SpaItalia, the famed Belgian circuit’s celebration of Italian style will, this year, honor Maserati and pay homage to its founder Alfieri Maserati.
Alfieri Maserati was born in 1887. On December 14, 1914, he created, in Bologna, his own firm with his brothers Ettore, Enesto and later Bindo, called the “Societa Anonima Officine Alfieri Maserati.” During these early years, Maserati’s objective was mainly to adapt engines onto Isotta Fraschini chassis. The first car Maserati was wholly responsible for was the Tipo 26, built in 1926. The engine was a 1.5-liter, inline, supercharged, 8-cylinder that developed 120 bhp at 5,300 rpm. Above the radiator, a then-unknown badge depicted a trident that evoked Bologna’s famous statue of Neptune. The Tipo 26 made its debut with Alfieri Maserati at the wheel and Guerino Bertocchi as mechanic in the Targa Florio on April 25, 1926, finishing 1st in class and 9th overall.
In addition to honoring Maserati, 2007 will also be the 50th anniversary of Juan Manuel Fangio’s fifth Formula 1 drivers championship, won in a Maserati 250F. Not only will this year’s SpaItalia attract one of the greater displays of Maseratis in Europe, but a special tribute will be paid to Fangio and the 250F.
Now in its sixth year, SpaItalia has become a celebration of Italian style centered on hundreds of Italian exotic automobiles, with annual showcases of one or more legendary Italian marques and designers. The 2007 SpaItalia is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, June 2–3, at the circuit of Spa Francorchamps, in Belgium. For more information visit www.spaitalia.be.
