Think “Maserati” and “Burberry” and there are so many ways this could have gone classy. But this isn’t one of them. Seems some fool with too much oil money and not enough taste has plastered his Quattroporte in what appears to be perforated Burberry-plaid gift-wrap paper. If this were some sort of new camouflage on a test mule for the newly revised Quattroporte, we’d say it was effective (who could focus on the details in between the bouts of vomiting?), but somehow we don’t picture the Italians doing anything this horrendously tasteless. In fact, we’d encourage Maserati to track down the owner and repossess the vehicle immediately. Click on the thumbnails below to see more of the Burberry-spangled Maser… if you must.

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The big question that everyone was asking was whether this second-generation Quattroporte would continue with its current 400hp 4.2-liter V8, or get treated to the more powerful 4.7-liter 430hp unit which Maserati developed for the Alfa 8C and more recently shoehorned into the GranTurismo S. The answer is, yes. Like its two-door counterpart, the new Quattroporte will now be offered in two versions: the standard Quattroporte and the Quattroporte S. Both will come exclusively with the ZF-sourced six-speed automatic (jettisoning the clumsy sequential transmission that plagued the previous incarnation). Along with the new engine option, the Quattroporte has been treated to some new bodywork: the front grille and bumper have been reshaped and fitted with vertical slats to more closely resemble the GranTurismo’s, the front and rear light clusters have been restyled with LEDs, the fenders sharpened up, the mirrors slimmed down and the tail restyled more aggressively. Two new colors – a sandy beige and a maroon – are on offer, and the interior has also been ergonomically and stylistically refreshed, integrating the new Maserati Mutlimedia System.

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Could this one-off design study for a Maserati coupé become a production reality? Designed by newly relaunched Italian coachbuilder Carrozerria Touring Superleggera, the A8 GCS Berlinetta is currently just an idea but Maserati is currently considering adding a new small coupé to its line-up, to be priced between £50,000 and £60,000.

More compact than the £78,605 Gran Turismo, the baby two-door would compete against lower-end Porsche 911s, pricier versions of the Mercedes CLK, Jaguar’s planned XE coupé and even the Nissan GT-R and BMW M3.

Maserati sees a considerable gap between the top end of the Brera coupé range from sister company Alfa Romeo and the 4.2-litre V8 Gran Turismo.

At one time there was talk of Maserati offering a ‘mini’ Quattroporte; this smaller saloon could share its core architecture and probably some drivetrains with the new Alfa 169 flagship. But insiders have concluded that the two models would excessively cannibalise one another’s sales.

Maserati boss Roberto Ronchi said that the firm needs a third model to continue making a profit, which it is, if on a modest scale.

An additional car would take Maserati’s production to around 15,000 units annually, about the maximum capacity of its Modena plant. Last year it made 7353 cars, a third more than during the previous 12 months, and this number should rise again in 2008 with growing sales of the Gran Turismo and the Quattroporte, and the limited-edition 8C that it is building for Alfa Romeo.

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The auto industry may be mired in tough times at the moment, but the sales downturn here in the States doesn’t seem to be bothering Ferrari and Maserati. Ferrari sales were up 4% year over year to 1,654 units, due in part to outstanding sales of its 612 Scaglietti and 599 GTB Fiorano. Brisk sales of the hot Italian supercars led to a 20% increase in revenue over last year’s record numbers, to 456 million euro. It never hurts when you have an 18-month backlog of buyers that are waiting patiently for their Italian Stallion, and new models are on the way to potentially boost sales further.

Maserati has also seen a resurgence in sales, with a 21% improvement in year over year sales to 2,234 units for the quarter. While Maserati made a profit of 10 million euro for the quarter, which sounds lousy until you consider the famed Italian automaker was in the red for 17 straight years until 2007. While the Italian automaker has a checkered past with regards to sales and earnings performance, the gorgeous GranTurismo and a steady backlog of customers translates into good times for quite a while at Maserati.

