2005 Maserati Quattroporte, Bose Audio, Polished Wheels, Super Low Miles on 2040-cars

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All of the Bond cars of 'No Time To Die' (caution for spoilers)

Note: The following overview of the cars in No Time To Die contains spoilers. Read at your own risk, or come back after seeing the film to make sure you caught everything.   No Time To Die picks up right around where Spectre leaves us. James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) are driving along in Bond’s restored and iconic DB5 in Matera, Italy. Things donÂ’t stay all that cheery for long in picturesque Matera, though. As is tradition in Bond films, the first car chase hits us with an explosion of action in what's a super-long opening scene. Fourth-gen Maserati Quattroporte: The baddies in the beginning are driving a Maserati and chasing after Bond in the DB5. Specifically, theyÂ’re in a fourth-gen Quattroporte, which feels right for a chase scene in Italy. Its squared-off looks are mean enough, and its Italian growl is a good background soundtrack to the DB5Â’s inline-six. In addition to the Quattroporte, the chase scene in Matera is home to a couple of the best stunts of the entire movie, including the arch jump done with a Triumph motorcycle seen in trailers — Matera is extremely hilly. Eventually, Bond and Swann find themselves in the DB5 again together, which is where the famous gatling gun scene from the trailer commences, but not before the bulletproof windows and body of the DB5 are thoroughly tested. RIP to the first-gen Range Rover Classics and Jaguar XFs that joined the Maserati in pursuit of Bond (here's a list of other Bond cars over the years). As the DB5 escape scene concludes, we catch a glimpse of what appears to be a Ferrari from the 1970s. However, the view was far enough away that weÂ’ll need a second look to be sure of the exact model. Land Rover Series III: Next time we see Bond, heÂ’s fishing in Jamaica and driving around a blue Land Rover Series III. ItÂ’s yet another of the many Land Rover products featured throughout the film, and unlike most of BondÂ’s Aston Martins, this one doesnÂ’t seem to have any unique features. The other intriguing vehicle out of Jamaica? An old Chevrolet Bel-Air expertly and effectively piloted by Bond newcomer, Ana de Armas. Next up, we get a few shots of the new and still-not-for-sale Aston Martin Valhalla mid-engine supercar (also seen in trailers). BondÂ’s old boss M is in the scene which appears to have been shot in some secret wind tunnel of sorts. Much to our dismay, nobody ends up driving the Valhalla in the film. Could it be a teaser for what the next 007Â’s car is?

Alfa Romeo drops its Giorgio platform as it electrifies for the future

Alfa Romeo, a storied Italian automaker with a tremendous amount of goodwill from the automotive enthusiast crowd, is about to go through yet another major transformation. According to reports, including this one from Automotive News Europe, newly appointed Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato told Italian journalists during a roundtable event that all future vehicles from the company would be electrified and built on a new platform known internally as the STLA large-vehicle architecture that will be shared across brands under the Stellantis umbrella. "We are working on the Large platform of Stellantis and we will no longer use the Giorgio,” Imparato said. “We must take advantage of the volumes to take all possible opportunities and bring an EV range to Alfa Romeo, but always with the touch of Alfa Romeo.” That means the well-regarded Giorgio platform that currently underpins Alfa Romeo's only two mainstream products, the Giulia sedan and the Stelvio crossover, will come to an inglorious end. That's a shame. The Giorgio platform didn't just cost Alfa's previous parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles millions of dollars to engineer, it also gave the company a duo of vehicles that arguably drive better than anything else in their segments. Forbes reports that the Giorgio platform won't be entirely abandoned, as it will reportedly be integrated into the rest of the Stellantis portfolio in some way. We don't know exactly what that means, but perhaps it lives on in heavily modified form as the basis of crossovers and SUVs like the upcoming Jeep Grand Cherokee, which Jeep calls a completely new platform but one we believe shares engineering with the Giorgio. We also think it will underpin the upcoming Maserati Grecale. As for the future of Alfa Romeo, the next model coming from the brand is the Tonale, which was delayed by Imparato in order to get its plug-in hybrid powertrain just right. Tonale will use a platform shared with current Jeeps. Rumors suggest an even smaller crossover called the Brennero is on the way, also using a hybrid drivetrain. Past that, we'll just have to wait and see — Imparato says new 5-year and 10-year plans are currently being finalized. In any case, we doubt there will be any significant updates to the Giulia or Stelvio as the brand moves all its resources to its electrified intentions. Related video:

2020 Maserati Quattroporte S Q4 Driveway Test | Are you louder than a Dodge Challenger?

The 2020 Maserati Quattroporte is an Italian luxury sedan that comes in several flavors. Recently, we've had a couple pass through the Autoblog short-term loaner fleet, and I decided to take the opportunity to record an exhaust clip and see whether it's louder than my 2013 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392.  You thought we were done with this, didn't you? Hah.  The Maserati is a bit of an odd duck. Like the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, which kicked off this series, it's an Italian sedan powered by a turbocharged V6 producing a respectable 430 horsepower. Unlike the four-cheese, the Quattroporte in our garage was not its high-performance variant. In fact, if it were, it would have a V8, as all things should. I'm kidding. Or am I? Sadly, the V6 probably holds the S Q4 back in this particular "test," which resulted in a reading of 78.2 decibels. That's far short of my Challenger, which checked in at 85.7 dB and remains our reining champion ... for now.  The Quattroporte is in reasonably decent company, though, thanks to the Porsche Cayenne S Coupe, which produced a similar result. Yeah, that's an SUV, but this is a luxury car, right? So the missions are similar. Heck, they even make about the same power.  These tests are only vaguely scientific, and I conduct them using a free Android OS sound-measuring app and the mostly enclosed space of my personal garage. For those who are unfamiliar with my methodology (and again, I use that term somewhat loosely), you can refer back to my previous tests with the Alfa or the Cayenne S Coupe for more details.  Or, just click the pretty links to hear engines go burble-burble; it's entirely up to you.  Disclaimer: Autoblog accepts vehicle loans from auto manufacturers with a tank of gas and sometimes insurance for the purpose of evaluation and editorial content. Like most of the auto news industry, we also sometimes accept travel, lodging and event access for vehicle drive and news coverage opportunities. Our opinions and criticism remain our own — we do not accept sponsored editorial.