Maserati Benelux took part in the 90th European Motor Show in Brussels where it showcased a lineup of four luxury performance cars and girls dressed in Fendi. Fendi is a fashion line which is in partnership with Maserati for the two companies have a lot in common – quality, craftsmanship and elegance obviously. Some 15.000 VIP guests attended the event. That included artists, customers, business partners and government representatives. Maserati’s models didn’t seem to wear any clothes at all and had strange names such as: the Quattroporte GT S, GranTurismo MC Stradale, the S Automatic and the GranCabrio Sport.
But we have heard them before, haven’t we? Yes, the all-sensible Quattroporte has four doors and the practicality of an IKEA bedroom and yet it somehow doesn’t emanate boredom and dreariness. In fact this Sport GT S version has a 4.7 V8 engine that delivers 440 hp and 490 Nm of torque which makes it as exciting as owning a bear. The exhaust system is also partially to blame for all that power. There are valves that control the back pressure within the system and in SPORT mode all the taps let loose with the final result being a beautiful symphony of thunder and power.
The GranTurismo S Automatic bares the same 4.7 V8 with virtually the same specs and yet, because it is lighter than the Quattroporte, it has a higher top speed and slightly better road manners. It also features an innovative self-adapting automatic transmission which can be set up to change gears even at 7200 RPM.
Then there is the hardcore, lightweight Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale. It is the flagship performance car of Maserati for now and it is designed to meet the need of the most picky car enthusiasts. The Stradale benefits great handling and aerodynamics thanks to the company’s experience on the race track. Engine size remains the same (a 4.7 V8) but power is up by 10hp resulting in the blistering 450 bhp and 510Nm of torque. A 0 to 100 km/h sprint takes just 4.6 seconds and the top speed reaches the 300 km/h mark.
Last but not least, the GranCabrio Sport, designed for sunny days, makes an appearance. Power is from the same upgraded 4.7 V8 (450hp) Its specially tuned, yet based on the Quattroporte Sport GT S six-speed transmission includes a super-fast MC Auto Shift mode. The Skyhook active suspension has also been revamped for the greater handling performance. Other than the fact that it is a soft-top one can notice a change in the lines, the nose, the details – character laden profile with this GranCabrio Sport indeed.
Maserati ended a perfectly successful 2011 which saw an increase in sales by 10% or so. North America remains the biggest Maserati importer with 2465 units sold in the past 12 months while China is trailing behind as the world’s second largest Maserati admirer
Source: Maserati
The Super Bowl is as much about the commercials as it is for the football itself. So for the fifth consecutive year, Audi will air a :60 spot during the first quarter of the Super Bowl with focus landing on LED technology. The San Francisco-based Venables Bell & Partners studio is in charge with the creative ad. The only other known fact is that the 2013 Audi S7 sedan will also be somehow featured. The rest can be seen on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012 when the big game starts.
Mitsubishi is growing popular in Canada. Evidence of that is the good mood of Shin Fujioka, President and CEO of the Canadian Mitsubishi branch: “We ended 2011 with a 5.2 percent increase over the previous year, and we broke the 20,000–vehicle mark for the first time. This is a goal that we are particularly proud of and one that gives us confidence that Canadians are embracing Mitsubishi’s cars and crossover models. This is quite an achievement and says a lot about the quality of our Mitsubishi products and our hard- working dealers.”
SpeedART, the German tuning house are now promoting their latest product: SP91-R sounds like a Windows update but it actually is a performance kit for the new 911/991 Carrera S. The package is due to come in March during the 2012 Geneva Motor Show but one can tell that SpeedART are eager to share with what exactly is SP91-R
Tokyo Auto Salon 2012 is over and Nissan have managed to leave a long lasting impression from their presentations. Along with the Nismo Juke and Nismo LEAF electric car, a Nismo March Concept made a surprise appearance appearance and feedback is turning out to be good.
The Ford F-150 truck is a cultural phenomenon with 584,917 units sold in the US during year 2011 alone. Now the company is anticipating four new engines and ROUSH tuning house is not willing to stand and watch. Instead, both new Ford 6.2L and 5.0L V-8s will get a full supercharger kit while the other two new comers will get enhancements as well, all for the greater grunt.
Some news from the NAIAS – Designers at the Lexus studio in Calty, California can take a much deserved vacation now as the much anticipated Lexus LF-LC Hybrid Sport Coupe Concept is proving itself a big success with an ‘EyesOn Design Award’ for a best concept. Innovative approach has been kept in mind when designing the 2+2 Hybrid which incorporates a certain emotive charge combined with cold blooded technology.
The F1 championship is a demanding, treacherous challenge. For mere preparation, drivers spend weeks in training by submitting themselves to stress which comes in both forms – physical and psychological. So when it comes to blowing off some steam with recreation, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa decide to add more stress. The slaloms at the Madonna di Campiglio resort are used to having champions skiing over them but yesterday something was different. There were two Ferrari FF”s lined at the track’s starting point with Alonso and Massa behind the wheels. What followed was a heated, downhill parallel race between two of the world’s best F1 drivers which ended up in a tie.
Chevrolet have announced that a 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible Collector Edition will make it’s debut on January the 21st and will go on sale this summer. This is big news for we are talking about the first Chevy ever, that can be both a collector and a commemorative edition at the same time Yes, Chevrolet are celebrating their 60th birthday this year and what better way to mark the occasion than producing a convertible, more powerful than the gravity of Jupiter.
Hennessey is a Texas tuning shop famous for creating Texas-sized horsepower numbers and for modifying super cars that will steal a Bugatti Veyron’s lunch money.” – TopGear USA
While the Detroit NAIAS is running its course, there seems to be a lot of hubbub around the 2012 Geneva Motor Show which is due to start in March this year. Here we have a teaser of Pininfarina‘s future concept, the “luxury environmentally friendly sport sedan”. It will be revealed at their show stand in Geneva and undoubtedly, it will be gorgeous.
Tesla Motors is saying goodbye to their all-electric Roadster with style. A last revision of the sports car will be available in Europe, Asia and Australia.