If you're looking for a Maserati that's easier on your wallet, or a treat for a Maserati lover, then you should check out the Maserati model configurator. Three base models in 1/43 scale are available: Quattroporte, Quattroporte S, and Granturismo S. From there you can choose from among seven exterior and two interior colors, four or five different brake caliper colors, two or three different kinds of rims, and select a sunroof which is made of glass. No, it doesn't open.

You can even select a personalized license plate written in one of four fonts. Naturally, once you're finished, you can buy it. The models are €230 ($320 US), which includes shipping, and are sent within 30 days. If your Maserati doesn't match your expectations, you can return it (good luck doing that with a real car). If you don't want to go all the way then you can just display your modeling prowess in the virtual showroom. Everybody wins.

[Source: Maserati]

Mark McNabb loves a challenge. After working for General Motors for 13 months leading Cadillac, Hummer, and Saab, McNabb announced his resignation last week as of June 1. His destination, it turns out, is Maserati, where he'll replace former North American CEO Marti Eulberg, Who resigned last month after less than a year on the job.

At GM, McNabb ended up shepherding one of his brands and trying to sell the other two. At Maserati he'll have just one brand to lead and he'll be focused on selling its cars. Maserati sales have done their impression of a sinkhole, falling 48% worldwide and nearly 58% in America, taking revenue numbers with them. We find those numbers a little surprising, but perhaps the coming GranTurismo convertible will help things out. In the mean time, best of luck to you, Mr. McNabb.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

As of Thursday, Porsche and Maserati are the latest two brands to pull out of the biennial Tokyo Motor Show. That brings the tally to 22 foreign brands sitting out the Japanese showcase, leaving Hyundai, Ferrari, and Lotus to duel for import honors. Said a show spokesman, "It is unprecedented to see such a large number of carmakers not coming to the motor show. It's disappointing."

And even though Japan's 14 domestic makers are expected to show in force, the country's four largest truck makers have said they won't be coming. At least one report has said there will be half as many cars this year as there were two years ago. As with the other brands that have decided to pass on this year's show, Porsche and Maserati cited the cost of attendance.

[Source: Taiwan News]

While running around from merger to acquisition, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has been riding in style in a Maserati Quattroporte. And why shouldn't he? The luxurious sport-sedan is miles ahead of the Alfa Romeo 167 which Fiat executives were chauffeured around in beforehand, and better than anything Opel or Chrysler has got to show off, too. But one limousine company in Florida has what it figures is the next step up: a stretched Quattroporte with seating for ten.

Based on the previous incarnation of the Trident-emblazoned four-door – the horizontal slats in the grille are a dead giveaway over the vertical bars on the newer model – the Padilla Car Collection claims it's the only stretched Quattroporte in the world. And we certainly hope so. The company's also got stretches Hummers, Bentleys, Escalades, Mercedes S550s and a custom Chrysler 300 should you, your pals and your prom dates be looking for something a little more, um... reserved. For our part, we don't even want to know what the extra yardage has done for the QPorte's handling, with which we fell in love on the back streets of Salzburg, Austria, and we're quite sure Signore Marchionne doesn't, either.




[Source: Padilla Car Collection via CarScoop]

The Maserati Granturismo Cabriolet, a formerly mythical car known only in whispers and press reports, has finally been caught testing by Ms. Brenda Priddy and crew.

The drophead's powerplant and transmission are suspected to be the 433 hp V8 from the Granturismo S mated to the six-speed automatic from the Quattroporte GTS.

No one has been able to pin down whether the roof will be a soft- or hard- top, however. With the exception of Mercedes-Benz and parent Ferrari, every other competitive car uses a soft top, but we really wouldn't be surprised to see a folding metal unit.

If reports are accurate, you can look forward to seeing the car at next year's Geneva Motor Show.




[Source: AutoWeek]

Some people believe in tuning exotics, some prefer to leave them alone. But everybody's got to respect Novitec. The German tuning house, now celebrating its 20th anniversary, is one of the established names in tuning Italian exotica. The company's Novitec Rosso line is known for strapping superchargers to Ferraris to delirious effect, but a couple of years ago they turned out a decidedly low-key modification to the Maserati Quattroporte. Now the Novitec Tridente line is back at work on the GranTurismo S, producing the supercharged super-coupe you see here.

