No sir, I don't think anyone would mind! Finally a super sleeper sedan with power AND the ability to put down that power! S600.. no S55.. no 760Li.. what power =)
I believe the sharing of technology will allow for both companies to produce better selling automobiles.. I believe Audi will be able to sell quite a few Maseratis at its dealerships compared to the limited Ferrari network can accomplish.. Maserati would benefit from some of the quality "ruboff" that an Audi connection could afford.. I believe we'll see sharing of technology like dual clutch technology etc..and VW will benefit as well.. VW should really have done something similiar with bugatti actually... Who knows..maybe bugatti will base its new 100 grand sedan and coupe on the Maserati chassis? I don't believe VW/Audi will be buying maserati but rather carry on joint ventures.. JMO..
Don't forget Citroen! A French company! We wouldn't even be talking about Maserati today if it wasn't for DeTomaso. He rescued a completely worthless company. I think FIAT bought it from DeTomaso just to rescue the name from DeTomaso (not exactly respected in "purebread" circles).
Actually mine is from within the Citroen era, so I could not include that one On the other hand Marci's was built from within the era that "was just a bad dream" according to Ferrari. As for De Tomaso he basically stuck it to the Italian Government and FIAT in the shorts. All though he started with his wife's money, he turned out to be quite the businessman. All though his wife's fortune is still more than everything he made and then some.
How did he stick it to them? I know he got a lot of Italian government money to ramp Maserati back up, but didn't know there was anything other than that. And FIAT bought 49% of Maserati for a huge sum, then came back and bought the rest of it later for even more. Sounds like they really wanted the company to me. DeTomaso got money from the Rowan family, but you're right, he turned out to be a hell of business man. They could make a movie about this guys dealings. At one point, he illegally built a wind tunnell on public property, and when he got caught, he was actually able to convince the government it was all for the best--and got away with it!
Was the pre-Citroen Maserati company the original company started by the Maserati brothers, or had there been other intervening ownership before? What do purists consider "real" Maseratis? By asking this question I do not in any way mean to denigrate later Maseratis. They include some of my favorite Italian cars. I'm just curious; I don't know a whole lot about the history of the company.