Ferrari has been one of the few really consistent Italian exotic car makers. A couple of decades ago, Lamborghini was changing hands so much that they were briefly owned by a Dairy Queen in Charlotte, North Carolina, which bought it by mistake, thinking they were ordering a new espresso machine (Editor's Note: this is not true). But Maserati fared even worse and for even longer. That is, until the storied old marque was bought by Fiat in 1993.

Since then, it's effectively been turned into Ferrari's little brother. And now third quarter profits for this year show Maserati just barely edging out the prancing horse's operating profit. The company showed a €90 million profit compared to Ferrari's €89 million in operating profit. Now, a big part of that has to do with Ferrari's departing chairman, Luca di Montezemolo, receiving a €26.89 million severance package, and profits for the whole year will show Ferrari as being ahead. But still, Maserati's profits from Q3 of last year were €43 million. That means that, although Ferrari might still be more profitable, Maserati is growing at a much faster rate.