Editing Maserati (section)

====Withdrawal from racing====
Maserati retired from factory racing participation because of the ''[[Guidizzolo]] tragedy''{{efn|During the [[1957 Mille Miglia]], near the town of [[Guidizzolo]], a 4.2-litre Ferrari travelling at {{convert|250|km/h}} blew a tire and crashed into the roadside crowd, killing the driver – [[Alfonso de Portago]], the co-driver, and ten spectators, including five children. In response, [[Enzo Ferrari]] was charged with manslaughter in a lengthy criminal prosecution that was finally dismissed in 1961.}} during the 1957 [[Mille Miglia]], though they continued to build cars for [[privateer (motorsport)|privateer]]s. Maserati became more and more focused on building road-going [[grand tourer]]s.

[[File:1958 Maserati 3500 GT coupé - white - fvr.jpg|thumb|A 1958 [[Maserati 3500 GT]]]]

The 1957 [[Maserati 3500 GT|3500 GT]] marked a turning point in the marque's history, as its first ground-up [[grand tourer]] design and first series-produced car.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}} Production jumped from a dozen to a few hundred cars a year.
Chief engineer [[Giulio Alfieri]] took charge of the project and turned the 3.5-litre [[inline-six engine|inline six]] from the [[Maserati 350S|350S]] into a road-going engine. Launched with a [[Carrozzeria Touring]] 2+2 coupé aluminium body over [[superleggera]] structure, a steel-bodied short wheelbase [[Vignale]] 3500 GT Spyder [[Convertible|open top]] version followed in 1959. The 3500 GT's success, with over 2,200 made, was critical to Maserati's survival in the years following withdrawal from racing.

The 3500 GT also provided the underpinnings for the small-volume V8-engined [[Maserati 5000 GT|5000 GT]], another seminal car for Maserati. Born from the [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|Shah of Persia]]'s whim of owning a road car powered by the [[Maserati 450S]] racing engine, it became one of the fastest and most expensive cars of its days. The third to the thirty-fourth and last example produced were powered by Maserati's first purely road-going V8 engine design.

In 1962, the 3500 GT evolved into the [[Maserati Sebring|Sebring]], bodied by [[Vignale]] and based on the shorter wheelbase convertible chassis. Next came the two-seater [[Maserati Mistral|Mistral]] coupé in 1963 and Spider in 1964, both powered by a six-cylinder engine and styled by [[Pietro Frua]].

[[File:Maserati Ghibli green.jpg|thumb|left|1971 [[Maserati Ghibli]] SS 4.9 Coupe]]

In 1963, the company's first [[Sedan (automobile)|saloon]] was launched, the [[Maserati Quattroporte|Quattroporte]], also styled by Frua. If the 5000 GT inaugurated the marque's first road-going V8, the Quattroporte's ''Tipo 107'' 4.2-litre [[DOHC]] V8 was the forefather of all Maserati V8s up to 1990.

The [[Ghia]]-designed [[Maserati Ghibli|Ghibli]] coupé was launched in 1967. It was powered by a 4.7-litre [[dry sump]] version of Maserati's quad cam V8. The Ghibli Spyder and high performance 4.9-litre Ghibli SS followed.