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 Featuring among such fair highlights as a newly discovered
pastel by Claude Monet and a pair of pearls once owned by
France's last empress is a metallic black version of the racy
sedan.
The brand-new version of a model originally designed in 1963, it
has a shiny, bulbous bonnet and ranges in price from 81,555 to
97,783 pounds ($128,300-153,800) -- depending on whether you opt
for such extras as a 15-speaker surround-sound system or a
Poltrona Frau fine-grain leather interior.
The fair, which runs through July 1, caught Maserati’s attention
in 2012, and its first booth opened there in 2013, James Cowan,
Maserati marketing manager for Britain, said. The luxury car
maker has been back ever since, he added.
“Having a presence at an event such as Masterpiece allows us to
build awareness and start relationships with an audience
potentially in the market for a luxury car,” he said, noting
that Maserati every year received enquiries at Masterpiece which
led to "a number of sales".
So far in 2015, sales at the company's British unit have been
strong, Cowan said: In the first five months of the year, 645
Maseratis were registered in the United Kingdom, a 50 percent
rise from the same period last year.
To fair visitors, the Maserati stand comes as a surprise,
nestled as it is among others with contents far removed from
designer cars.
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Immediately beside it, Brun Fine Art is offering a pair of late
18th-century Roman marble lions. The Rolleston booth across the
aisle has on prominent display a George II mahogany side table from
around 1745.
Why did Masterpiece decide to have a Maserati stand in the first
place?
“Maserati is one exhibitor out of 150-odd,” Masterpiece Chairman
Philip Hewat-Jaboor said. “It adds an element that’s a bit different
-- a sort of 'frisson'.”
Hewat-Jaboor said having the luxury car brand there, like having
watch dealers, was “a really good way of bringing in a group of
people who may not otherwise be all that interested”, and giving
them “the opportunity to discover other fields”.
“The collector these days will buy a fabulous car, a wonderful piece
of 18th-century furniture, and a great Roman antiquity,” he added.
“The parameters have moved.”
(Editing by Michael Roddy)
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