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Video: Supercar Start-Ups Volume 1
This video is the automotive equivalent of a perfect mix-tape. Ask anybody with any passion for exotics and they’ll tell you that one of their favorite things about these high-powered machines is the engine start-up. In some cases, it’s the push of a button. In other cases, it’s turning the keys in the ignition. Whatever set-up an exotic has, the glorious roar of that engine coming to life is as good as it gets. Naturally, somebody has come up with the genius idea of compiling 22 of the most mouth-watering super cars on the planet and capturing these cars spring to life one growling roar at a time. Just in case you’re wondering about the line-up of supercars in this video, there are Lamborghinis, Ferraris, a Ford GT40, and even a Pagani Zonda. The video is only a little under two minutes long, giving you enough time to serenade your senses with the unmistakable noise that only exotics can provide. 2012 Maserati GranCabrio Sport Poltrona Frau
 
The Maserati GranTurismo S Limited Edition isn’t the only exclusive Maserati that has come out this week. Joining the sports car in the fold is this luxurious Maserati GranCabrio Sport Poltrona Frau. We understand your curiosity about the Poltrona Frau name because we’ve never heard of it either until now. Turns out, Poltrona Frau is an Italian interior and furniture design and leather upholstery company that has had a partnership with Maserati since 2001. To celebrate the 10th year anniversary of the two companies’ partnership, Poltrona Frau customized the GranCabrio Sport’s interior with a special leather treatment that touches on soft, luxurious comfort. As if the GranCabrio Sport needed any more luxurious touch-ups. On top of the finely-dressed interior, the GranCabrio Sport also has a minor performance improvement from the standard version, courtesy of a faster and more fuel efficient MC Auto Shift transmission. As a result, the GranCabrio Sport’s 4.7-liter V8 engine now produces 450 horsepower, an increase of 10 ponies from the standard model. The result is 0-62 mph acceleration time of 5.2 seconds with a top speed of 177 mph. 2011 Maserati Gran Turismo S Limited Edition
Italy has been celebrating the 150th anniversary of its unification all throughout 2011. In the past 11 months, a number of Italian automakers have paid homage to this special year, including Ferrari, which christened their 2011 Formula One race car as the "150° Italia". Ferrari’s biggest rival, Lamborghini, also paid tribute to the occasion with the release of the 2011 Lamborghini Gallardo Tricolore. At the 2011 Bologna Motor Show, Maserati unveiled their celebratory vehicle in the form of the GranTurismo S Limited Edition. The most unique feature of this special edition car is the Sebring Blue paint finish, but it also comes with certain carbon fiber elements to make it stand out. Elements such as the front and rear spoilers, the side mirrors, and the door handles highlight the blue finish, while polished aluminum calipers, side skirts, headlights, and a new set of 20" alloy wheels round out the exterior details of the special edition GranTurismo S. As for the interior, Maserati added a carbon trim for the instrumentation, particularly on the center console and dashboard. Additionally, there’s also a tradition commemorative plaque that highlights its tribute to Italy’s 150th unification anniversary, complete with the official number of the model. On the technical side, Maserati has yet to announce whether the GranTurismo S Limited Edition received performance modifications. Nevertheless, the sports car still carries a pretty impressive 4.7-liter V8 engine that produces 440 horsepower, mated to an electro-actuated MC-Shift manual transmission. This setup is good enough to post a 0-62 mph time of just 4.9 seconds with a top speed of 183 mph. Maserati will only be releasing 12 models of the GranTurismo S Limited Edition, which means that you’re going to have to strike early to score one. Maserati’s three new models will come in quick succession
 Fiat chief exec, Sergio Marchionne, has confirmed that Maserati is indeed preparing three new models: a successor to the Quattroporte, a smaller Maserati, and the production Kubang, rumored to be called the Cinqueporte. Moreover, these three models will debut in rapid succession, which is a good thing considering Maserati is keeping mum on which model will be launched first. "We are being a bit secretive over what you get first because it has implications for the industrial footprint of the group," said Marchionne. "You see, there is a site in Modena that makes the Quattroporte, there’s some debate what happens to that plant after Quattroporte. There is sufficient commonality in what we’re doing between the smaller car and the bigger one that we can do what we want." Of course, that doesn’t mean that people aren’t going to throw their two cents in. It is believed that the first vehicle to arrive will be the Quattroporte, followed by the Kubang, and then the baby Maserati. It is already known that the Kubang will be heavily based on Jeep Grand Cherokee and that the four-door baby Maserati will be built on a Chrysler 300 platform, but Marchionne says that the four-door will have a completely different suspension and that the engine are "totally Ferrari/Maserati."
