Famous, Fast and Fictional

A roster of notable Maserati drivers

Throughout the years Maserati cars have been owned by the famous, by fictional characters in TV and movies, and by the creators and racers of some of the greatest competition cars. Here we present an incomplete list of some of the best.


Famous
To say that Maserati has always been the choice for the influential, the glamorous and the talented barely does the notion justice. Through the years Maserati has been the choice of the powerful: princes, presidents and premiers, in addition to tycoons and industrialists. The most dashing actors and beautiful actresses continue to select Maserati as their car of choice. Those with an ear for music have fallen prey to the siren song of a Maserati engine. Athletes who understand performance and strength have sought out the Trident as well.

To those with taste and style there can be only one choice: Maserati. A list of some of our famous owners over the years is below:

  • Aga Khan; 5000GT (Frua), Bora 4.9
  • Gianni Agnelli, Industrialist, owner of FIAT; 5000GT (Pinin Farina)
  • Tiki Barber, NFL Football Player; Coupe
  • Warren Bell, TV Sitcom producer and NRO conservative columnist; Quattroporte V
  • Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor; Ghibli
  • Luciano Benetton, Chairman of the Benetton Group (clothing, Formula 1); Khamsin
  • Nino Benvenuti, Middle-weight boxing champion; Mexico 4.7
  • Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy; Quattroporte
  • Bono, Musician - U2; Quattroporte
  • Paul Breitner, German soccer star; Indy 4.9
  • Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, leader of the USSR; Quattroporte I
  • Tony Curtis, Actor; 3500GT
  • Sammy Davis, Jr , Singer; Ghibli
  • Mario Del Monaco, Tenor; Quattroporte I
  • Giuseppe di Stefano, Tenor; 3500GT
  • Roy Disney, Walt Disney Company; Indy 4.9
  • Reuben Droughns, NFL Football player; Quattroporte
  • Eve, Rapper; Quattroporte
  • Sergei Fedorov, Hockey Player (3-time Stanley Cup winner & former league MVP); GranTurismo
  • Stewart Granger, Actor; 5000 GT (Allemano)
  • Daniel Harding, Conductor; Coupe
  • Laurence Harvey, Actor; Mistral
  • Rock Hudson, Actor; 3500GT
  • Ferdinando Innocenti, Italian industrialist, builder of Lambretta scooter; 5000GT (Carrozzeria Ghia)
  • Jess Jackson, Winemaker (Kendall-Jackson label), philanthropist; Quattroporte
  • Dwayne Johnson, Pro Wrestler (“The Rock”), actor
  • Jay Kay, Musician – Jamiroquai; A6 GCS
  • Jodie Kidd, Model and racer; Trofeo
  • Mark Knopfler, Musician - Dire Straits; 300S
  • Olaf Kolzig, Hockey Player; Quattroporte
  • Tatana Kucharova, Miss World 2006; Quattroporte
  • Ralph Lauren, Designer; 250F (raced by Fangio in 1957)
  • Virna Lisi, Italian actress; Mexico 4.7
  • Alfonso Lopez, President of Mexico; 5000GT
  • Nick Mason, Musician - Pink Floyd; 250F, Birdcage Tipo 60 (2 liter), Birdcage Tipo 61 (3 liter)
  • Marcello Mastroianni, Actor; Quattroporte I
  • Harry Metcalfe, EVO magazine founder; GranTurismo
  • Jamie Oliver, Chef; Coupe
  • Luciano Pavarotti, Opera singer; Sebring 4.0, Quattroporte
  • Carlo Ponti, Movie producer, married to Sophia Loren; Bora 4.9
  • Clinton Portis, Football Player; GranTurismo
  • Prince Rainier III of Monaco; 3500GT, Quattroporte I
  • Don Prudhomme, Drag Racer, "The Snake", four NHRA drag racing championships; Quattroporte Sport GT
  • Anthony Quinn, Actor, two Academy Awards; Quattroporte I
  • Ronald Reagan, Actor, U.S. President; Mexico 4.7
  • Wally Schirra, One of the original “Mercury Seven” NASA astronauts; Bora
  • Peter Sellers, Actor; Ghibli
  • Shah of Persia; 5000GT (Touring of Milan)
  • Alberto Sordi, Italian actor; 3500GT, Quattroporte I
  • Adrian Swarovski, Austrian crystal glass tycoon; Sebring 4.0
  • Luciano Taioli, Singer; Quattroporte I
  • Troy Tulowitzki, Baseball Player; GranTurismo
  • Peter Ustinov, Actor; Quattroporte I, Mistral 4.0
  • Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata, Independent Ferrari race team manager; Quattroporte I
  • Joe Walsh, Musician ("My Maserati does 185…"); Bora
  • Jerry Weintraub, Film Producer (Ocean's Eleven) with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame; tour promoter (Sinatra, Dylan, Neil Diamond, Elvis); Quattroporte
  • Vanessa Williams, Actress, Singer; GranTurismo, Coupe

 

