Maserati GranSport Hinted Again by CEO
Italian exotic brand Maserati is planning to expand its lineup by 2015, including a mid-engined sports car to compete with the Ferrari 458 and Porsche 911 that brand boss Harold Wester recently dropped new hints about.
His latest breadcrumbs are leading us to believe that the naturally-aspirated 4.7-liter V8 otherwise headed for the archives might live on in the new GranSport supercar should it come to life. With 454 hp on tap, the car won’t make as much power as most of its competitors, but that probably isn’t going to matter. Then again, that engine might not actually be the final choice: the next-gen turbocharged engine meant for the Quattroporte could also be a candidate.
Wester also said Maserati’s latest sport car manifestation would be built on a carbon fibre monocoque, just like the Alpha Romeo 4C that has been catching attention recently. Given that body structure, the Maserati would likely have a dry weight of 1,200 kg (2,645 lbs) which is light enough that the low power rating wouldn’t bother anyone.
The project has yet to get the green light, but a car like that could open space for Maserati to please both performance-oriented buyers and luxury lovers on the other end of the spectrum.
[Source: Evo]
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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why would Fiat owned Maserati create a mid engined car to go against another Fiat owned company, Ferrari? fix that line autoguide.com