Ferrari Superiority sends Maserati on Porsche and Bentley Attack
 Sisters shouldn’t fight and apparently that also holds true in the auto industry. Maserati, Ferrari’s little sister, is hard at work becoming more of a player in the industry and has set its target on competing against both Porsche and Bentley. But not with its Italian big sister. According to Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, Ferrari is in a class of its own and that Maserati will be focusing its attention on competing with the likes of Porsche and Bentley. "Ferrari doesn’t play with Bentley and with Porsche, it plays in its own [sand] box," he said. The seeds have already been planted for the Italian automaker to accomplish this and expand the model line-up, as well as refreshing some of the existing models in the portfolio. We’ve already heard about Maserati’s intention of introducing a crossover on the market - the tentative name is the ’Cinqueporte’ - to battle the likes of the Cayenne and now it appears that the company will also have plans for a new small sedan, as well as a larger version of the Quattroporte. Looking at the big picture, Maserati is pushing forward with their plans of increasing the sales figure of the brand all the way up to 60,000 units. That might sound a little bit of a stretch now, but if in fact these guys are serious about competing with a company like Porsche, they’re going to need to invest every last bit of their resources to ensure that they at least come close to the benchmarks they’ve set.
2014 Maserati Cinqueporte
Now that Maserati has unveiled the Kubang concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show everyone knows that the production version is just around the corner. The only question is: will it keep the Kubang name? Apparently no! It has been reported that the company has just filed a patent application in Europe for the name "Cinqueporte" - that of course will be used for a five-door car. That make us believe that the future SUV will carry the "Cinqueporte" moniker - unless of course Maserati has something else planned that has managed to keep to itself until now. A very strange choice we might add considering the SUV will be built in the US at Chrysler’s Jefferson North plant in Detroit, MI. The SUV will be built on a Jeep Grand Cherokee platform and will be powered by a 4.7-liter V-8 unit capable of about 450-hp, coupled with ZF’s eight-speed automatic transmission. For Europe Maserati will also be offering a VM Motori’s 3.0-liter V-6 with power increased to over 300 HP. The Maserati SUV will be launched on the market in 2013. 2011 Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale by Novitec Tridente
The Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale is one delicious sports car. Sure, it doesn’t carry the same esteem as its Ferrari sister, but it’s still a meaty and juicy sports coupe that just jumps out of the pack. And with Maseratis like this, you can always count on one tuning company to be front and center when it comes to producing some sickening performance modifications. So hello there, Novitec. We see that you wasted little time in tweaking the sportiest Maserati model in the family. Before we get to the new tweaks Novitec did under the GranTurismo MC Stradale’s hood, it’s worth noting that the Italian tuning company also worked on some aerodynamic details of the sports car, particularly a central air scoop on the hood that’s flanked by large air vents. There’s also a black-finish boot lid spoiler, two 105mm black-coated or polished tailpipes, lowered suspension springs, and a new set of 21" and 22" double-spoke design alloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero high-performance tires. As for the performance mods, Novitec added a new SUPERSPORT turbocharger to the sports car, as well as a new water-to-air intercooler, a larger manifold, bigger injectors, and a remapped ECU. With these modifications, Novitec was able to take the GranTurismo MC Stradale’s 4.2 liter V8 engine and improve its output from the standard 450 horsepower and 376 lb/ft of torque all the way up to 646 horsepower at 7,500 rpm and 460 lb/ft of torque at 5,600 rpm. The staggering increase in output also meant an improvement in performance numbers to the tune of a 0-62 mph time of 3.9 seconds a new top speed of 190 mph. The only drawback to the program is that it costs €23,900 ($32,000). But hey, if you have the money to buy the car, then you can probably afford Novitec’s impressive tuning program. 2011 Maserati GranTurismo Project Deathbolt by SR Auto Group
