Officine Fuoriserie Maserati opened its doors today, ushering in a new level of personalisation previously not offered to customers of the Italian sports luxury car brand. While cost options like colours, hides and trim materials were always on offer, the new programme allows for far greater customer involvement, including consultations at the brand’s Centro Stile design studio in Italy.
- Available on all Maserati models from Grecale to MC20
- Bespoke builds include consultation with Maserati design team
- Detailed Fuoriserie sections to feature in all showrooms
- Maserati open to doing coach-built one-off models too
New 11-million-Euro Fuoriserie wing added to Modena HQ
The foundation for Officine Fuoriserie Maserati, which translates from Italian to ‘Maserati custom workshop’, is a new 4,000-square-metre wing installed at the brand’s historic headquarters in Modena, Italy. It is a result of an investment of 11 million Euro (Rs 102 crore); a large chunk of this is the state-of-the-art paint shop that features a combination of robotised and hand-finished paint stations, but more is invested regularly on new materials and paint finishes.
Incidentally, this inauguration coincides with the 100th anniversary of the ‘Tridente’ – the iconic Neptune’s Trident logo that was designed by Mario Maserati and debuted on the Tipo 26 race car at the Targo Florio the following year. “I like to think that the three prongs of the Tridente represent luxury, performance and Italian craftmanship,” said Maserati CEO Santo Ficili. “The three reasons customers choose a Maserati.”
Maserati Fuoriserie to feature two tiers of personalisation
The programme will be available on all models, right from the Grecale SUV to the Folgore EVs to the MC20 supercar. While basic customisation found in the online configurator also includes certain special ‘Fuoriserie’ options, such as pearl-effect paint, these still count as ‘catalogue’ options.
Maserati Grecale Trofeo by Officine Fuoriserie Maserati.
The true Fuoriserie experience begins after this, and comes in two tier levels – Collezione and Bespoke. The former offers up specifications curated and suggested by Maserati, divided into two distinct themes – the forward looking Collezione Futura and the Collezione Corse, which references Maserati’s storied motorsport history.
“Maserati is the automotive equivalent of a top fashion brand,” says Davide Baldini, head of Fuoriserie, Maserati. “And therefore we have created our own collections.”
Futura builds are designed to highlight the tech in the vehicles, featuring brighter colours, futuristic patterns, new-age upholstery fabrics and experimental tech like laser-etched body panels and interior trim. Corse builds, meanwhile, would use classic paint shades, historic liveries, tanned leather and anodised metal trim pieces to give a period look.
Maserati Fuoriserie Bespoke lets you choose every material
Maserati Granturismo 110 Anniversario by Officine Fuoriserie Maserati.
The final level is Bespoke, in which buyers are involved in every step of the process and end up with a car that’s uniquely theirs. They can create their own paint shades, design their own liveries and much more. “The starting point is listening to the customer,” Baldini says. “We have to understand what the customer wants, and what can and can’t be achieved.”
This involves sketches, renderings and even material samples being sent to the customer, regular contact with the design and production teams and even a visit to the Maserati Centro Stile design centre in Modena to collaborate with design head Klaus Busse. This, of course, stretches the production time (and the cost) considerably.
“We do not say no to customers” – Maserati Fuoriserie team
While Maserati boldly says the Fuoriserie programme has ‘no limits’, there are of course some considerations to make. “We often like to say that we have customisation without limits, but of course we have some limits,” said Baldini in response to a question from Autocar India. “One is the quality, and of course the other is safety. These are the only limits we put on our customers.”
“The answer is yes; now, what is the question?” joked Giovanni Perosino, chief marketing officer, Maserati, adding: “What we try to do is guide them. Several times a customer is not an expert at customising a car at this level, so we want to educate them while following [their] design.” He also proudly spoke of one customer who “received a no” from another prominent carmaker in Italy’s Motor Valley, and then came to Maserati where their request was fulfilled.
Combining traditional techniques with modern tech
Highlighting the level of workmanship of the programme, Davide Guerra, Maserati head of manufacturing and the Modena plant, says it aims to deliver “Quality, efficiency and flexibility”. It uses a hybrid operation that combines automation and manual processes, the latter especially important for delivering a bespoke feel.
For instance, for the one-off custom MC20 Cielo “Less is more…?” (pictured), an elaborate combination of matte and gloss paint is used. This is achieved by applying a matte finish on the whole car and then individually isolating and polishing the required sections to a gloss finish by hand.
This car is also a demonstration that Maserati is willing to break tradition to fulfil customers’ wishes. “We take a lot of liberties playing with the Tridente [logo] as well, unlike other brands. Here, we broke it up, for example.” Busse says of the one-off MC20 Cielo, which features a Bauhaus interpretation of the trident painted on the engine cover. “Strictly no stickers here.”
Maserati Fuoriserie programme to be offered to Indian customers
The Maserati GranTurismo launched in August last year from Rs 2.72 crore, ex-showroom.
As all Maseratis are built to order, there is no regional limitation to the programme, and hence it will be available to Indian customers as well. The brand is keen to open more showrooms around the country soon, and globally, all will be directed to feature a special area for Officine Fuoriserie, featuring paint, material and trim samples that buyers can touch and feel.
While the programme has been introduced in Modena, however, it is still rolling out to dealerships worldwide. “We need to involve our dealers in this fantastic programme,” Ficili says. “We are ready but we are in the process of training our dealers to be ready for Fuoriserie.”
With this, Maserati aims to further establish itself as not just a performance car maker, but a bona fide luxury brand that can provide a custom experience for those who wish to avail of it.
Also see:
Maserati MC20 Folgore axed due to lack of demand
Maserati future models uncertain as Stellantis cancels 1.5 billion euros investment
