maserati-baby-quattroporte-test-mule

Maserati's New "Baby Quattroporte" Mule

We’ve all been hearing for some time now that Maserati will soon have a smaller sedan in its ranks.  For far too long, the Germans have dominated the mid-size luxury segment, but Maserati wants a piece of the action.  Though the car is still in it’s final development stages, Maserati looks to be in the thick of the E-segment battle sooner rather than later. 

From Autoblog:

“If you’ve been listening to the whispers about a new smaller version of the Maserati Quattroporte and wondering exactly what the machine will look like when it debuts, you can quit your pondering. Sort of. Our task force of stealthy spy photographers have managed to lay their lenses on a mule version of the new baby Quattroporte. This particular evaluation car sports a shorter wheelbase and smaller brakes than its bigger brother, and a single exhaust outlet hints to a slightly lower level of performance. Though this tester seems to have raided the parts bin of the larger Quattroporte for some ill-fitting glass, we’re told that the production version of the car will look significantly different.

Maserati has been itching to tango with the likes of the Mercedes-Benz AMG E-Class, Jaguar XFR and BMW M5, and this machine could be the beast that allows the company to do just that. As of right now, there’s no indication as to exactly what will lurk underhood when it debuts in 2012, though with a mule running around, we’re guessing it won’t be too long before we hear more about the smaller Quattroporte’s drivetrain.”

Head on over to Autoblog to see the spy photos and read what their readers have to say.  What do you think?  Will this baby QP be a threat to the E63, M5, and XFR?

via [Autoblog]

source [CarPix]