Maserati 3500 GT: The Car That Saved Maserati From Bankruptcy On April 14, 1958, TIME ran a short business item under the headline “Maserati Off the Track.” Its American readers had spent the previous season watching the trident dominate: Juan Manuel Fangio had just taken the Formula 1 World Championship in a 250F, and the … Read more
Fiat 8V: the Italian V8 Fiat almost built by accident In 1948, Vittorio Valletta calls Dante Giacosa into his office and hands him a brief that makes Giacosa frown: a six-cylinder engine for a large luxury saloon with which Fiat wants to take on Alfa Romeo in the Italian premium segment. The project code is … Read more
Fiat 500: when a car was actually a platform in disguise Chris Harris once said the best small cars are the ones that feel honest about what they are. He was talking about a modern hot hatch. He could have been talking about the original Fiat 500, except the 500 takes that idea further than … Read more
MASERATI QUATTROPORTE: SIX GENERATIONS WITH THE ENGINE WHERE IT SHOULDN’T BE The sedan that stole a prince’s heart Picture this. Early sixties. Modena. An engineer named Giulio Alfieri has an idea that sounds like madness: take a competition-derived V8, drop it into a four-door car, and tell the world that a sedan can be the … Read more
