Luxury is about being unique, and of course, the ultimate thrill is your own customized luxury car rather than something that others also have. Customizations were seen in the vintage cars of the past, but luxury motoring has seen that aspect making a comeback. Brands these days employ a separate division to cater to the wishes of their buyers. Maserati, for example, has the Officine Fuoriserie where buyers of their cars can virtually customise to any level that they wish. There are two levels of customization on offer, the first is the catalogue where, to gaze through thousands of possibilities for combinations, two collections have been identified (Fuoriserie Corse and Fuoriserie Futura); the second is the Bespoke world of “tailor-made” in which cars are created with customizations and tailormade by the customer or as the trend dictates- unique one-of-one models. There are also custom-built collections called ‘Collezione Corse’ where the cars have liveries harking back to the race cars.
These are painted and do not come with decals. There are also custom brake calipers with different and funky colors as well as anodized color treatments. The interiors are new and come with heritage-based leather colors, inspired by tanned vegan leather, and upholstery, reminiscent of traditional combed melange wool. Collezione Futura, meanwhile, comes with new materials derived from the interior design, product design, and sportswear industries. Even the industrial shades are combined with textured or matte finishes with interference pigments. Then there are Bespoke cars where there are no limits in terms of customizations, while the owner is also involved more in the making of the car, in tune with the demands of the buyer. The Fuoriserie program has dedicated space at its Modena HQ, where, at full capacity, the new project could eventually involve up to 110 highly specialised employees.
To showcase this, the Maserati MC20 Cielo “Less is More…? showcases the Bauhaus art movement, notably, the Blu Corse Matte bodywork being peppered with exclusive livery featuring dots, lines, triangles, and rectangles that form a stylized Trident on the bonnet. Then there are also 20-inch Corsa Forgiati Opachi wheels with Blue Classic brake callipers and an original color combination for each rim. In the front, the two-wheel rims might combine a red profile with a yellow hubcap or a yellow profile with a blue hubcap, in which case the combinations at the rear become white and red or blue and white. These cars showcase what customizations can do and how they involve the luxury car buyer more, rather than just signing the cheque.
