Posts tagged Maserati News
An SUV with the Heart of an Italian Sport Car
Feb 20th
Italian automakers have historically produced some of the most beautiful and best sounding vehicles, but they don’t often make Sport Utility Vehicles. Maserati has been delivering fun to drive, gorgeous cars to showrooms for years and they are now taking that recipe to the SUV market with the Maserati Levante. They have carried over the company’s design language with an aggressive front end highlighting the tapered headlights. The signature styling continues past the grill feature with three iconic air vents and trapezoidal C-pillar. The underpinnings of the Levante feature sophisticated air suspension with air springs and controlled damping. The Q4 all wheel drive system similar to the Quattroporte and Ghibli is adapted for unparalleled on road performance and low grip off road situations. An 8 speed transmission has been specially calibrated for the new SUV attaching to the gasoline powerplant.
First Look at The All-New Maserati Ghibli
Apr 9th
The official debut of Maserati’s four-door sports sedan, the 2014 Ghibli will take place at the Shanghai Motor Show later on this month, but Maserati has just released a few official images to the press. This vehicle will be available with two turbocharged 3.0 liter v6 engines, an eight-speed automatic transmission and rear wheel drive along with the new Q4 all-wheel drive system. For more information check out the official Press Release below:
Maserati Factory Tour in Turin, Italy
Nov 6th
All-Wheel Drive Maserati’s in Minneapolis used to be a dream. In 2013, the dream becomes a reality. The new generation Quattroporte will have an all-wheel drive option.
The New Quattroporte was secretly displayed for Maserati dealers to see in Turin, Italy on October 16, 2012. So, of course, I had to make the trip!
The town of Turin is absolutely beautiful and full of history. The food isn’t bad either! When I wasn’t sampling the fine Italian food and wine, I was sight-seeing.
Maserati’s Ambitious Plans for the Future
Oct 2nd
The GranCabrio MC debuted at the Paris Auto Show this year and with that came insight to Maserati’s ambitious future plans. The first upcoming model we will see from Maserati is the next generation Quattroporte. It is reported that the vehicle will debut within the next year, possibly at the Detroit Auto Show.
Maserati will also introduce a new high-end four-door sedan the Ghibli, a name which was previously used for a 2-seater GT and convertible from 1967 to 1973 and again from 1992 to 1997.
The next new model will be Maserati’s first SUV, the Levante. It is set to debut in 2014. The concept was initially previewed at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show as the Kubang concept but it was recently announced that the name was changed to Levante. The name represents Via Emilia Levante in Bologna, Italy, where the Maserati brothers built the company that will be celebrating it’s centennial in 2014. This makes the name and release date very fitting.
Maserati hopes that with these additions to the lineup they will produce 50,000 vehicles by 2015.
Maserati takes Superstars Series title
Oct 25th
Truth be told, I hadn’t heard of the Superstars Series, which is similar to the German DTM, Japanese Super GT, and Australian V8 Supercars series. The competitive field is made up of naturally aspirated V8 two and four door cars like the Mercedes C63 AMG, BMW M3, Audi RS4, Cadillac CTS-V, Jaguar S-Type R, Porsche Panamera S, and Maserati Quattroporte EVO. The EVO is a specialty race version of the Quattroporte featuring the bad ass widebody setup you see above, in full race trim.
Driver Andrea Bertolini drove his Swiss team Maserati Quattroporte to the championship, after trailing by 20 points leading into the final races at Vallelunga. Bertolini is a driver and test driver for Maserati and Ferrari, and previously won the FIA GT series in the Maserati MC12 in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010 – the only Italian driver to have won four international FIA titles.
Here’s a rather raw video of some highlights from the race at Monza, earlier this year:
The Swiss team was founded in 2008, to kick off the Maserati Quattroporte Superstars project. Based in Switzerland, the team now consists of 13 people, with Engineer Giuseppe Angiulli acting as Technical Director. Giuseppe’s experience covers 5 years in F1, 2 years in Alfa’s DTM project, 2 years working for BMW Motorsport, and work on ALMS prototypes. He collaborated with Michelotto Corse in developing the Ferrari F360 and F430, and worked with team Villorba Corse’ F430 in the Italian GT series. He worked for Vitaphone racing for two years as Track Engineer while they competed in the FIA GT championship, running Maserati MC12s.
Here are some more photos of the fantastic Maserati Quattroporte EVO:
Via Autoblog: Maserati Quattroporte Replacement Coming to Frankfurt
Mar 24th
2011 Maserati Quattroporte
It’s been around for some time now, but the Maserati Quattroporte is still one of the best looking, sounding, and driving sedans on the planet. The competition is only getting more and more fierce, though, with the likes of the Porsche Panamera and the Aston Martin Rapide fighting for the same buyers as the Quattroporte.
Autoblog is reporting that we should see the replacement for the long-in-the-tooth Quattroporte later this year at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Expect to see styling that echoes the design language used on the current GranTurismo and GranTurismo Convertible, as well as a more powerful and more fuel efficient version of the 4.7L V8 currently used in the Quattroporte S (the 4.2L is being phased out later this year), as well as an all-wheel drive option. There is also a possibility that the base powerplant could be an all-new turbocharged V6, though nothing has yet been confirmed.
Head on over to Autoblog to read what they had to say.
Stay tuned to our blog for more information as we get it.
source [Inside Line]
via [Autoblog]
Maserati Debuts GranCabrio Sport at Geneva Motor Show
Mar 5th
Maserati GranCabrio Sport
Maserati’s GranCabrio (GranTurismo Convertible to us Yanks) was introtuced almost two years ago, and the folks in Modena weren’t satisfied with just one variation of the breed. In order to cater to the more performance-oriented of their clients, they unveiled their new GranCabrio Sport at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.
Separation between the Sport and standard versions of the GranTurismo Convertible are definitely the type that the enthusiast buyer will appreciate – more power from the 4.7L V8 (up to 440hp), a recalibrated Skyhook suspension system optimised for more grip and sharper handling, upgraded MC Shift transmission programming, and improved braking performance courtesy of drilled and slotted brake rotors.
Maserati knew the car had to look fast, too, so the exterior of the car shows a host of changes from the standard car. Most obvious is the new Rosso Trionfale paint work, which Maserati says underlines the car’s “athletic soul.” Also new are the 20″ Astro-design wheels (available in two finishes), headlamps with white turn indicators, and shadowline body trim that replaces the previous chrome accents. Two new colors of leather are also available to accent the new front seats.
Head on over to Maserati’s new minisite to get all of the info.
source [Maserati]
Maserati’s E-Class/5-Series Fighter
Jan 14th
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]