Fast
Much has been said about Maserati’s roster of famous factory team and privateer drivers, however lesser known is that some of the most successful race car drivers and builders began their careers behind the wheel of a Maserati. Names that are now primarily associated with the likes of Ferrari, Bentley, Mercedes or their own cars have ties to some of the greatest Maserati race cars. No doubt the genius of Maserati rubbed off when racers like Carrol Shelby, Briggs Cunningham, Jim Hall and Lance Reventlow went on to create their own race cars, each among the greatest racers ever produced in America. Some of the racing world’s greatest figures with Maserati ties are below:

  • Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin, one of the "Bentley Boys"; 8C-3000
  • Jo Bonnier, famous and talented gentleman driver; 200SI, 250F
  • Briggs Cunningham, created the Cunningham racers; owned a 5000GT with Michelotti coachwork, Tipo 63 and 64 Birdcages
  • Maria-Teresa de Filippis, first woman to race in Formula 1; 250F
  • Jim Hall, designer/driver of Chaparral race cars; 450S
  • Jim Kimberly, Kimberly Ferrari; 450S
  • Sir Stirling Moss, who declared "the 250F was one of the finest-handling front-engined cars ever built" – he nominated it for greatest racing car of all time; 250F, 300S, 450S, Birdcage
  • Basil Read, owner of Kyalami ranch in South Africa, built Kyalami F1 circuit (where Pedro Rodriguez would win opening race – Maserati went on to name a model after the circuit); 5000GT
  • Lance Reventlow, American racer, created the successful Scarab cars; 200S
  • Roy Salvadori, after retiring as a racer managed team Cooper-Maserati; A6GCS, 250F
  • Carrol Shelby, created the famous Cobra, Daytona and a series of Ford-based racers; Birdcage

 

Fictional
Art imitates life – or it would if werewolves were real, and hunted by a sexy vampire driving a Maserati. If you are writing a TV show or movie, how do you immediately convey your character to have an inimitable sense of taste, style and sophistication without having to say a word? Quite simply you put the character behind the wheel of a Maserati. The stylish and sophisticated operate on both sides of the law in the fictional world, with Maseratis driven by both the good guys and the bad. We’ve even heard that the appeal of the Trident goes back to drivers in prehistoric times, far before Maserati’s founding in 1914, with a “Mase-rocky” in the Flintstones movie. Below are some notable on-screen appearances by Maserati:

  • Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, 2003: Character Ray Carter, played by Robert Patrick. Maserati featured: Spyder, used in chase scene with Lucy Liu
  • CSI. Maserati featured: Coupe. Classic line: "It's not a car… it's a Maserati"
  • Desperate Housewives, 2005: Character Gabrielle Solis, played by Eva Longoria. Maserati featured: Spyder, Eva’s car in the first season of hit TV show; a fitting car for Longoria who was Maxim's "#1 Hottest Woman in the World"
  • Entourage, 2005, HBO: Character Vince, played by Adrian Grenier. Maserati featured: Quattroporte and GranTurismo, QP features prominently in Season 2 and voted one of the Top 10 TV cars of all time
  • License to Kill (007), 1989. Maserati featured: Biturbo 425i, driven by the bad guys
  • Life, 2008: Character Charlie Crews, played by Damian Lewis. Maserati featured: Quattroporte, driven by Lewis as a homicide detective
  • Lipstick Jungle, 2008, NBC. Maserati featured: Quattroporte. TV show based on the book by “Sex and the City” author Candace Bushnell
  • Max Payne, 2008: Character Mona Sax, played by Mila Kunis. Maserati featured: Quattroporte Sport GT S, driven by female assassin in this Mark Wahlberg film
  • Rocky III & V, '82, '90: Character Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone. Maserati featured: QP III, Rocky drives a QP III at the height of his career
  • Running Man, 1987. Maserati featured: stretched QP III Limo, for the head bad guy
  • The Fly, 1980. Maserati featured: QP III
  • The Godfather III, 1990: Character Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino. Maserati featured: QP III, on trip to Italy
  • The Sopranos, 2005, HBO: Character Johnny Sacramoni, played by Vincent Curatola. Maserati featured: Coupe, in season 5
  • The Starter Wife, 2008: Character Kenny, played by David Alan Basche. Maserati featured: Quattroporte, driven by ex-husband of lead, Debra Messing
  • Underworld, 2003: Character Selene, played by Kate Beckinsale. Maserati featured: 3200GT
  • Valentine, 2008: Character Danny Valentine, played by Kris Polaha. Maserati featured: Quattroporte, driven by modern-day Greek god Eros

 

Facts
Some fun facts about Maserati:

  • In 1968 the Mistral Spyder became the most modern car ever to win the Best in Show award at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elégance
  • Many young American car enthusiasts got their first taste of Maserati ownership – on a very small scale – in 1969 when toy company Hot Wheels introduced a Mistral in their second series of toy cars (Hot Wheels began with their first series just the year before in 1968)
  • Henry Ford II was so impressed by the Ghibli that he reportedly approached the Orsi family with an offer to buy the company from them
  • The first car named "GTI" was a Maserati
  • The first race car ever with total sponsorship was the "Eldorado", painted white for the ice cream company
  • The first car with LED taillights was the Maserati 3200GT