Three-day drive from Modena to Turin celebrates Maserati’s first Centenary and starts with a prologue in Bologna, by the Fountain of Neptune that inspired the Maserati Trident Badge.

Modena, 12th September 2014 – The most eagerly anticipated Maserati event in a year of celebrations is just days away. The unique Maserati Centennial International Gathering marks the culmination of the company’s official Centenary celebrations.

After the prologue in Bologna on Wednesday, 17 September the event will officially start in Modena on Thursday, 18 and conclude in Turin on Saturday 20 September. The three-day event includes an exciting combination of exhibitions and parades, a regularity competition, track practice session, guided tours of the two Maserati factories and a Concours d’Elegance, with cars and collectors from all over the world taking part.

More than 200 Maseratis of all periods, both classic and modern, will be the stars of an unforgettable celebration as they parade through Italian towns along the route. A full complement of road models from the Trident marque’s history will take part including the A6GCS/53, 3500 GT, 5000 GT, Sebring, Mistral, Mexico, examples of the original Ghibli and, Quattroporte, Bora, Indy and Khamsin. The stunning Boomerang prototype will also be in attendance, along with cars from the current model range.

The Gathering will feature cars from across the globe. Current Maserati owners will come from the United States, China, Korea, Russia, the Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan. When it comes to classic cars, there will be representatives from countries as far afield as Australia and, closer to home, Norway, Sweden, Great Britain, France, Germany and Greece, highlighting the international affection for the Maserati brand.

Among the cars participating in the International Centennial Gathering, are vehicles forming a special convoy of Maseratis from China. After a month-long tour that began in Beijing in mid-August, crossed the whole of Asia, entered Russia at Ekaterinburg, touched Moscow and passed through Minsk, Warsaw, Prague and Munich, the convoy will arrive in Milan on Sunday and then travel on to Modena.

Wednesday, 17 September

The prologue of the Centennial Gathering on Wednesday, 17 September, in Bologna offers participants the chance to visit Maserati’s first premises at Via de’ Pepoli, where Alfieri, Ettore and Ernesto Maserati opened their first workshop. It is a stone’s throw from Piazza del Nettuno, where they will have a photo-opportunity with their cars by the statue of the god of the seas that inspired the famous choice of badge – the Trident, in red white and blue, the Bologna colours, that went on to become unmistakable on the international motorsports scene. The inspiration to use the iconic emblem came to the only brother not involved in the engineering business, Mario, who was a painter by profession.

Thursday, 18 September

On Thursday the world’s finest Maseratis will officially start the International Gathering by meeting in the centre of Modena, in Piazza Grande, Piazza Mazzini and Via Emilia, before parading in the late afternoon to the factory on Viale Ciro Menotti. It still occupies the historic red brick complex the company moved to in 1939 after the take-over by the Orsi family in 1937, a move made on the understanding that the Maserati brothers would continue to work there for another 10 years.

At the historic headquarters, which for the last decade has also included a modern office building and a futuristic showroom, event participants will take part in a very unusual dinner in the striking setting of the production lines that manufacture Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabrio and Alfa Romeo 4C. This represents a unique opportunity for participants to dine in the surroundings of a state-of-the-art production facility, which also works in harmony with the manual skills of Maserati’s highly specialised workforce.

The dinner, during which tenors of the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation will perform, will offer a unique sensory experience, where the senses of sight, taste and hearing will combine to provide an unforgettable event. It is well known that the bond between the great Modena-born tenor and Maserati was always very strong.

Before this, in the afternoon, participants will visit the outstanding “MASERATI 100 – A Century of Pure Italian Luxury Sports Cars,” exhibition which retraces the brand’s history with some of the most important cars from its past. Housed in the futuristic Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari, a few metres from Viale Ciro Menotti, the exhibition will remain open to the public until January 2015. In terms of the historic value of the items on show, this is the biggest international exhibition of Maserati cars ever held and is an opportunity not to be missed for participants in the exclusive Centennial Gathering.

Friday, 19 September

The destination of the gathering’s second stage is linked to the creation of a racing car that was to set a world speed record. On Friday morning participants will drive towards Turin with a break at the San Martino del Lago circuit near Cremona, where the track practice sessions and regularity competition will take place. This is certain to bring out the racing spirit found in every Maserati’s genes, while their familiar comfort will come to the fore during the journey itself.

This leg of the journey pays homage to Baconin Borzacchini and his 16-cylinder Maserati V4, in which the Italian driver set the world record for the flying 10 kilometres, at an average speed of 246.069 km/h, on 28 September 1929 in Cremona. The record was set on a partially unpaved section of straight normal road temporarily closed to the meagre traffic of the time. It is now part of the ordinary road network and open to traffic so Gathering participants will actually get the chance to drive along the route used to set the original record.

Once the activities on the track have been completed, the procession of fine Maseratis will provide a beauty pageant along the streets of Cremona before setting off for Turin, home of the “Avv. Giovanni Agnelli” plant at Grugliasco that produces the new Quattroporte and Ghibli models.

In Turin, the Maseratis will be parked on show in Piazza Castello. In the evening, a gala dinner will be held in the splendid, majestic setting of the Reggia di Venaria palace: a real event within the event!

Saturday, 20 September

The third and final act of the Centennial Gathering will take place on Saturday 20 September; in the morning, the final section of the regularity competition will be held on the climb to the Basilica of Superga. This will be followed by a guided tour of the Grugliasco plant.

The concluding stage of the event, the Concours d’Elegance, will be held in the afternoon. The cars, divided into 10 classes on the basis of year of construction and type, will be showcased in Piazza San Carlo, in the real heart of Turin.

The Concours and regularity competition awards ceremony will mark the event’s farewell to the large number of fans who are certain to attend. Amongst the prizes, some of which will be kept secret until the time of presentation, Maserati has chosen to reward winners with two “Master Maserati” driving courses and an exclusive “Master Italian Lifestyle Experience.”

Further information is available on the “Centennial Gathering” section of the www.maserati100.com sites.

Text courtesy of Maserati.