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Maserati and Lamborghini pull out of Iran

Daimler is out, Toyota is out, Porsche is out, Hyundai, PSA Peugeot-Citroën are out and when it comes to selling cars in Iran, now Maserati and Lamborghini are out, too. The definitive pullouts of those last two automakers are said to be reactions to a press conference held by a group called United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). The group highlights businesses that sell in both the US market and Iran, and works to get those businesses to choose one market or the other.
UANI said it had sent letters to Maserati and Lamborghini about their dealings in Iran, but that the letters went unanswered. Mark Wallace, head of UANI and a former US ambassador to the United Nations, held a press conference in October of last year that referenced the two companies. Apparently Lamborghini contacted Wallace just after the press conference and told him "they were out, they weren't doing any business in Iran anymore."
Discussions with Maserati then took place, and the Italian automaker said it had been out of Iran ever since Fiat announced it was leaving the country in May 2011. UANI said Maserati had been in talks with an Iranian distributor, however, and that distributor was continuing to use the Maserati name. The carmaker has since cut all ties with Iranian interests and has prevented its name from being used, adding that its new models will not be able to be sold there because they won't pass regulations the country's regulations.

330-horsepower Ghibli Hybrid is Maserati's first electrified model

Maserati kicked off its electrification campaign by releasing a hybrid version of the Ghibli, its entry-level model. The sedan gains a mild hybrid system, subtle visual tweaks, and many technology upgrades inside. Unveiled online, the brand's first production-bound electrified car features a gasoline-electric powertrain built around a turbocharged, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. It works jointly with a 48-volt belt-driven starter-generator and what the company calls an e-booster that's essentially an electric supercharger. The system's total output checks in at 330 horsepower at 5,750 rpm and 332 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm, and it channels its power to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission and a limited-slip differential. Maserati quotes a 5.7-second sprint from zero to 62 mph, and a 159-mph top speed. While fuel economy figures are still being finalized, preliminary estimates peg the Hybrid's fuel consumption at about 27.6 mpg in a combined cycle, a figure which — if accurate — makes it less efficient than the 31.3-mpg diesel model it will replace. Adopting 48-volt technology was the best way to electrify the Ghibli, according to the brand. "We thought about a plug-in option for the Ghibli, but when you put a lot of batteries — and a lot of other stuff — into the car, it adds weight and it's going to jeopardize the performance and the fun-to-drive quotient that is key for Maserati. I'm not saying this to diminish the good points of the plug-in hybrid technology, but it's not the best solution here," Francesco Tonon, Maserati's head of global product planning and marketing, told Autoblog. Tonon pointed out making the Ghibli a hybrid wasn't an excuse to make it dull; it still needed to drive and sound like a Maserati. It's 176 pounds lighter than the diesel-burning model, and it offers better weight distribution because there is a lighter engine under the hood and some of the hybrid components are installed in the back. As for the sound, Tonon proudly explained his team gave the Ghibli a unique exhaust note worthy of the storied trident emblem without resorting to an amplifier, by tweaking the system and adopting resonators. Subtle design changes set the Hybrid model apart from the non-electrified Ghibli.

Zagato to reveal new Maserati-powered Mostro at Villa d'Este

Zagato has a record of collaborating with some of Europe's finest automakers, but it's the storied past it shares with Maserati that the coachbuilder will be celebrating at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este this summer. And that's where Zagato will reveal the Mostro, previewed here. The coachbuilt custom pays tribute to the 1957 Maserati 450 S – known as "il Mostro" for its monstrous power. The Zagato-bodied coupe (one of its last designs not to use the Kamm tail) was commissioned and raced by Stirling Moss at Le Mans, and supposedly remained the most powerful front-engined racecar in the world into the 1990s. This modern tribute is built around a carbon monocoque, with a dry-sump Maserati V8 mounted up front but between the axles for optimal weight distribution, driving a six-speed semi-automatic rear transaxle. The design comes from the same studio that gave us such recent creations as the Alfa Romeo TZ3 and Perana Z-One, and shares some similar design traits, but with quasi-pontoon front fenders capping the long nose and swept-back greenhouse. In correspondence with Autoblog, Zagato confirms that the Mostro is designed for the track, but will be "ready for street homologation." The carrozzeria will build five examples before Maserati's current centenary year is over. Each has already been spoken for, though none are headed to customers in the US. Coachbuilders seldom reveal pricing for this type of project (particularly when they've all been pre-sold), but we're told that "none of Zagato's atelier cars exceed 1 million. As collectible cars, the value of a Zagato typically overcomes the purchasing price within a few years." We'll look forward to seeing the finished product in full once it's ready. In the meantime you can view it – along with a brief pictorial history of the relationship between Maserati and Zagato – in the slideshow above and the details in the trio of texts below. Related Video: Mostro powered by Maserati at the 2015 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este Cernobbio, May 2015. The Mostro powered by Maserati is the latest creation of Zagato's current Iconic decade, a new tradition for the atelier that began at the end of coachbuilder's Neoclassical period (2000-2010) to celebrate the most iconic models of automotive history. Marking the delivery of the first customer car, Zagato will present the new Mostro as a world premiere at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este.