DRIVING FORWARD: A DAY AT THE MASERATI WOMEN'S DRIVE SUMMIT
MASERATI WOMEN'S DRIVE SUMMIT
International Women’s Day can be marked with flowers, speeches, panel discussions and a flurry of social media posts. Maserati chose something more fitting: it handed a group of women the keys to several of its fastest cars and let us loose at full throttle around Goodwood Motor Circuit.
The Italian marque’s Women’s Drive Summit, held during International Women’s Week, brought together journalists, content creators, TV presenters and professional drivers to celebrate women’s growing influence in a world long assumed to belong to men.
The day also honoured Maria Teresa de Filippis, the first woman to race in Formula 1, at the wheel of a Maserati 250F. She would have turned 100 this year, a reminder that women have been rewriting the rules of racing for far longer than most people realise.
Goodwood is the right place for it. Opened in 1948, it is one of the world’s oldest motor circuits still in its original form, and it has hosted everything from early Formula 1 to the Festival of Speed and the Revival. You don’t simply lap it; you drive through its history.
Engines On
After a warm welcome, breakfast and introductions, polite conversation gave way to the main event. The lineup was enough to make the calmest guest grin a little too widely. I was no exception.
First came the GranTurismo Trofeo, elegant and quietly ferocious. Its twin-turbo Nettuno V6 delivers supercar pace, but the car never forgets it’s a grand tourer: the speed arrives smoothly, the balance is lovely and the exhaust note is unmistakably Italian. I loved it!
Next up, the Grecale Trofeo, the sensible one on paper. On track it was anything but. The steering was alert and nicely weighted, and the car was quicker, grippier and far more playful than an SUV has any right to be - I didn't want to give it back!
But the star of the day, for me and for many others, was the MCPura Cielo: carbon-fibre monocoque, 621 horsepower from a twin-turbo V6, butterfly doors, 0-60mph in under three seconds and a top speed of around 202mph. The first full-throttle exit demanded instant respect. By the third lap I’d stopped flinching and started enjoying it, and Goodwood’s old tarmac felt like exactly the right place to be doing so.
When I swapped seats and let Lucy, one of the UK’s most promising young racing drivers, take the wheel, I understood what I’d been leaving on the table. She braked later, turned in tighter and accelerated harder than I had dared. One lap was never going to be enough, and I’ve been telling anyone who’ll listen ever since.
Just when we thought the adrenaline quota had been reached, Maserati had one final surprise. After waiting my turn, I climbed into the passenger seat of the MCXtrema, a track-only machine built in a run of just 62 cars. Its race-tuned twin-turbo Nettuno V6 makes around 730 horsepower, and the top speed is just shy of 200mph. “The Beast of Modena” is less car, more mechanical missile.
Its owner, Mike, had come along for the day and volunteered as our adrenaline chauffeur. The experience is best described as controlled chaos: violent acceleration, startling cornering forces and a sound somewhere between a fighter jet and a particularly ferocious Italian opera. Polite conversation was not an option (yes, I tried).
Women Driving the Industry Forward
The day carried a message beyond the driving. Maserati’s newly appointed General Manager, Mariangela Del Vecchio, spoke about visibility, inclusiveness and representation for women in automotive. Valentina Mellano, GTM and Product Marketing Manager for the GranTurismo and GranCabrio, was on hand all day to answer questions about the cars.
The young professional drivers leading the sessions made the point better than any speech. Hearing them guide us round the circuit and watching them handle these cars with such calm confidence, I could see the next generation is already up to speed. Special thanks to drivers Lydia and Lucy, who made sure we all found the racing line. Eventually.
The takeaway was simple: progress comes faster when women are included and support one another.
Tea, Laughter and New Connections
After the track came a rather more British tradition: afternoon tea. The mood shifted from adrenaline to camaraderie. Over cakes and warm scones, women from very different corners of the industry swapped stories, advice and plenty of laughter. There was no competition and no posturing, just encouragement and the feel of a room full of people rooting for one another. Events like this do more than celebrate women in automotive; they build the networks and friendships that shape its future.
Engines Off, Spirits High
As the light faded over the circuit and the engines cooled, it was hard not to reflect on the day.
The cars were spectacular and the laps will stay with me, but the real highlight was the community.
From honouring pioneers like de Filippis to watching a new generation carve its own path, the Women’s Drive Summit felt less like a one-day event than a glimpse of where the industry is heading. After a day of supercars, racing lines and unexpectedly competitive cornering with “can we go faster, please?” prompts, one thing was certain: the automotive world is changing, and it sounds rather good with women on the throttle.
#Maserati #InternationalWomensWeek
