Classic Maseratis impounded
the cost of the testing.
Meanwhile, Maserati fans from overseas who had paid up to $4000 to drive the impounded cars in the big event, are now renting more modern versions and sharing the driving.
It’s all cast an unfortunate pall over a five-day drive that has been organised as a celebration of all things Maserati.
Open to Maserati clubs around the world, the event has attracted club members from Italy, Norway, UK, France, Switzerland, South Africa, New Zealand and USA, while road-going Maseratis taking part in the event range from 1956 – when Maserati began volume production of road going cars – through to current models.
‘‘It’s a tremendous honour to be given the responsibility by
Just about every famous Maserati from a 1956 150S to the present range are in the event and driven by owners from around the world.
Accompanying the classic cars is a fleet of the latest modern Maseratis, most of which were launched in Australia just weeks before the event.
These include the new Ferrariengined Maserati Levante S, the new 2018 Maserati sports cars, the GranTurismo and GranCabrio, as well as the 2018 Maserati Quattroporte and 2018 Maserati Ghibli.
The motoring media is involved as well, driving new Ghibli and Levante S models.
Stuff was there for the second day of the gathering, driving from Torquay on the coast east of Melbourne to Bendigo via a car display at the historic gold town of Castlemaine.
It’s a pity Joe Walsh’s 5000GT is impounded rather than on the roads through Victoria, ACT and New South Wales.
Although the Maserati brothers founded their car company on December 1, 1914, in Bologna, having concentrated highly successfully on motorsport and racing cars, it was not until 1957 that the company managed to launch its first volume production road car, the 1957 Maserati 3500 GT.
That vehicle was succeeded by the 5000 GT, and they set the Maserati standard of taking engines derived from racing machines and putting them in road cars to produce vehicles with superb performance allied to superlative handling and road holding.
It’s a policy maintained right to the present day with latest Maserati, the Levante S, which is powered by a twin-turbo engine designed by Maserati and built by Ferrari.
With the Bora, Maserati built its first mid-engined sports car and bracketed this car with handsome coupes such as the Khamsin and Mexico.
At the same time there’s been the Quattroporte which is now into its sixth generation.
Although today’s petrolpowered cars all have twin turbochargers, Maserati’s first outing with a pair of turbochargers – and indeed, the first road going car with twin turbochargers – came with the Maserati Biturbo in 1981 which sired a family of power plants and models through to 2001, including the fourth generation Quattroporte.
The foundations for the current success of Maserati were laid with launch in 1998 of the Maserati 3200GT and confirmed by the Ferrari V8 powered Maserati Coupe in 2001.
The fifth generation Quattroporte launched in 2004 became both the best and fastest selling Maserati of all time, titles it relinquished to the GranTurismo in 2008.
The current generation of Maseratis made their debut with the sixth generation Quattroporte in 2012, followed by the Ghibli in 2013, taking Maserati into a whole new area of the market.
And Levante, the Maserati SUV which debuted in 2016, has driven Maserati sales to new levels.
It’s a fascinating history, one which should be celebrated via such events as the Global Gathering in Australia.
Unfortunately the random testing for asbestos in classic cars, introduced just last year, has got in the way.
You could say life’s not so good for a few old Maseratis, including Joe Walsh’s former ride.