Maserati Logo

Maserati is a luxury Italian automobile manufacturer, which was established in 1914, and has never lost its gloss and style. Today the car brand is owned by the  Fiat Chrysler Group, and has its chic sedans and SUVs sold all over the globe, being a symbol of exquisite Italian style.

Meaning and History

The Maserati Company (Società Anonima Officine Alfieri Maserati) was set up in Bologna on the 14th of December, 1914.

The brand name is the surname of the founder, Alfieri Maserati, as well as of his numerous brothers, almost all of them were involved in the company’s activity.

During the creation of their trident, the Maserati brothers received inspiration from the statue of Neptune, which is located in the central part of Bologna, where the company has its headquarters. The trident with the signature Maserati under it was drawn by the artist Mario, who was also one of the seven Maserati brothers, who was never occupied by the design or production of vehicles.

The statue of the sea king Neptune inspired him, or rather his weapon, this is the work of the known Florentine sculptor Giovanni da Bologna, who also had a nickname Dzhiambolonya. But the idea of the trident itself has quite another story.

The trident is the pitchfork, which once saved Alfieri from the death. During his walk in forest, a wrathy wolf attacked him, but an ordinary man in an overall with a pitchfork in hands came pat and saved the founding father of the Maserati brand from, as they say, the certain death. Alfieri, in his turn, did not leave the favor unanswered and made the man a racer of his team.

There is also a version that the trident means three brothers who stood at the origins of the company – Alfieri, Ettore, and Ernesto, but this is just a modestly beautiful symbolism.

The Maserati cars were, in essence, the only ones, which at that time could give a challenge in a racecourse to cars of German carmaker Mercedes.

1926 – 1937

The very first Maserati logo was introduced in 1926 and featured a vertically oriented rectangular shape with a silver-metallic surface. The trident was engraved on the badge, executed in black and accompanied by an uppercase sans-serif logotype, set under it.

1937 – 1943

The redesign of 1937 introduced a new elegant version of the Maserati logo. It featured an oval medallion, stretched vertically, and colored in white and red. The red trident was coming out from the small red segment at the bottom of the badge and outlined in black. As for the lettering, it was set over the red background and executed in voluminous silver capitals.

1943 – 1951

The logo, used by the Italian automaker in the 1940s, was bright and modern, with a very bold character and massive elements. It was a solid blue oval medallion, crossed by a horizontally stretched rectangular banner with rounded angles, also set in blue. The red trident was drawn over the oval, and its bottom part was overlapped by an extra bold white logotype in the uppercase of a contemporary sans-serif typeface.

1951 – 1954

In 1951 the Maserati logo got another redesign. That was the beginning of the company’s visual identity era, which lasted until 2015. A white oval medallion Bosted a thin blue and white outline, the bottom part colored in blue, and the trident in thin red lines drawn over the white background. The “Maserati” lettering was written on a blue part of the badge in delicate narrowed white capitals of a custom sans-serif typeface.

1954 – 1983

In 1954 the lines of the logo got refined, and the colors on the Maserati badge got deeper hues. The blue became navy, while the red got closer to a burgundy shade. The shape of the medallion was also slightly changed, getting a bit pointed at the top and bottom, resembling an egg now.

1983 – 1985

For two years in the middle of the 1980s, the manufacturer of luxury cars has been using a different badge, executed in a simplified white and blue color palette, with the enlarged light-blue trident drawn on a white oval in a thin black outline, and accompanied by a bold black sans-serif inscription in small capitals, set under it over a white background.

1985 – 1997

In 1985 the company comes back to the logo design from the 1950s, but with delicate changes. The white lettering was now set in thinner lines, adding sophistication to the badge and making it look more elegant. Also, the bottom part has become a bit smaller, while the badge itself got enlarged with its contours refined.

1997 – 2006

In 1997 the Maserati logo get a classic oval shape back, being slightly narrowed, and the color palette brightened up. The lettering on the blue part of the badge got more confident and bold, with the white capitals enlarged and strengthened, while the dark red trident was redrawn in thinner and more delicate lines, balancing the whole look of the badge.

2006 – 2020

The redesign of 2006 has widened the Maserati badge, and enlarged its blue part, making it almost half of the logo. The white uppercase lettering was rewritten in a classy traditional serif typeface with medium-thick lines and elongated serifs. The color of the trident got brightened up and now featured a vivid scarlet-red shade.

2006 – 2015

Another logo, used by the Italian company in the 2000s — 2010s was a voluminous version of the logo, described above. The badge had its background in gradients from white to gray, with a double outline more visible, and all elements looking more elegant and sophisticated. This logo was active until 2016, while its flat version stayed in use up to 2020.

2015 – 2020

The redesign of 2015 has introduced a monochrome Maserati badge with the uppercase logotype in an elegant serif typeface enlarged and accompanied by a small black trident, placed above it without any framing or color accents. That was, probably, the simplest badge Maserati ever used, and it stayed in use for almost five years.

2020 – now

In 2020 the Maserati badge was redrawn again, with the color palette remaining untouched, but the style of the lettering completely changed. The black trident was enlarged and now looks as powerful, as a bold futuristic inscription in a custom cursive typeface. The logo looks very powerful and progressive, yet still elegant and chic.

Symbol

Now, as many years ago, the Maserati logo features the red trident on a white background, under which the name of the brand in a blue background is written in the company typeface.

Color

The blue color of the Maserati logo signifies its power, excellence, and class. The white color features purity and charm of the car brand.

Emblem

It is curious that the 25th of April, 1926 is assumed as the recognized birth date, since which the history of the make with the Maserati emblem is dated. This day, the Alfieri car came in an easy first at the Targa Florio competition.

Since 2005, Alfa Romeo, which belongs to FIAT Group, became the owner of the Maserati make.

What is there in the make`s plans? In 2016, a sports car, the coupe Alfieri is expected. The sports coupe is assumed to be offered in two versions: the rear wheel drive + V6 with 410 hp and a four-wheel drive version of 450 or 520 hp. The convertible is expected to complement the line as well in 2017.

And the futuristic concept car, which is also a sports car, Maserati GT Garbin, can be called the car of the make future. It is correlated with 2020. The complete rethinking of the auto exterior is shown here. But the traditions are retained. Designer elements not only of cars but also of Armani clothes and even of Spanish operas are used in the auto design. The car is fitted with the V12 engine. The blue emitting diode lights that are complementing the design are installed in several points of the car. And the special mechanism of the car door opening does not require the additional space in a parking; one can get into the car even in a very narrow place.

Font

The lettering from the current Maserati logotype looks unique and sophisticated, despite the significant thickness of its lines and the very modern shapes of the cursive letters. The typeface, used in this insignia, doesn’t have any commercial analogs, and also has something in common with such fonts as Cabriolet Cabriolet and Permanents Waves.