Anytime we see a tuning package from SR Auto Group, we know that we are going to be in for quite a treat, but their latest tuning package is a little on the boring side. The American tuner has chosen to perk up the Maserati GranTurismo with a package called Project Deathbolt. The name may have been chosen for its intimidation factor, but this package is anything but. SR Auto Group developed Project Deathbolt in cooperation with PUR Wheels who have measured out the perfect fitment to create the package’s defining stance. The team picked out a stunning effective split five spoke design set of wheels finished in a gloss black paint to tie in all of the black lower valences. Combined with a pure white exterior paint job, these black wheels are the stars of the show, but that’s an easy task to accomplish when nothing else was added. Project Deathbolt will still be powered by the Maserati’s standard 4.2 liter V8 engine developing 405 HP and 339 lb-ft of torque which means customers will still get from 0-60 mph in 5.1 seconds with a top speed of 177 mph. We still think SR Auto Group is a killer tuning firm, but if you need a reminder, just check out their Project Megalith based on the Ferrari 599 GTB. 2011 Maserati GranCabrio Fendi
We love Fiat’s partnership with Gucci and the resulting 500 by Gucci born from it. However, with all due respect to those two, the latest collaboration between Italian automaker and Italian fashion house is making us drool. The car is a Maserati GranCabrio. The fashion house is Fendi. The result is the GranCabrio Fendi, a car that has been described as "a masterpiece of technology and craftsmanship." And that just might be an understatement. To begin with, the GranCabrio has been finished with a special dark grey, three-layer body color with an iridescent golden finish on the surface. Then there are wood trims across the dashboard, doors, and gear lever, complemented by yellow painted brake calipers. The seats have been dressed with Fendi’s iconic ’double F’ logo with the headrests embroidered with yellow stitching featuring Maserati’s famous trident logo. In addition, the special edition GranCabrio also features a silver oval plaque on the dashboard, displaying the Maserati trident, the Fendi logo, and the five-digit series number. There’s also a special black car cover and to top everything off, there’s also a Limited Edition Travel Set of Fendi luggage and accessories. For all the changes done on the car’s looks, the powertrain and corresponding output remains the same. What this means is that you’ll still get the 4.7-liter V8 engine with 433 horsepower and 362 lb/ft of torque with a top speed 180 mph. Maserati has yet to release the financial damage this car will have on our accounts, but to be honest, we’d probably fork over whatever figure it sells for just because we’re completely smitten with it. The paint finish alone already caused our jaws to drop to the floor. UPDATE 09/22/2011: Maserati has just released a video that provides a look behind the scenes of the GranCabrio Fendi. It’s a slow starter, complete with elevator music and a slow sketch of the Maserati, but it shows everything from the work on the body down to the stitching of the seats. 2011 Maserati Kubang
Maserati was already late in the sporty SUV game when it first debuted the Kubang Concept back in 2003, and now the Italian luxury car maker is hoping we forget about the eight year long hiatus their SUV has taken to reintroduce the Kubang at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Tsk, tsk, Maserati. It’s one thing to bring about a second concept of the same vehicle (look at Toyota’s FT-86), but it is quite another to ignore the laid back attitude taken in developing it. Regardless of the misguided marketing ploys, the new Kubang Concept is here again with a more modern interpretation and a promise that, this time, the concept previews a new sport luxury SUV that will be used to enlarge Maserati’s product range and strengthen its presence in the sport luxury market. The new Kubang was created by the Maserati Style Center headed by Lorenzo Ramaciotti and despite its Jeep platform, is supposed to be all Maserati. Everything from the style, engine, suspension, brakes, handling, and performance is said to be in continuity with the brand’s core values of sportiness, style, elegance, luxury, performance and craftsmanship. Maserati has also promised that the production version will be powered by a new-generation high-tech Maserati proprietary engine designed in Modena by Paolo Martinelli and produced in Maranello by Ferrari. The SUV will also receive a new AT 8 speed automatic transmission and specific performance settings set to the configurations of the suspension, brakes, and steering exclusively developed in Modena by the Maserati Product Development Department. Updated 09/28/2011: Maserati has unveiled a first official video for the Kubang concept who made its world debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show. A production version will be built in Detroit and will be put on sale sometime in 2013. Until then enjoy the concept in action! Updated 04/27/2012: In a recent interview with Automotive News, Maserati CEO Harald Wester announced that the Beijing Auto Show has been the last appearance of their Kubang concept. Next time we will see a Maserati SUV will be in 2014 at the Detroit Auto Show when the company will bring it in a production version and with a different name. Sales will begin in the first half of 2014. | featured reviews:Maserati cars reviews2020 2014 2013 2012 2011
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Maserati cars
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