By adding a supercharger, tinkering with the ECU and replacing the exhaust system, Novitec has managed to coax out an extra 165 horsepower from the Ferrari-sourced 4.7-liter V8 for a whopping 600 ponies. Managing all that extra power is a retuned KW suspension gripping massing 20 and 21 inch wheels front and back, which team up with the carbon fiber body kit to add even more aggression to one of the industry's meanest-looking GTs. See for yourself in the gallery below.




[Source: GTSpirit.com]

As the prospective launch date approaches, everyone's wondering what will become of the upcoming Maserati Spyder. Some big questions remain about what shape the new GranTurismo cabrio will take: will it have four seats, or will the folding top take up the cramped rear quarters? Will it have a soft top like its predecessor, or a hard top like its Ferrari counterpart? Will it offer the 400hp 4.2-liter V8 from the base GranTurismo, or the 435hp 4.7-liter unit from the GranTurismo S? One way or another, sources suggest we'll find out soon enough, placing it on the road by early next year, with a springtime market launch likely. That means its debut could come as early as the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, or else wait for the Geneva Motor Show in March. Expect the sticker price to come in below the Ferrari California, targeting the likes of the Aston Martin DB9 Volante, Bentley Continental GTC, BMW M6 convertible, Jaguar XKR convertible and Mercedes-Benz SL-Class and at around $130,000.



[Source: Car and Driver]

Marti Eulberg, CEO of Maserati North America, has left her position to "pursue other opportunities," the company announced today. Eulberg, a veteran of Ford and Jaguar, held the CEO position for less than a year after taking the position just last June.

As it as been with most of the world's automakers, 2009 has been a tough year for the Fiat-owned automaker. Only 247 Maserati vehicles had been sold through March of this year in the U.S., representing a sales decline of 58 percent.

As quoted in AutoWeek, Raffaele Fusilli, Maserati's global commercial director said:

"We deeply value the concrete effort of Marti and the MNA team... During a very challenging time, Maserati was one of the very few automotive players in North America to post a positive result in terms of sales in 2008, thus contributing to the second-consecutive record year achieved by the company worldwide.

Fusilli will oversee Maserati's North American operations until a successor is announced.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Patience is not a virtue of those who are used to going fast. While Maserati just took the wraps off the new GranTurismo MC GT4 racer, deliveries to customer racing teams won't begin until October. So what's a team hellbent on racing Tridents in Europe to do in the meantime? Make their own Maserati racer.

A racing squad called Swiss Team is planning on fielding a competition-spec Quattroporte in a local Italian touring car league called the Superstars Series. The format is production-car based, so the final version isn't expected to look wildly different from the shapely Italian sportsedan we know and love, and the Trident-wielding team will face off against a grid of Audi RS4s, BMW M5s, Jaguar S-Type Rs and Chrysler 300C SRT8s.

Swiss Team has already recruited former F1 driver Andrea Chiesa to pilot the first car, and the outfit plans on fielding a second entry as well. Currently a work in progress, nobody has seen the car yet. What you see above is, of course, just a factory-based rendering – and not a very good one at that – but hopefully when the race-prepped QPorte debuts for the first round of testing later this month, it'll look every bit the business. Details in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Superstars via Jalopnik]

Inspired by the MC Corse Concept, Maserati has finally unveiled the production version of its GranTurismo MC. Aimed at the discerning enthusiast who'd prefer to keep their road-going GT in the garage, the MC is designed to compete in the GT4 European Cup class, with a full roll cage, carbon fiber body panels, plexiglass windows, upgraded brakes and suspension, along with lightweight rollers shod in racing slicks. Output for the revised 4.7-liter V8 hasn't been disclosed, but expect the MC to put out around 450 hp when it takes to the track. The cost? A cool 135,000 Euros. And the perfect compliment to your MC12. All the details are available in the press release below the fold.