The amazing hidden Maserati museum

Italian beauties assembled for your delight

The name ‘Maserati’ evokes images of beautiful Italian GTs and pre-war single-seater racing cars, but strangely – and despite that rich history – the marque has no official museum.

Fortunately, the Collezione Umberto Panini is a kind of unofficial showcase for the brand, and a superb one at that.

Located on the outskirts of Modena, it’s one of the more unusual museums you’ll ever visit: it’s right next to the Panini family’s farm and to reach it you have to drive past a herd of cows and to a huge warehouse near the back of the property.

Once inside, though, you’ll be in for a real treat, because it’s absolutely packed with wonderful Masers.

Of course, COVID-19 lockdown and travel restrictions mean you can’t visit in person, so enjoy our gallery of the collection’s highlights.

1. 6C34 (1934)

Maserati made six examples of the 6C34 in 1934 and 1935. Designed exclusively for racing, this single-seater came with a straight-six engine that delivered 270bhp, enough for a top speed of 161mph.

After leaving Ferrari, Tazio Nuvolari won the Modena and Naples Grands Prix in a 6C34.

2. 160 T4 (1954)

While the Maserati name is commonly associated with luxury and performance cars, the trident logo appeared on a series of mopeds and motorcycles between 1953 and 1960. The firm was an offshoot of the carmaker it shared its name with, but the two companies had different owners.

The 160 T4 released in 1953 was one of its first models. It was closely related to a model designed by Italmoto, which Maserati’s motorcycle-building arm bought the year it released the 160 T4, so it used an air-cooled, 158cc single-cylinder engine that sent it to a top speed of 62mph. 

3. A6GCS (1954)

Maserati developed the A6GCS to compete against Jaguar, Ferrari and others in the World Sportscar Championship, a prestigious series which took participants all over the globe.

It was a formidable racer, with a straight-six engine which made 170bhp, but it didn’t win a single race during the 1954 season. Maserati finished fifth with seven points that year; Ferrari took first with 32. 

4. A6G/54 (1956)

The A6G/54 is proof that, even in the 1950s, a gorgeous body wasn’t enough to sell a car.

Its Michelotti-designed, Allemano-built body was a real head-turner but it was more show than go because its 2-litre straight-six made 150bhp in its most basic state of tune.

According to Panini, the lack of power hurt sales and 21 units of this body style were made between 1954 and 1956. Other variants (including a Zagato-bodied fastback and a Frua-bodied convertible) were also produced.

5. MI-Val Mivalino (1956)

If the Mivalino looks familiar, it’s because it’s all but identical to the Messerschmitt KR175 when viewed from the outside.

Italian motorcycle manufacturer Metalmeccanica Italiana Valtrompia (MI-Val) imported KR175s from Germany and powered them with its own 172cc single-cylinder engine.

The short-lived bubble car is a rare sight in 2019; not many were made and even fewer remain.

6. Drogo-bodied Tipo 61 (1961)

The Tipo 61 is part of Maserati’s emblematic Birdcage family of models but we forgive you if you don’t recognise this one.

Wearing chassis number 2472, it was damaged during an accident at the 1961 Rouen Four Hours race and rebuilt with a body sourced from a small Italian coachbuilder named Drogo.

While it never won any high-profile races, the fact that it’s a one-of-a-kind car makes it one of the most interesting Birdcage variants produced – and undoubtedly one of the rarest.

7. Tipo 63 (1961)

Part of the Birdcage family, the Tipo 63 received a 3.0-liter V12 engine borrowed from the 250F that Maserati designed for Formula One. The mid-mounted 12 gave it about 320 HP, 70 more than the better-known, four-cylinder-powered Tipo 61. Maserati made seven examples of the Tipo 63 in 1961. 

8. 5000GT (1964)

Maserati made the first 5000GT for Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran between 1941 and 1979 – at which point he was ousted by revolutionaries.

In 1958, Pahlavi asked for a chassis on which to drop a body made by Touring. Maserati built him an evolution of the 3500GT’s chassis and powered it with a de-tuned version of the 450S engine it started developing for competition but never finished.

While the 5000GT was originally envisioned as a one-off, its popularity encouraged Maserati to make more. Historians disagree on the total number built but it hovers around 30. The Touring-bodied, 325bhp example in the Panini collection was first registered in 1964. 

9. Ghia Simun prototype (1968)

Ghia introduced the Simun prototype at the 1968 Turin motor show in a bid to convince Maserati to invest in the project and turn it into a production model.

At the time, signing a contract with a high-profile automaker meant several years of lucrative business for a coachbuilder. Unfortunately for Ghia, rival Vignale travelled to the same event with the same idea and Maserati selected its proposal because it wore a more modern design.

