2018 Maserati Gran Turismo Sport Convertible 2d on 2040-cars

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Maserati hand-painted tricolor stripe shows Italian pride — for a price

Italy has gone through a rough time with the coronavirus, but now the country is emerging from the worst of it and is experiencing a renewed sense of national pride. Rome's famous Colosseum is illuminated in the green, white and red of the Italian flag, and Maserati is getting into the spirit as well. The company is offering a narrow tri-color stripe in the same green-white-red on the hood and roof of new Maseratis. Waving the proverbial Italian flag with your Maserati doesn't come cheap, however. The option is $5,000, although we should point out that it is hand-painted. The stripe is available on a small number of 2020 model year Levantes and Ghiblis exclusively in conjunction with the Nero Ribelle (metallic black) body color. We're told the special stripe will be offered more widely as a special-order option for 2021, where it can also be paired with other body colors. Pricing for the 2021 model year has not been released. Related video:    

Maserati cutting Ghibli, Quattroporte production on slowing demand

If Maserati is going to meet its ambitious sale targets, it's going to need to grow as fast as its cars can accelerate. But lately, the Trident marque has seen demand for its luxury sedans flattening, if not receding. And now Maserati has had to cut production to avoid overshooting demand. We've been seeing reports of production being trimmed at the company's Grugliasco plant near Turin, Italy, for over a month now. But while earlier reports seemed to indicate the trouble was rooted in supplier issues, the latest suggests that slowing demand is the culprit. According to Automotive News Europe, parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has had to cut the number of shifts at Grugliasco (where the Ghibli and Quattroporte are produced) from 12 per week to 10. "Fiat has told us that workers at the Grugliasco plant will be working for three weeks out of four up until July," union leader Federico Bellono told ANE. "The company is predicting production of about 30,000 to 35,000 cars at Grugliasco this year. I think it will be closer to 30,000." Last year the plant produced 34,000 units, with the sedans accounting for the bulk of Maserati's sales. Of the 36,448 units the Modena-based automaker sold last year, 23,500 were Ghiblis and 9,500 were Quattroportes, with the GranTurismo accounting for just 3,500 units. That's up considerably from the total of 15,400 units it sold in 2013, but is still some ways off from the 50,000 it hopes to reach this year and the 75,000 it aims to achieve by 2018. The arrival of the upcoming Levante crossover, as well as the Alfieri sports car and new GranTurismo, will surely help. But if Maserati is going to reach its ambitious sales targets, it's going to have to find more buyers for its core sedans. Repeated requests made by Autoblog for comment from Maserati have yet to be answered, but we'll be sure to update you if and when relevant new information comes to light. Related Video:

2015 Maserati GranTurismo to show new styling language for brand

Despite the fact that Maserati has yet to officially mention the next generation of its grand touring lineup, it seems like we know plenty of details about the upcoming range of Maserati coupes and convertibles. First we heard that the GranTurismo line would be growing to include three models, then we heard that new, smaller two-seater (possibly named Gran Sport) could be here by 2016 and, most recently, reports indicated that the GranTurismo's successor will feature more compact dimensions to better take on the Porsche 911.
Now Edmunds is reporting that the 2015 GranTurismo will mark a major evolution in the design language for the Italian automaker, while the Levante SUV will get the current styling cues found on the 2014 Quattroporte and 2014 Ghibli. The article also says that Maserati is planning to offer its models with a wider range of available colors and that it will introduce new limited-edition models as well all in hopes of selling 50,000 units globally by 2015.