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Maserati video sheds a little light on mid-engined MC20 coupe

Maserati is preparing to unveil the MC20, its first new model since the Levante made its debut in 2016. It released a short video to whet our appetite before the mid-engined coupe makes its global debut on September 9. Posted on its official Twitter account, the five-second video does an excellent job of keeping the MC20's design under wraps, but it helps us decode what's lurking under the camouflage. It suggests Maserati stylists don't have a straight-edge in their arsenal of tools, because nearly every surface looks deliciously curved. We also get a quick glimpse at the vents chiseled into the hood, and at the air intakes positioned over the rear wheel wells. Out back, the coupe will feature louvers over the rear window, according to a different video posted on the company's Facebook page. We'd say it's safe to bet the cabin will receive the digital rear-view mirror that's slowly making its way across the Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) portfolio. Louvers have never stopped carmakers from hanging a conventional rear-view mirror above the front passengers, but the MC20's represent a golden opportunity for Maserati to flex its technology muscles. Whether they'll be standard or optional is up in the air. Although Maserati is trickle-feeding us clues, earlier spy shots taken near its headquarters in Modena give us a much better look at the MC20. Its proportions reveal its mid-engined layout, and even the camouflage can't hide the low-mounted oval grille with the firm's trident emblem. It's a styling cue that subtly links the MC20 to the firm's past models, like the race-winning Tipo 61 (also known as the Birdcage) built from 1959 to 1961. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Power for the MC20 will come from a 3.0-liter V6 engine developed in-house and twin-turbocharged to 630 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque. Called Nettuno internally, the 90-degree six-cylinder will have an 8,000-rpm redline, and it will spawn a track-only engine that will power Maserati's future race cars. Unconfirmed rumors claim the MC20 range will later grow to include a hybrid variant with at least 700 horsepower on tap, and a convertible. Maserati is investing significant resources into the development of electric powertrains, the next-generation GranTurismo will run exclusively on batteries, so we wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Maserati delivers an MC20 without exhaust pipes sooner or later.

Fiat set to invest $12B on new models, stop Euro losses in 3 years

Naturally, you'd expect a massive automaker like Fiat to have an in-depth plan to exit the current European-market doldrums, and you'd expect that plan to include plenty of new vehicles to attract those precious buyers that still remain despite the financial downturn. And you'd be right, though Fiat does seem to have a few unexpected twists up its corporate sleeve.
Perhaps the biggest shocker is a report that Fiat will completely drop the Punto, a car with mass-market appeal aimed at small-car buyers cross-shopping the popular Volkswagen Polo. Its replacement will be a five-door Fiat 500 aimed at upmarket buyers (sounds awfully similar to the 500L) that will be built in Poland. Lower-end customers will reportedly be served by variants of the Fiat Panda.
Borrowing a page from the BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen playbook, reports Automotive News, Fiat is said to have plans to reignite production at its Italian factories by retooling them to build high-end vehicles from Maserati and Alfa Romeo. These will be marketed as premium products, built by skilled Italian workers (who are paid wages that are 75-percent higher than those building Fiats in Poland), and will be sold around the world.

FCA is setting a five-year strategy: Here's how the last one played out

We're slightly more than four years removed from Sergio Marchionne last five-year plan for FCA, a tell-all where the Italian-American automaker divulged its plans for the 2014 through 2018 model years. It was a grand affair, where Sergio told FCA investors that all was right in Auburn Hills, Alfa Romeo and Maserati were making comebacks, and the fifth-gen Dodge Viper received a mid-cycle refresh. You can read every last one of those past predictions right here. We're on our way to Europe to see Sergio's sequel, coming out Friday straight from FCA's Italian headquarters. (Bloomberg reports a plan to expand Jeep and Ram globally, combine Alfa Romeo and Maserati into a single division for an eventual spinoff, and downsizing Fiat and Chrysler. Also, EVs.) But before we arrive in Italy and find out exactly what Marchionne has planned for 2019 through 2023 as his last act as CEO, let's take a minute to tally up the results of his last term based on the same scoresheet we used in 2014. Now, we're only five months into 2018, so much of this — including vehicles like the Ram HD and Jeep Grand Wagoneer — could still debut this year. For those, we'll mark things TBD. We're not going to draw any conclusions or make any objectionable remarks. We're simply going to let the stats speak for themselves.