The Simun morphed into the Indy introduced in 1969.

10. Ghibli Spyder (1969)

The Ghibli Spyder was positioned at the very top of the Maserati range when it made its debut in 1969, two years after the coupé model on which it was based.

It was designed by Ghia but it was the work of a then-junior designer named Giorgetto Giugiaro who went on to have a lasting influence on the Maserati range – and many other marques – for decades.

Maserati made about 125 units of the Spyder compared to 1170 examples of the coupé. Those numbers sound small, but the nameplate was popular enough to make two comebacks.

11. Italdesign Tipo 124 prototype (1974)

Italdesign unveiled the Tipo 124 prototype during the 1974 Turin motor show. It was a 2+2 coupé built on underpinnings sourced from the Indy, meaning it was powered by a 320bhp V8.

While it was never approved for production, it influenced several of Italdesign’s later projects including, in an odd twist of fate, the Lotus Esprit. 

12. Bora (1975)

The mid-engined, V8-powered Bora was Maserati’s answer to the Lamborghini Miura. Introduced in 1971, it was developed shortly after the Citroën takeover, so it received a brand-specific version of the hydropneumatic suspension that equipped the DS, among other models.

Its ride height wasn’t adjustable as it was on the DS, but the brakes, the power steering, the clutch, the retractable headlights and the adjustable pedals were all powered by the high-pressure hydraulic system. 

13. Khamsin (1975)

Penned by Marcello Gandini, the Khamsin made its debut in 1973 as a powerful, 2+2 grand tourer that put a bigger focus on comfort and luxury than on handling. As a result, it catered to buyers who found the mid-engined Merak and Bora models too hardcore to drive on a daily basis.

Maserati made 435 examples of the Khamsin between 1974 and 1983. In hindsight, it would have been far more successful had it not been released in a decade during which the price of petrol sky-rocketed in many countries.

14. Merak Turbo prototype (1978)

While this looks like a regular Merak SS at first glance, it’s actually a one-of-a-kind prototype built to test how Maserati’s V6 engine coped with being turbocharged.

Maserati never offered a turbocharger as an option on the Merak but the lessons it learned from the project helped it develop the engine that went into the later Biturbo.

Strangely, but perhaps unsurprisingly as this seems to be a trend, historians disagree on when this car was built; 1975, 1978 and 1980 have all been listed as correct.

15. Quattroporte Royale (1987)

You could do a lot worse than a Maserati Quattroporte if you were shopping for a luxury saloon in the late 1980s – it stood out as one of the most opulent four-door models in the world.

Maserati parent company De Tomaso released an even more upmarket variant of the car, named the Royale, in 1986; it was decked out with four power-adjustable seats, airplane-like retractable tables for the rear passengers and even a minibar.

Maserati planned to make 120 units but production stopped after only 53 were built.

16. Chubasco prototype (1990)

The Chubasco is one of the most obscure Maserati models made during the 1990s. Developed as the company’s flagship, the Marcello Gandini-designed coupé was shown to the public and the press in late 1990 and presented as a supercar capable of keeping up with the Lamborghini Diablo and the Ferrari Testarossa.

The Biturbo released in 1981 expanded Maserati’s presence downmarket; the Chubasco was designed to take the company in the opposite direction.

17. Chubasco prototype (continued)

Maserati planned to power the Chubasco with a mid-mounted, 430bhp evolution of the 3.2-litre V8 found in the Shamal.

The project had reached a relatively advanced stage when Fiat – which purchased half of Maserati in early 1990 – abruptly cancelled it because it was too expensive to build. The example in the Panini collection is the only one ever made.

18. Ghibli (1996)

One of the newer cars in the Panini collection, this 1996 Ghibli is one of 22 units built to compete in the Open Cup Trofeo racing series.

It was based on the regular, street-legal Ghibli but it received a long list of exterior, interior and mechanical modifications. The bonnet hides a 2-litre, 330bhp V6.

What’s really remarkable it is that the Ghibli was itself an evolution of the Biturbo, released in 1981 – so this extreme machine is effectively built around a 15-year-old design.

19. Fiat 500s

The Panini Collection isn’t exclusively dedicated to Maserati: there’s also a handful of cars made by other brands on the first floor, dozens of motorcycles on the second floor and several vintage tractors parked outside.

We were also surprised to find a pair of Fiat 500s parked far from where visitors normally go. 

20. Fiat 500s (continued)

Both are 500L models made between 1968 and 1972. The one missing its front bumper has seemingly been Abarth-ified with aftermarket parts and it’s unspeakably rusty.

The one that has received an oddly colourful paint job, meanwhile, is complete, largely original and fully restorable. We’d love to have a go at it.

The Collezione Umberto Panini is open six days a week. For more information, click here.