Previously, I had written about Maserati's stunningly jaw-dropping new mid-engine supercar, the MC20. It marks the beginning of a new era for the brand, and showing that they're taking 2020, or as they term it with old Latin numerals, MMXX, quite seriously. It's a fresh restart for the illustrious and storied carmaker, now undertaking new thinking in their philosophy, and in how they're going to make cars.

But subtly lurking in the background, amidst all the electrification, and wave of new models coming along in the pipeline, it looks like they're taking this time to flaunt a bit of that Italian flair. When looking at the MC20, as beautiful as it is to gaze at in wonderment, one can't help but notice an absence of colour and flamboyant expression in it. However, right as I was browsing through the huge press packet that I've downloaded from Maserati, something rather interesting caught my eye.

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The World Is Your Oyster.

Credits to: Maserati Fuoriserie

I shared it right at the end of that post, giving a look at some very vibrant MC20s, each even more unique to the next. They have all sorts of decals, liveries, patterns, and colour combinations that you'd be more likely to find in a pack of Skittles, not on a car. Its very bold, and certainly exciting. This means that, in my wildest dreams, I can have an MC20 that's been coloured in something other than just the six shades of paint offered on the online configurator.

I can give thanks to Maserati's newest department to join its growing stable, Fuoriserie. To those not speaking Italian, it might sound like an ravishing and naughty name to call your new office, but as far as Google Translate can tell me, fuoriserie translates literally to, 'custom-built'. Creative naming aside, it at least does exactly what it says on the box. This is Maserati's bespoke personalisation programme, where one can create something truly one-of-a-kind.

We can say that cars of today are not as vivid, or wild as they once were. I believe in the notion that the automotive industry of the 1950s to 70s were the golden age for car design. Unconstrained by rules to govern safety or emissions, designers and engineers could really go mad with a black canvas. Carmakers didn't have to follow guidelines on how low or sharp the front-nose can be, whether one part is too protruded, or whether the window pillars are thick and firm enough.

Credits to: WSupercars - 1953 Maserati A6GCS, 1954 Maserati 250F, 1970 Maserati Ghibli SS, and 1971 Maserati Bora

The new age is certainly safer for us inside the car, and the pedestrians that we might bump into. No longer would we see large wings and fins that could decapitate someone, or body panels that would crumple at a slight breeze. But what has it done as a consequence? Just as how we went from the days when phones were shaped like tacos, bananas, gemstones, and could flip itself six ways to Sunday, today's era of mobile computing is rather dull.

More power, and more capability, but every other smartphone is just some other slab of glass. Equally, it's harder for cars to stand out from crowd. But some companies do want to give their more affluent, or keenly enthusiastic clients the choice to create something special - while also making bucket loads of cash from it - with programmes to tailor your car however you want. Just like your fingerprint, this is a car made for, by, and is unique to only you.

There are limits, however, as to how much one can change. It's more like a cosmetic treatment, rather than surgery. You can't shape the skeleton, or the skin of the car, but you can change the tone. Exclusive carmakers like Ferrari or Aston Martin are able to allow more modifications than others, sometimes creating a finished car that bares little resemblance to what one may find in the brochure. Most other mainstream brands don't have such breadth of ability, which is why Maserati's Fuoriserie is so unique.

Credits to: Garage Italia - Ferrari GTC4 Lusso Azzurra, and Michele de Lucchi

Now, this isn't their first time doing this. Not too long ago, they created a tailoring programme with Ermenegildo Zegna, a famous menswear brand. You can choose to furnish unique stitching on the seats, using materials found and tailored only for the finest of suits. But even then, it's rather bare compared to this. Although underneath the direction of Maserati's Centro Stile design studio, Fuoriserie sees them partnering up with Garage Italia.

From what I can tell, Garage Italia is akin to West Coast Customs, helping to customise cars - and also with other products like furniture, and timepieces - with the same Pimp My Ride passion. Eschewing the brash Americana, they bring a more stylish and artistic form of personalisation to everything from a priceless Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, to the tiny Fiat 500. With their expertise, Maserati has struck a fantastic partnership.

Fuoriserie first provides you with three different templates, or as they say, 'Made-To-Measure Collections' to choose from - Corse, Unica, and Futura - sort of inspirations to base your creation. I don't see these as suggestions, but ideas to keep your mind wandering, and the only limitation would be the size of your bank account, or how many of your internal organs would you like to sell. The world is your oyster, and any Maserati now is basically an easel, canvas, palette, and brush to help create your masterpiece.

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The Past, Present, And Future.

Credits to: Maserati Fuoriserie - Corse

Corse takes inspiration from old Maseratis, harking back to an era of gentlemen racers. Think of models like the awe-inspiring Maserati 250F F1 car, Tipo 61 Birdcage, or the 420M Eldorado. These open-top cars were champions in its heyday, when racing drivers wore leather gloves and goggles, while taking a puff of a cigarette while their cars were being refuelled. Now, you can have aged, grained, and perforated leather on your seats, contrasting with exotic carbon-fibre panels. If you want a racing stripe or livery just like the one you've lusted over from a bedroom poster, then you can have it.

Credits to: Maserati Fuoriserie - Unica

Next is Unica, celebrating some of the wildest cultural, artistic, and most fashionable trends of today. As this lurid and erm, vibrant example that Maserati showed off, it can be as colourful and expressive as you want it to be. No taste is too bad, nor is any pattern and combination too ugly. They call this 'contemporary' style, but honestly, it hurts my eyes seeing this. It looks like the sort of style I'd find hung on racks in the changing rooms of a Victoria Secret fashion show, with too much of that discotheque neon. Still, maybe it fits your tastes more, eh?

Credits to: Maserati Fuoriserie - Futura

Finally, we have the Futura collection, and as its name suggests, it's an imagination of what a car from the future would look, and feel like to sit in. Here, the theme is experimentation, trying out different exotic and unique materials, as though one is trying to refit the cockpit of the Starship Enterprise. I never thought that such a seemingly sterile imagination could look so wonderful. There are lashings of Alcantara, mixed with composites and the sort of fabric on an Olympian athlete's shoe. It's a unique combination, and one that might just be 'ordinary' some decades into the future.

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Fortune Favours The Bold.

Credits to: Maserati Fuoriserie

So far as the eye can see, this is quite a stunning turnaround for Maserati, which not too long ago were quite dead in the water. I can't help but feel that very car enthusiast want Maserati to succeed, because we still have love for the brand. Frankly, this sort of personalisation is something only the more wealthy enthusiasts could every afford, while most mortals wouldn't dare think of it, for fear of having to mortgage their house, and risk a divorce.

Still, it does help Maserati to bring new people to the brand, those that might want a luxury car that's at least charming, romantic, and generally more exciting than what's usually on the market. More to that, it shows that Maserati is really, truly being reborn into a keen new spirit that wants the world to know who, and what they are. Only time will tell if this all works out, or whether Maserati will need another renaissance moment a few years or decades from now. But until then, I'm feeling optimistically hopeful.

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