Start with what the Maserati Birdcage 75th is: a 1-door berlinetta with 6.0 , built from 2005, in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Lowie Vermeersch under Ken Okuyama at Pininfarina.
Where it came from
The Maserati Birdcage 75th is a functional concept car designed and developed by a Pininfarina design team led by Lowie Vermeersch, including Jason Castriota and Giuseppe Randazzo under the direction of Ken Okuyama. It was first introduced at the 2005 Geneva Auto Show.
It was named to honor the classic Maserati Birdcage race cars of the 1960s and Pininfarina's 75th anniversary. The Birdcage was the result of a collaboration between Maserati, Pininfarina and Motorola to showcase their technical expertise. The car was completed in just 2 months, following a fast pace design phase using 3D renderings.
Under the skin
The engine is 6.0 . On the scales it comes to 3300 lb. Drive goes through a 6-speed automated manual. The layout matters: the engine sits behind the driver and ahead of the rear axle, which puts the mass in the middle of the car and is why mid-engined cars change direction the way they do. The wheelbase is 2800 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Aston Martin Vantage, the Kia Sportage, the Bugatti Veyron. Nearby in the Maserati catalogue sit the Maserati 150S and the Maserati 200S.