 |
| Maserati Birdcage 75th |
To give this
Maserati Birdcage 75th its full and lengthy title, you're gawping at the Pininfarina Maserati Birdcage 75th. Seventy-five being the number of years the world's longest-established styling house has been in existence. Its back catalogue is impressive enough - including, as it does, most of the finest Ferraris, the Peugeot 205 and every generation of Alfa Spider.
Maserati Birdcage 75th Design Inspiration partially came from a previous Pininfarina show car - the 1970 Modulo. This insanely low, white-painted plastic wedge forced its driver to sit almost fully reclined on the floor, surrounded by a cockpit canopy that rotated forwards on spindly aluminium struts. It was powered by the most extreme engine then available, a five-litre Ferrari V12.
 |
| Maserati Birdcage 75th |
The
Maserati Birdcage 75th body was designed by Pininfarina to celebrate the company's 75th anniversary. A documentary called "Sleek Dreams" was filmed about the six-month design process. The exterior is made of carbon fiber with diffusers at the rear and 2 spoilers that automatically raise at speed. The windshield is made of perspex and extends almost from the front to the back of the car; this is a necessity because of the driver's low seated position - if the windscreen ended higher, they would be unable to see the oncoming road. This visibility problem is compounded by typical concept-car omissions like wing mirrors.
 |
| Maserati Birdcage 75th |
The
Maserati Birdcage 75th is built on the carbonfibre chassis of a Maserati MC12 GT1 race car and shares many components, most notably the engine. The Birdcage 75th is powered by the Ferrari Dino F140 V12 engine of the MC12 and the Enzo Ferrari mid mounted at 65°th's engine has been tuned for racing and as a result produces around 700 brake horsepower. The
Maserati Birdcage 75th was a concept car created by automobile manufacturer Maserati and designed by Pininfarina and the design team, including Jason Castriota under the guidance of Ken Okuyama at Pininfarina. It was first introduced at the 2005 Geneva Auto Show. It was named to honor the classic Maserati Birdcages of the 1960s and Pininfarina's 75th anniversary.
 |
| Maserati Birdcage 75th Driver Interior |
