Reinventing Maserati. Again.

The first time I visited the Maserati factory on Viale Ciro Menotti in Modena, just a mile’s walk from the city’s 12th century cathedral, the plant was building Biturbo coupés.

Well, sort of. Although technically interesting—the V-6-powered Biturbo was the first production car with twin turbos and the first with three valves per cylinder—the Biturbo was more an assemblage of parts flying in close formation than a fully bolted together automobile. The Biturbo was fast. When it ran.

Today, the once-grimy old Maserati plant gleams and glistens. There’s fresh white paint on the walls and ceilings, and computer-controlled machinery hums and whirrs on the assembly line where Maserati’s new mid-engine supercar, the MC20, is being put together with quiet, calm efficiency. Things are changing at Maserati. Again. Only this time, it genuinely looks like it’s changing for the better.

Maserati has had a turbulent, troubled history. Founded in Bologna, Italy, in 1914 by brothers Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ettore, and Ernesto Maserati, the company specialized in building sports and racing cars. A sixth Maserati brother, Mario, designed the brand’s iconic trident logo, drawing his inspiration from the 16th century Fountain of Neptune in central Bologna.