Spend a weekend in Modena is to discover a smaller Italy between food and cars. And appreciate an unknown history, that of a city at the crossroads of the Roman Via Emilia, home to a UNESCO heritage site (in 1997 the Cathedral, the Civic Tower and Piazza Grande were declared a World Heritage Site), land of engines and parent company of Maserati , culinary tastings, dishes made in Emilia and the legendary Panini stickers. We tried it for you.
Maserati MC20 on the Marzaglia track.
We arrived at Modena on a warm May morning and we immediately moved to the Modena racetrack in Marzaglia, a 2 km circuit with 11 curves, straights and chicanes, a few km from the city. Here we had booked one Maserati Driving Experience, a track test with Maserati racing cars alongside professional drivers: a unique experience in Italy, open to everyone (just schedule it on the site), even to those who are not familiar with speed on the track. Because the final result is also to gain more awareness with powerful cars and safe driving. On the track we first tested an MC20 and then a GranTurismo. We experienced the thrills of driving powerful cars (the Mc20 with the 630 horsepower Nettuno V6 engine which guarantees acceleration from 0-100 km/h in 2.88 seconds and a maximum speed of over 326 km per hour) near Tamara Molinaro , 26 years old from Como and rally driver for Maserati and Ferrari. We followed her advice by keeping our hands on the steering wheel correctly and accelerating or braking with skill thanks to her precious advice. And meanwhile Tamara told us her story, of a girl who dreamed of doing this job since she was a child. And that she was already noticed when she was only 16 years old, and today, after several victories in under 25 rallies, she competes in the electric SUV championship and is an instructor and driver for Ferrari and Maserati.
Tamara is one of the demonstrations that even the world of racing cars is no longer just a male prerogative. Maserati, today more than ever, is very attentive to diversity and inclusion: so much so that women who work in the company make up 35% of employees worldwide, 36% at European level. And their presence has grown by 3% in the last three years, going from 33% in 2020 to 26% in 2023.
A GranTurismo Trofeo on the Marzaglia track. At the Modena racetrack it is possible to have a unique driving experience in Italy, testing racing cars alongside professional drivers.
The data from the latest Unrae (National Union of Foreign Motor Vehicle Representatives) research also says that cars are no longer “male stuff”: over 40% of the cars circulating in Italy are registered in the name of a woman, compared to a share of 52% of the population over 18 years old. And if a woman buys a car, it must be “tailored” to suit female needs. As if to say if a GT must be driven by a woman, it is a woman who must test it. This is why the Trident company has created a new Women testing project in which all the employees who freely wanted to participate were involved.
A Maserati MC20 in Piazza Grande in Modena: the square, with the Duomo and the Civic Tower, was included in the list of world heritage sites by UNESCO in 1997. The Albinelli covered market is located a stone’s throw from the square.
“The scouting for the new test drivers took place on a voluntary basis. There were 86 of us who started and after real tests and on simulators, mentorship with already established drivers, four of us were chosen” Camilla Murtas, who works in the legal office, told us proudly. Then, once all the tests had been passed, the company gave her a Grecale Gran Turismo for 20 days which she drove every day, even to take her children to school or go shopping: her perspective is important even just to understand that a woman also wears heels and that her height can be smaller than a man’s.
Only two examples of the Maserati Grecale Barbie will be made, one of which will be auctioned at the event Fantasy Gift of Neiman Marcus in Los Angeles. Part of the proceeds were donated to charity to the Barbie Dream Gap Project, a project with which Mattel collaborates with non-profit organizations around the world, to offer equal opportunities and remove the barriers that hinder the lives of girls and boys.
At Maserati the experience is tailored made. We can savor it when invited to the parent company in Modena for an exclusive visit – you can only enter the showroom if you are interested in purchasing – we wander around the models, fabrics and colors to understand how the Fuoriserie customization program works.
Models of custom-built cars inside the Maserati showroom in Modena.
120 years of history which is exemplified in over 100 different models, many colors and many variations. In 2023 alone, there were 1,500 requests for customizations. And, starting from the red and blue colors typical of the Bolognese Maserati to the yellow and blue ones of the Modena area, we even went so far as to create the Barbie SUV (in only two examples, one for the European market and one for the US market) and one with Kandinsky’s paintings.
The exterior of the Maserati showroom in Modena where the Grecale GT Barbie SUV can be seen in the foreground.
Generating customization and awareness are, after all, two strong points of the company founded in 1931 by the Maserati brothers from Lombardy, who moved first to Bologna and then subsequently to Modena and from 2021 part of the Stellantis group. A company that today sells 52 of its cars (so say the latest 2023 data) on the US market, 30 on the European market and the rest on the Asian one.
Albinelli covered market in Modena.
Our visit to Modena continued with a lunch at the Albinelli market, the very characteristic covered market in the city center born in the early 1900s where it is possible to buy local food, from balsamic vinegar to ricotta and spinach tortelli.
Food on sale at the Albinelli market.
The trip to Modena ended with a visit to the Collezione Umberto Panini Motor Museum, the most important collection of vintage Maserati cars in the world owned by the Panini family. 19 historic Maserati cars purchased in 1996 by Umberto Panini – the producer of the well-known stickers – and saved from sale at a London auction house.
The Maserati Tipo 420/M/58 Eldorado racing car located inside the Motor Museum Collezione Umberto Panini, the most important collection of vintage Maserati cars in the world.
Today in a shed located on the Panini family’s farm and which replicates a railway station with an iron supporting structure and cast iron bases, there are also Bora designed by Giugiaro, the Maseratis driven by Fangio and Nuvolari and the famous Tipo 420/M/58 Eldorado which, driven by Stirling Moss, found itself fighting for the top positions in the Monza 500 Miglia. One of the first Italian racing cars to be advertised by a company outside the world of motoring: its sponsor was, in fact, Eldorado, a company that marketed ice cream, whose name ended up identifying the car in the collective imagination.
