How the Maserati grew to become Britain’s mostly stolen supercar

When the Maserati brothers founded the brand that bears their name in 1914, they could only have dreamed that their legacy would be living on more than a hundred years later.  

But despite having secured a formidable reputation of producing some of the fastest vehicles on the planet, Maserati was the sports supercar brand most likely to be stolen last year. 

With their timeless Italian design, rapid acceleration and sheer elegance – the luxury cars once popular with motoring enthusiasts now appear to have become a target for criminals.

Figures from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) from January 1 to December 31 2023 show that 71 Maseratis were stolen last year, which works out at around one every five days.

The data is even more remarkable given that the Italian car manufacturer sells fewer than 1,000 cars in the UK every year. 

According to official data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, just 892 were purchased in the UK in 2023 – the equivalent of one being stolen for every 13 sold last year.

The most stolen Maserati models last year were 17 Ghibli diesel V6 cars, followed by 10 Maserati Levante diesel V6 models and six Maserati Levante petrol V6s.

Supercar giant Ferrari is second on the list, with 43 thefts last year. The Italian competitor sells a similar number of cars to Maserati in Britain, suggesting thieves have a preference for Maseratis or perhaps they are simply easier to steal.

Earlier this year, Dr Renu Raj, the head of mediation service Radanks, had her Maserati Levante which is worth £100,000 nicked from outside her home in west London, despite her keys being inside her property.

She said the thieves used ‘sophisticated digital hacking methods’ to drive off with the car. 

‘Despite the vehicle having a push-to-start wireless key system, they managed to bypass it and drive away,’ she told LBC.

‘They seemed very professional with their approach and did not show any excitement to finally being able to drive the high-end vehicle.’ 

Meanwhile in May, George Nicolas also had a Maserati Levante stolen from outside his home in London. The thieves used an angle grinder to remove his steering lock.

Mr Nicolas said he used the car’s tracking device to locate his stolen car – after the Met Police allegedly told him they ‘didn’t have anyone available’ to help.

In a post on social media, he said: ‘Dirty thieving b******s used an angle grinder to release the steering lock and had a go at disabling the factory tracker, but they didn’t find my other lines of defence and I tracked it down to south London.’

And in March, a black Maserati Quattroporte was stolen from a residential garage in Bournemouth.

British sports supercars appear to be less popular with thieves according to the DVLA data. Only 26 Aston Martins were taken without consent, along with six Lotuses and one McLaren.

This is Money revealed in January that a car was reported stolen to the DVLA every 8 minutes 12 seconds on average last year as motor theft rose by almost 5 per cent. 

A total of 64,087 cars were reported stolen to the DVLA in 2023, up from 61,106 the year previous (an increase of 4.9 per cent).

The Ford Fiesta – Britain’s most owned car – was reported stolen most frequently last year, with 5,976 taken without the consent of owners. Ford stopped making the Fiesta last year.

The Ford Focus was the second most stolen car last year, followed by the Volkswagen Golf.

Experts warned earlier this year that car thieves are ‘stepping up their game’ and becoming more brazen – including by dressing up in high-visibility clothing and towing vehicles from driveways or roads using trucks in broad daylight.

Thieves are attempting to appear legitimate to passers-by or neighbours by posing as towaway crews which can also reduce the chances of them being caught.  

Shock figures in April  revealed that not a single car thief was caught in more than 100 neighbourhoods in England and Wales last year.

The staggering data brings shame on the police for failing to solve a single crime of car theft. 

In a further 558 neighbourhoods, where there was one vehicle crime every week, less than two per cent solved with a suspect caught or charged.

Shockingly, officers shut down some cases in less than 24 hours of them being opened, while about 85 per cent of around 336,000 vehicle crimes were closed without the thief being identified, The Observer reported.

The rise is largely being blamed on crooks shifting to keyless car thefts, with it now making up about half of all stolen vehicle claims.

Mark Wilkinson, the managing director at Norton Insurance Brokers, said owners should protect their vehicles with tracking systems.

He said: ‘Having a GPS tracker allows you to know your supercar’s location at all times and be alerted instantly if it’s on the move unauthorised.

‘While a tracker won’t prevent theft, it would greatly increase the chances of recovering your vehicle swiftly and safely if stolen.

He added: ‘Nowadays, more often than not, modern supercars incorporate immobilisers as part of their security systems to prevent them from starting without the proper electronic key.’

He said that ‘ghost immobilisers’ are also a good deterrent as the driver has to enter a pin or code before starting the vehicle. 

Officine Alfieri Maserati SAS was founded in Bologna, Italy, in December 1914 by brothers  Alfieri, Ettore, and Ernesto Maserati.

Their first major products were spark plugs for aircraft engines during the First World War.

In 1926, Maserati was transformed from a workshop that developed cars built by other companies into a brand which designed and sold its own.

The first car to bear the famous Trident Brand was built that year. It was a Tipo 26 racing car which debuted at the Targa Florio, winning first place with Alfieri at the wheel.

At the end of the 1930s, Maserati was moved to its current site in Modena following its acquisition by entrepreneur Adolfo Orsi.   

The luxury automaker has been owned by Stellantis since 2021, who also own 16 other car brands, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Mopar, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and Vauxhall.

The car manufacturer was once owned by Ferrari from 1993 to 2005, between two Fiat-owned stints.

Its emblem is a red trident, and some of its more famous models include the Ghibli, Quattroporte and GranTurismo.

A spokesperson for Maserati said: ‘At Maserati, we continually strive to develop and install the latest security features and technologies in our cars.

‘All of our models currently sold in the UK are equipped with state-of-the-art anti-theft technology, including perimeter and volumetric alarm systems, together with a GPS tracking system (compliant with the Thatcham Category standards), as well as a stolen vehicle alert service on the Maserati Connect mobile app.’