For 2005, in celebration of its 75th anniversary, Pininfarina has chosen to rekindle the creative spirit of the '50s, '60s and '70s. The Birdcage 75th car is a futuristic extension of the Maserati brand, and at the same time it serves to reinforce the Tridente’s potent design heritage. It continues its grand tradition of advanced technology enveloped in sporting elegance.

The Birdcage 75th, in homage to the spirit of the dream car era, is based on the road racing chassis of the Maserati MC12 and seeks to capture the ultimate expression of speed, sensuality and elegance - to create a functional and dynamic automotive sculpture.

The first necessity is to enclose the mechanics in the most efficient manner possible. As research has shown, the aerodynamic forms most effectively and frequently applied in race car design are the teardrop and the inverted wing form. With this in mind, the concept of the Birdcage 75th was born. A teardrop central volume would encapsulate the passenger cell and the mechanics creating an extremely streamlined and efficient frontal area. In turn, this central cell is suspended within a vast inverted wing form which maintains an exceptionally low profile to aid in the air flow above and under the vehicle.

The name of the prototype directly recalls the legendary Tipo 63, nicknamed the 'Birdcage' due to the radically triangulated tube construction of its chassis.

Glancing through the canopy, one can see the large carbon fibre structure of the nose section, which tapers rearward to embrace the passenger cell. Inserted into the cell is an independent passenger sled partially upholstered with Alcantara and the suspended head up display that doubles as the IP. It is here at the center of the car that we see how the car brings together two worlds: the future oriented technology of Motorola combined with the pure and sometimes raw race DNA and heritage of Maserati.

Seamless Mobility by Motorola

The idea of building a concept car with Motorola arose when the company in the Pininfarina group dedicated to industrial design, Pininfarina Extra, already a Motorola partner in the design of its last line of cell phones with iDEN technology, began to plan the new line of terminals. The new portfolio of iDEN products combines attractively designed lines with the very latest available technologies, digital cell phones with last generation wireless access to Internet, text pager and two-way radio communication which enables users to communicate instantaneously with one or more individuals simply by pressing a button.

Text/Photos: Pininfarina