Maserati marks a century of the Trident with a GT2 Stradale livery, but the hardware stays the same
Maserati is not celebrating the brand’s 100th birthday this time. The Modena manufacturer traces its history back to 1914. This story is about the centenary of the Trident logo, which first appeared on the Tipo 26 racing car in 1926. To mark the occasion, Maserati brought new 250F inspired colour schemes to the opening round of the GT2 European Series at Monza, applying them to both the GT2 racing car and the road legal GT2 Stradale.
More special livery than special model
Maserati’s official line is that this is a celebratory colour scheme inspired by the 250F, offered for both the Maserati GT2 race car and the GT2 Stradale supercar. The company did not announce a technical upgrade, extra power or a new suspension setting. The livery debuted at Monza on 30 and 31 May 2026, as the GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli began its season.
The story behind it is stronger than a sticker package, though. Maserati links the new design to the 250F Formula 1 car of the 1950s, the car in which Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1957 world championship. That is what gives the new red and yellow design its historical weight.
The Maserati Trident was born in racing
The Maserati Trident logo made its official debut in 1926 on the Tipo 26. That car started the Targa Florio, where Alfieri Maserati won the 1500 cc class. The logo was drawn by Mario Maserati, the artistic brother in the family, who took inspiration from Bologna’s Fountain of Neptune, only a few hundred metres from Maserati’s first workshop.
Over the next century, the Trident appeared on both racing cars and road cars: Targa Florio victories, Indianapolis 500 triumphs, Formula 1 entries, Fangio’s world title and, later, the MC12 era of FIA GT success. That matters for Maserati, because the modern brand has to prove its sporting identity again, not merely recite old stories.
The GT2 Stradale is the tougher brother of the MC20
The GT2 Stradale is based on the MC20, but brings more of the GT2 racing car’s logic to the road. Maserati unveiled the model at Monterey Car Week and described it as a link between the GT2 racer and the MC20. Power rose by 10 bhp over the MC20 to 640 bhp, or about 471 kW, weight fell by 60 kg and 0 to 100 km/h takes 2.8 seconds. Top speed exceeds 320 km/h.
The engine remains the 3.0 litre twin turbo Nettuno V6. Independent technical summaries give torque as 720 Nm, placing the GT2 Stradale in a class where power is no longer the only argument. Aerodynamics, brakes, tyres, cooling and the degree to which Maserati can tame racing hardware for road use become just as important.
Beside its rivals, Maserati feels like an old school choice
The GT2 Stradale sits in an interesting space. It is not a hybrid power statement like the Ferrari 296 Speciale or Lamborghini Temerario, but a rear wheel drive, combustion engined supercar sharpened for the circuit. The Ferrari 296 Speciale moves into the 880 bhp, or about 647 kW, class as a plug in hybrid, while the Lamborghini Temerario offers 920 bhp, or 677 kW, a top speed of 343 km/h and a 0 to 100 km/h time of 2.7 seconds.
The Porsche 911 GT3 RS is spiritually closer to the Maserati. Porsche does not chase hybrid output, but aerodynamics and sustained track pace: the 911 GT3 RS produces up to 860 kg of downforce at 285 km/h and uses active aerodynamics and DRS. The Maserati GT2 Stradale answers with greater power and a more exotic mid engined layout, but Porsche remains a brutal benchmark for circuit focused development.
Above all, this is a brand project
The 250F colour scheme will not transform Maserati’s sales figures. The GT2 Stradale is expensive, specialised and limited in everyday practicality. Its meaning lies elsewhere. Maserati needs cars that keep the emotional core of the brand alive while the Grecale, GranTurismo and electrification do the harder work of generating volume.
In that sense, the GT2 Stradale is the right tool. It does not try to be the fastest hybrid or the most modern electric halo car. It reminds us that Maserati’s best stories were born on track. Ferrari and Porsche sell heritage with almost effortless consistency. Maserati has to make its own past visible again. The centenary Trident livery does that directly, even if it adds little in technical terms.
Technical summary
Maserati is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Trident logo, not the 100th birthday of the brand itself.
The celebratory 250F inspired livery debuted at the opening round of the 2026 GT2 European Series at Monza.
The colour scheme is intended for the Maserati GT2 race car and the GT2 Stradale road car.
The GT2 Stradale uses a 3.0 litre twin turbo Nettuno V6 producing 640 bhp, or about 471 kW.
It reaches 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds, exceeds 320 km/h and is 60 kg lighter than the MC20.