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 Carroll Shelby: racer, car builder, automotive legend, pilot, transplant recipient, entrepreneur, perhaps even rascal.

One thing is probably true, the plain-speaking Texan is a bit of all of these – and more. And despite a life-long series of illnesses, anyone of which would have crippled a weaker man, Carroll Hall Shelby, at 85, is still going strong. So it’s probably no surprise he’ll be receiving the latest in a long line of honors, today, as Automotive Executive of the Year.

The path from Leesburg, Texas hasn’t always been a straight line. Indeed, Shelby was born dirt poor, on January 11, 1923, with seemingly few opportunities. So it was probably no surprise to family and friends when he signed up for the then Army-Air Corps, during World War II, serving as flight instructor and test pilot. (Which kindled a lifelong love of flying, that continues today.)

Returning from the War, Shelby planned to settle down and do something that fit in, back in Leesburg. “I opened a chicken farm,” he recalls, with the Texas twang that’s never left him, “but my chickens all died.” Farming clearly wasn’t in his genes. But somehow, fast cars had gotten into his blood. And by the early 1950s, he was proving his mettle as a talented amateur. Turning pro, he landed “rides” with then-strong teams from Aston Martin, Maserati and Cad-Allard, unquestionably proving his skills with a 1959 win at Le Mans.

Continued

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Maserati officials have confirmed the convertible version of the GranTurismo coupe will arrive in showrooms by March of next year and these new renderings give us a good indication as to what the final styling may look like with the top down. The introduction of the new model will help Maserati meet its ambitious goal of selling 12,000 cars per year by 2011 as well as continue the carmaker’s recent return to profitability.

Maserati is yet to confirm if the car will sport a traditional canvas roof or a new hard-top, but recent spy shots of a GranTurismo convertible prototype suggest it will feature a metal folding roof. Otherwise, the convertible should feature the same mechanical package as the coupe, although in fitting with its premium status the car could come standard with the new 434hp 4.7L V8 engine from the recently revealed GranTurismo S. This means it will likely get Maserati’s updated automated manual gearbox and Brembo brake package as standard.

Performance will be down on its coupe sibling as the convertible will require extra reinforcements due to its missing roof. Remember, the coupe already weighs in excess of 1,800kg so the extra weight of this reinforcement plus the complicated folding mechanism of the roof system could easily push the drop-top past the two ton barrier. At the end of the day however, the GranTurismo is all about style and as a poser’s car a convertible version is as good as it gets.

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The students of the Instituto Europeo di Design unveiled their Maserati Chicane concept, which won out over rival designs to win sponsorship and a spot under the bright lights of the Geneva Motor Show to show their talent to the world. Certain details aren’t likely won’t make it to production, although wit design chiefs from Maserati and Fiat AG on the selecting jury, we wouldn’t be all that surprised to see some similarities when Maserati eventually unleashes its anticipated new sportscar.

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the Maserati Gran Turismo S was on it’s way to Geneva and we’ve finally had some time to caress it with our lens. Featuring the same 4.7-liter 440HP V8 engine developed for the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, this updated Maser won’t take a backseat to its pricier and swoopier cousin any more. Okay, maybe it will considering it actually HAS a backseat. The upgraded engine is mated to an electro-actuated MC-Shift gearbox mounted on the rear transaxle for optimized weight distribution and faster shifting times. Maserati even put a demo version on display with the car so we could see the improvements firsthand. Going is one thing, stopping another. To that end, Brembo has supplied an upsized brake package, the same one in fact, that is seen on the Quattroporte Sport GT S. It features those trick front brakes that are dual-cast iron/aluminum discs gripped by six-piston aluminum calipers. As you can see from the live images we’ve added to the gallery, the new wheels, badges and leather/Alcantara interior make this GranTurismo S stand out even when it’s standing still. We were just starting to see some of the “regular” GTs on the road, and now Maserati has upped the ante. Honestly, this is what the car should have been all along. Now they just need to develop the convertible to match the recently unveiled 8C pop-top.

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