Carlo Maserati

Carlo Maserati (1881 to 1910) was an Italian bicycle and automotive engineer and the eldest of the Maserati brothers. Born in Voghera, he began in a bicycle factory in Affori near Milan, where he developed a one-cylinder internal combustion engine for motorised bicycles, and he raced these machines, winning the Brescia to Orzinuovi race in 1899. After the factory closed in 1901 he worked as a test driver for Fiat, then as a test driver and mechanic at Isotta Fraschini, where his brother Alfieri joined him. In 1907 he moved to Bianchi to work on automobiles and raced the Coppa Florio, finishing ninth. In 1908 he became manager of the Junior car company, where he hired his brother Ettore. He died of tuberculosis in 1910, and his brothers founded Maserati in Bologna in 1914.