The Gran Premio Nuvolari, a regularity rally only open to historic cars built between 1919 and 1972, was held in September on a route which started and ended in Mantua, the birthplace of Tazio Nuvolari. As a tribute to one of the greatest drivers of all time, throughout the event Maserati exhibited the 6C-34 from the Umberto Panini Collection in Modena and the Levante GranSport MY19 in the magnificent setting of Piazza Sordello in Mantua.
Ernesto Maserati designed the Maserati 6C-34 in response to the new international regulations based on the maximum weight limit of 750kg. With a 270bhp straight six-cylinder engine and a top speed of 250km/h, it went directly from the factory to its racing debut at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on 9 September 1934, when Tazio Nuvolari drove it to fifth place overall. Also at the wheel of the 6C-34, ‘Nivola’ finished third in Brno on 30 September and in the following weeks he achieved two particularly impressive victories with a win on the Modena Circuit on 14 October and again in the Coppa Principessa di Piemonte on the Naples Circuit on 21 October 1934.
The Maserati cars taking part in the Gran Premio Nuvolari included the A6 1500 Berlinetta designed by Pininfarina and built in 1949 – the first Maserati road model and a sports car intended for gentlemen drivers with a 1500 engine that provided the basis for Maserati racing and road cars of the following years. Also present was a Quattroporte built in 1968, the first of which in 1963 created a completely new market segment, that of the luxury sports sedan. Maserati also opened the parade of over 300 teams taking part in the GP Nuvolari by organising the Maserati Tribute, a race within the race, with the cars in the current range – the Quattroporte flagship, the Ghibli sports sedan and the Levante SUV – lining up on the front row.
