It was on this day in 1914 that the luxury Italian manufacturer Maserati was established in Bologna.

Founded by four car-loving brothers - Alfieri, Bindo, Ettore and Ernesto - the business was initially a workshop then morphed into a spark plug production centre during World War I. After the war ended, Masarati branched out into producing racing cars with Alfieri - also a successful track driver - taking the lead role.

However, after Alfieri died at the age off 44 in 1932 from the complications of liver surgery, the remaining brothers sold their shares to Italian entrepreneur Adolfo Orsi who, in 1940, relocated the company headquarters to Modena where it remains to this day.

After the war, the Maserati marque gained a worldwide profile due its association with legendary F1 World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio whilst it began to specialise in more mass-produced vehicles after it was taken over by Citroen in 1968.

Following subsequent spells under the ownership of Fiat and Ferrari, Maserati today forms part of the ‘Maserati and Alfa Romeo Group’ under Fiat control and has recently enjoyed a big European sales push through the success of its first SUV, the Maserati Levante.

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