors will also have the opportunity to see rare Ferrari models and the most important Alfa Romeo racing cars of the pre-war period which were driven by Ferrari or entered in international competitions by the Scuderia that still bears his name today. This part of the exhibition is located in the large workshop where Enzo's father worked from the end of the 19th century until his death, which today houses the extension to the Museum's exhibition space.

MASERATI 100 - A Century of Pure Italian Luxury Sports Cars will stay open every day, even in July and August.

The Exhibition is open to visitors at the Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari, from 9.30 a.m. to 7 p.m. (1 May–30 September). The ticket office is open until 30 minutes before the Museum’s closing time. It is possible to buy a ticket for the Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari only, or a single ticket that entitles the bearer to visit the Ferrari Museum in Maranello as well at a discount.

Tickets can also be bought on the site: http://www.museocasaenzoferrari.it/

Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari Modena, Via Paolo Ferrari 85, 41121 Modena T+39 059 4397979, F+39 059 245267 [email protected]