Autoblog

It looks like Jaguar isn't the one with its sites set on the Porsche 911, as Maserati may have plans to bring a new sports coupe to market in the €80-90,000 price range. The revelation comes straight from the horse's mouth: Maserati CEO Roberto Ronchi outlined that his company will decide on a new model sometime this quarter, with an eye towards market introduction over a broad window of 18 to 36 months from then.

Ronchi knows that in order to achieve its sales target of 12,000 units in 2011, his company will need an additional model. Although an SUV to compete with the Cayenne was tipped to be the way forward, Ronchi says a new sportscar positioned underneath the GranTurismo, which grew significantly in size over the Coupe it effectively replaced, is the better choice. The design students from Turin just might have the right idea with their upcoming Chicane concept.

[Source: Motor Authority]

The Maserati festival just won't stop here at Autoblog as the news keeps on rolling in about the Trident marque. After dropping the new GranTurismo on us, industry analysts are speculating on what the next steps could be for Maserati.

Earlier reports were based on the identification of two test mules caught in different forms. That led to speculation that Maserati was working on two separate two-door models: a 2+2 GT (the GranTurismo just unveiled), a Spyder variant (based on the GranTurismo) with a cloth roof, and a separate four-seat cabrio with a retractable hard-top.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Click on the image above for high-resolution

It's been a regular Maserati love-in over here these past few days. First we got a teaser sketch of the coupe designed by Pininfarina. Then the Trident marque gave us three images of the stunning new GranTurismo in advance of its Geneva debut. Then we brought you the MC12 XX by Edo Competition. And now Maserati has hit us with the press release for the GranTurismo and an additional profile shot. It must be Christmas time for fans of the house that Alfieri built.

The press release confirms certain details about the stylish new coupe and reveals others. The 4.2-liter V8, derived from the Ferrari-designed engine in the Quattroporte, gets a power spike of 9 horsepower up to 405. It's driving through a fully automatic gearbox – presumably the new ZF unit recently placed in the Quattroporte – but we'd speculate the paddle-shifted sequential will find its way in their eventually despite the anticipated availability of paddle shifters on the torque-converting auto-box. Weight is distributed, as reported, in an ideal 49/51 rear bias. The styling was penned by Pininfarina's American wonderboy Jason Castriota, the same guy responsible for the design of the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and the custom Enzo-based P4/5 one-off.

The GranTurismo's launch at this year's Geneva show marks the (approximate) 60th anniversary of the launch of Maserati's first road car, the original Gran Turismo, which was also designed by Pinin Farina (in an era when words were separated by spaces).

Follow the jump for the press release, or click on the gallery below, where we've added the new profile shot seen above.

[Source: Maserati]

There have been a lot of spy shots surfacing recently of two-door Maserati test mules, and they haven't all been consistent, with some appearing as Quattroporte sedans with the rear doors missing and others looking like something entirely new. A possible (and we hope, true) answer to the puzzle: Maserati has got not one, not even two, but three new two-door models under development.

One model, the replacement for the current GT/Gran Sport coupe, is baded on the Quattroporte sedan, taking a 2+2 form. Styling is expected to draw heavily on its four-door counterpart's, but with a more aggressive front end.

A new Spyder convertible model, targeting the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class will likely share many aspects with the above-mentioned coupe. It's expected to ditch the rear seats to make room for the folding roof, which likely won't be a retractable metal hardtop but a conventional cloth roof.

The surprise comes in the form of a proper four-seater convertible, complete with retratable hard-top. Judging from the heavy disguising of test mules caught so far, it will probably come after the GT and Spyder models, but we bet it'll be worth the wait.

Maserati has been bouncing around a lot in recent years, having been bought by Fiat in 2000, then coupled with Ferrari, then with Alfa Romeo before getting a new CEO just last month. But with three new models on the way and sales climbing, it seems the vaunted Trident marque may have finally found its sea-legs again.

[Source: World Car Fans]

It's a Friday and the torrent of news has slowed to a trickle after Ford's WF 2.0 announcement this morning, so we've begun grasping at straws and give you this post coming out of Maserati. The Italian marque doesn't have much going on for the Paris Motor Show but displaying its latest and greatest vehicles: the GransSport MC Victory, Quattroporte Executive GT, Quattroporte Sport GT, and an MC12 racer. But Maserati does have one car that will be showing off something new, the GranSport "Contemporary Classic". Not much appears different with this GranSport from an outward inspection, but open the doors and you'll find that the "Contemporary Classic" has a full leather interior with piping that runs around the seat and dashboard. On any white, black, green or red GranSport "Contemporary Classic", the piping inside will match the exterior color. The only other changes are a full leather steering wheel and light blue gauges.

So, basically Maserati has added some contrasting piping to a few color combos and thinks it's news. Well, today it is. Plus, we'll accept any reason to post a picture of a Maserati GranSport, which is one damn fine-looking Italian grand tourer.

[Source: Maserati]

Maserati has announced that it's throwing its hat in the 'Ring, literally. The Italian marque will be fielding a pair of racers next month in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring endurance race to held on June 17th. The factory team will be running a GranSport 'Labortorio' based on Maserati's entrant in GT racing and another car more closely resembling the road-going GranSport model with modifications limited to a stronger suspension and the requisite fuel supply and refilling hardware. Drivers include an ex-F1 racer, a pair of journalists and a "gentleman driver" that will pilot both vehicles at different times during the race.

[Source: PistonHeads]