Forbes - Maserati Article for any with interest -- nice ability to customize!!
05-10-2001, 09:29 AM
#1
Forbes - Maserati Article for any with interest -- nice ability to customize!!
Zoom! Zoom!
Alexandra Kirkman, Forbes Magazine, 05.14.01
Anyone who doubts the power of a car to turn heads should drive a Maserati in
Manhattan. "Make way for this car!" a pretzel vendor bellows when he spots the
famous sports car. Another man sprints toward the racer: "Hey!" he shouts. "Is that
a Maserati? Great car!"
Pretty remarkable for a set of wheels that hasn't been available in the U.S. for a
decade--in a city where people are famously unfazed. But Ferrari SpA,
Maserati's owner, hopes this kind of recognition will translate into robust sales
when the venerable racing brand is relaunched in the U.S. in early 2002.
There is some careful market segmentation going on here. Ferrari is 90% owned by
Fiat Group (nyse: FIA - news - people), the Italian manufacturer of mass-market
cars. But the Ferrari name goes only on sports cars costing $143,000 to $230,000.
The Maserati name is aimed a bit down the scale from there, with the Maserati
Spider two-seater to be priced near $80,000. Significantly though, Ferrari Chief
Executive Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has no plan to slap the precious Maserati
name on any $30,000 starter model, as Jaguar, Mercedes and BMW are doing.
In the $80,000 range, Maserati will be competing with the Jaguar XKR and the
Porsche 911. All three have oversexed engines and 0-60mph acceleration below
5.3 seconds. One difference: The Maserati is customized to your taste. Spider
owners get a car they help design, down to the color of the leather stitching in the
upholstery. In fact, there's almost nothing Maserati won't do to accommodate
buyers' requests. "If you come to me with denim and want that in the interior, I will
do it for you," di Montezemolo, 53, says. "I want to emphasize the exclusivity and
service that come with the brand."
There are other perks. If you want to learn to drive like a champ, there's the Master
GT, a driving course run by former Formula 1 driver Ivan Capelli. Maserati owners
can zip around the Varano de Melegari circuit near Parma, under the watchful eye
of a team of professional instructors. Maserati, after all, was known for decades
as the fastest car in the world before Ferrari came on the scene in the 1950s. Then
the brand languished under a series of owners, including Citroën and Argentinean
mogul Alejandro de Tomaso. Fiat bought it in 1993 and Ferrari took it over in 1997.
So far response to the Maserati is good--and not just from pretzel vendors in
Manhattan. Maserati is outselling the Jaguar XK series in Germany, France, Italy and
Switzerland, where it has already been reintroduced. Those results are expected
to boost Ferrari's 2000 revenue 20% to $820 million, the company says. If that
revenue figure is correct, profits could more than double to $17 million.
Di Montezemolo is counting on the U.S. to deliver a large chunk of those revenues.
His aim is to move 1,200 Maserati cars here next year.That's more than half the total
number sold worldwide in 2000. Says he: "I want customers with good taste who
are looking for a unique emotion from driving."
Or just a unique set of wheels.
1 of 1
Alexandra Kirkman, Forbes Magazine, 05.14.01
Anyone who doubts the power of a car to turn heads should drive a Maserati in
Manhattan. "Make way for this car!" a pretzel vendor bellows when he spots the
famous sports car. Another man sprints toward the racer: "Hey!" he shouts. "Is that
a Maserati? Great car!"
Pretty remarkable for a set of wheels that hasn't been available in the U.S. for a
decade--in a city where people are famously unfazed. But Ferrari SpA,
Maserati's owner, hopes this kind of recognition will translate into robust sales
when the venerable racing brand is relaunched in the U.S. in early 2002.
There is some careful market segmentation going on here. Ferrari is 90% owned by
Fiat Group (nyse: FIA - news - people), the Italian manufacturer of mass-market
cars. But the Ferrari name goes only on sports cars costing $143,000 to $230,000.
The Maserati name is aimed a bit down the scale from there, with the Maserati
Spider two-seater to be priced near $80,000. Significantly though, Ferrari Chief
Executive Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has no plan to slap the precious Maserati
name on any $30,000 starter model, as Jaguar, Mercedes and BMW are doing.
In the $80,000 range, Maserati will be competing with the Jaguar XKR and the
Porsche 911. All three have oversexed engines and 0-60mph acceleration below
5.3 seconds. One difference: The Maserati is customized to your taste. Spider
owners get a car they help design, down to the color of the leather stitching in the
upholstery. In fact, there's almost nothing Maserati won't do to accommodate
buyers' requests. "If you come to me with denim and want that in the interior, I will
do it for you," di Montezemolo, 53, says. "I want to emphasize the exclusivity and
service that come with the brand."
There are other perks. If you want to learn to drive like a champ, there's the Master
GT, a driving course run by former Formula 1 driver Ivan Capelli. Maserati owners
can zip around the Varano de Melegari circuit near Parma, under the watchful eye
of a team of professional instructors. Maserati, after all, was known for decades
as the fastest car in the world before Ferrari came on the scene in the 1950s. Then
the brand languished under a series of owners, including Citroën and Argentinean
mogul Alejandro de Tomaso. Fiat bought it in 1993 and Ferrari took it over in 1997.
So far response to the Maserati is good--and not just from pretzel vendors in
Manhattan. Maserati is outselling the Jaguar XK series in Germany, France, Italy and
Switzerland, where it has already been reintroduced. Those results are expected
to boost Ferrari's 2000 revenue 20% to $820 million, the company says. If that
revenue figure is correct, profits could more than double to $17 million.
Di Montezemolo is counting on the U.S. to deliver a large chunk of those revenues.
His aim is to move 1,200 Maserati cars here next year.That's more than half the total
number sold worldwide in 2000. Says he: "I want customers with good taste who
are looking for a unique emotion from driving."
Or just a unique set of wheels.
1 of 1
05-10-2001, 11:10 AM
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dunno about Motor Trend but...
I'm a sucker for Italian automobile styling. We own two Alfa's ('87 Milano, '91 164S) and think the new Maser is gorgeous, and since the company is now owned by Ferrari and has undergone major quality control initiatives, should be a very good car. S4 afficianados will probably like the twin-turbo powerplant ;-)
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05-10-2001, 05:20 PM
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Re: all I saw was the 3200GT, I saw this car in France, but I was wondering
that would be the 3200GT, to be priced around 80k USD$. Ferrari says Maserati must be priced to compete with the high end Porsches and Jags, Ferrari territory is > 120k USD $, beneath Maserati will be the return of Alfa, first to come is the next Spider. My guess is around $50k USD, we shall see...
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