The Maserati Alfieri concept is easily one of the best-looking and most-exciting cars to hit the scene in the last several years. Its compact size and incredibly dynamic styling make it look like a supercar->ke177 of the future. Well it seems that Maserati->ke51 is going to be doing everything it can to make sure this new coupe drives as well as it looks. AutoGuide sat down with Maserati’s Chief Marketing Officer, Saad Chehab, at the Canadian International Auto Show to talk about this new car, and they got a lot of juicy details.

First and foremost, Saad promises that the Alfieri will be “a true sports car.” This will be accomplished by keeping the car small, making sure it is as light as possible, and getting all the details right like style and sound. The quote AutoGuide gave has Saad saying “We’re all about the f#cking sound.” Certainly sounds like they have their priorities in order for a car that is supposed to sell on its merits of passion and excitement.

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Why it matters

Maserati has a pedigree that is every bit as prestigious and Ferrari's, but thanks to a bevy of awful cars that plagued the marque for most of its modern life, much of its prestige and brand interest is nonexistent in the U.S. market. Taking a car that is sized closer to the 911,->ke282 draping it in a shell that makes an Aston Martin->ke13 look ugly, and then stuffing a powerful turbocharged V-6 under the nose sounds like a great way to reintroduce the brand to buyers.

And yes, you read V-6. Rather than go with V-8 power, Maserati plans on using hopped-up versions of the engine found in the Ghibli,->ke4598 with AutoGuide claiming that power output could be as high as 520 horsepower. When pushed with questions about powertrains, Saad was quick to mention that even Ferrari->ke252 is heading to turbocharged power with the new California T and the 488 GTB.

Maserati will be dedicated to keeping weight as low as possible, and promises that it will be “much lighter” than the Gran Turismo coupe of today. Maserati’s brand boss is a man named Harald Wester, and he is championing the use of exotic materials to keep weight as low as possible. He is the one who helped make sure the Alfa Romeo 4C->ke3773 was as svelte and exciting as possible. While Saad is quick to point out that the 4C does not necessarily represent where Maserati wants to go in regards to the Alfieri, he does mention that it proves just how dedicated the company can be about keeping the pounds off.

All things considered, the Alfieri is shaping up to be an incredible machine that will put Maserati back on the Italian performance map.

Maserati Alfieri

The Maserati Alfieri is a concept car that was revealed at last year’s Geneva Motor Show to much praise and excitement. It took the design language of Maserati and cranked it to 11 with sharper creases, more dynamic lighting, and much more modern feel. The impact this car made was so great that we named it as one of our top five cars of the show. Not long after the debut, Maserati confirmed that it will hit production in both coupe and convertible forms, but it was mum on the rest of the serious details. Expect the car to debut with a turbocharged V-6 engine in the 450-horsepower range, with faster and more-hard core variants arriving later, with horsepower ratings over the 500 mark.