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Maserati to celebrate 100th anniversary at Monterey Motorsports Reunion

The Pebble Beach weekend is without a doubt one of the preeminent classic car gatherings on the calendar. But while most of the events that make up the weekend are essentially static displays, our favorite may be the Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. That's where you can actually see classic racing cars doing what they were made for in the first place. And every year, organizers of the event select a featured marque.
Last year it was the Chevrolet Corvette. The year before it was Shelby, preceded by Jaguar the year before that. But next year, the classic racing event will feature Maserati, which will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. And to make the occasion extra special for the Modenese marque, next year also marks the 60th anniversary of the most celebrated racing cars ever made by Maserati (or any other constructor, for that matter): the Maserati 250F (No. 4 above) famously piloted by the likes of Fangio and Moss in 1954.
Fittingly, the Trident marque got its start in racing back in 1914 with the debut of the Tipo 26 that put Maserati on the map with a debut victory in the 1926 Targa Florio. Although you don't much see it competing at top levels these days, Maserati went on to win the Indianapolis 500, the Formula One World Championship and, more recently, the FIA GT1 World Championship.

2014 Maserati Ghibli S Q4 [w/video]

For one reason or another, this is a car people stare at. They might be drawn to its curvaceous shape riding on immense wheels. They could be intrigued by its gaping, blacked-out grille which houses an equally outsized trident logo, or doing quick calculations about the last time they saw a car wearing the name Maserati. It may be its sports-car-like proportions mixed with achingly long, four-door bodywork that draws their eye.
Or, and I urge you to consider this theory carefully, the people taking notice of this Maserati Ghibli S Q4 might simply be newly alert after hearing the sound of its exhaust ricocheting off any solid thing nearby as I drive past grinning like a certified asshat. Did you hear an Italianate engine song careening through your Ann Arbor, MI neighborhood, in the black of the early morning, just a few weeks previous? Sorry, guy, that was probably me.
I spent a week hammering this all-wheel-drive Ghibli as hard as I dared in the last truly miserable stretch of the God Awful Winter of 2014. I can honestly say that I enjoyed myself, shocked at both the frank way this new challenger luxury car went down the road as well as the attention it garnered in the process.

Former BMW M boss and Maserati CEO killed in freak motorcycle accident

It's a tragic coincidence that on the same weekend the BMW M4 Coupe Concept was introduced in Monterey, one of the men most integral to BMW's M and Motorsports divisions, Karl-Heinz Kalbfell, was killed in England. Kalbfell, a vintage motorcycle enthusiast, was set to compete in the Lansdowne Classic Series at Brands Hatch and had an accident during a practice session. After going wide at Druids Corner and falling, he was hit by a competitor following close behind and died of his injuries after being transported to hospital.
Kalbfell, an engineer, began his career at BMW in 1977 in the communications department; a decade later he was chairman of BMW M GmbH, overseeing development of some of the cars responsible for the myth of M. In 1994 he was named chairman of BMW Motorsport, and his cap full of feathers includes getting the BMW V12 into the McLaren F1, getting the BMW V8 into two Morgan cars, along with developing BMW's Formula One engine and return to the sport. Not incidentally, he also assumed leadership of Project Rolls-Royce after BMW bought the British marque in 1998, which means he oversaw the Goodwood factory upfit and the creation of the Phantom.
He left Rolls-Royce for a brief stint at Fiat, heading Alfa Romeo and Maserati, then went into consulting for clients like Lotus and Paragon, who built the Artega GT. As Autocar notes, Kalbfell "had an abiding sense that customers needed to be attracted to cars by their aura and reputation, not just their engineering." He will be missed.