2008 Maserati Quattroporte Rwd Clean-carfax Low-mileage Cpo Till Oct 31 2014 on 2040-cars

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Step inside the secret lab creating Maserati's future

MODENA, Italy – Driving Maserati's raucous GranTurismo MC and the effortlessly quick Levante SQ4 back to back feels like traveling through time. Horsepower doesn't go out of style, but a user interface quickly does, and the GranTurismo looks like it's from another era in that respect. Designers, engineers, and executives are busily orchestrating a transformation that will ensure the 105-year old firm's next leap forward is even more dramatic. Autoblog went behind the scenes in Maserati's Innovation Lab – which has never been opened to outsiders before – to find out how the looming metamorphosis will shape Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles' (FCA) flagship brand. Maserati is on the brink of a ground-up redesign that will take it into new segments of the market, and diversify its powertrain palette. We heard the term electrification used on many occasions during our visit, though company officials resorted to automotive omerta when we asked for additional details. An earlier product plan reveals every upcoming addition to its line-up will be available with an electric powertrain, and there will be quite a few cars to electrify. Historically a small, almost niche automaker, Maserati is on track to release five new models between 2020 and 2023, including a second SUV positioned below the aforementioned Levante, plus replacements for most of its current cars. Technology is playing a significant role in Maserati's renaissance. The company's four-year-old Innovation Lab is home to simulators capable of reproducing six months' worth of wear and tear in two weeks. Engineers can dial in a variety of situations, locations, and road conditions, ranging from a winding country road in France to a busy highway in southern California. They can digitally insert potholes, add rain or fog at the push of a button and remove either just as quickly, and put virtual prototypes on a long list of race tracks around the world, including the Nurburgring. Digital wind tunnels help the team test future cars well before they're built. This approach saves time and money, explained Luca Dusini, the man responsible for Maserati's vehicle dynamics testing and simulation. Making every dollar and each minute count is key to pulling off such an ambitious overhaul. 90% of development work is carried out on the various simulators, according to Dusini. This is significant, because Maserati is developing most of the technology it will pack into its future models from scratch.

Rich kid uses puppy to polish Maserati as Internet howls

Update: The original Instagram video appears to have been removed, but the video can still be viewed at this link. One of the Rich Kids of Instagram may never attempt to perform manual labor again after the 2-3 seconds she spent using a puppy to "polish" a rare Maserati. She cast it as a joke, but the Internet wasn't laughing. Instagram user m666ya, who is said to be a young, beautiful, wealthy collector of supercars in London - or, she at least has enough access to photograph them and occasionally show herself behind the wheel of one - posted this clip of an extremely cute puppy detailing a limited-edition Maserati MC12, which sells for $1.5 million or $2 million (depending on who's doing the telling). It got picked up on the Rich Kids account two days ago: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The Maltese puppy is compliant and seems, well, maybe not in distress but probably not having the time of its life, either. And m66ya or whoever is doing the buffing keeps it exceedingly brief. Some of the reaction has been predictable. The New York Post tabloid called her "barking mad." And social-media reactions to the post were similar: "Not funny." "Animal abuse." "Disgusting." "This is just wrong." "Shame on you." "This is actually sickening." "Money can't buy you class and in your case, values." "Dogs are so loyal and only want to love and please their owner. You do not deserve any devotion of love from this innocent puppy." "Psychologists will tell you, simple abuse of animals often leads to abuse of humans in later life. Seek some help now." A few commenters defend the clip and suggest people lighten up. Some doubled down on the joke: "It's better to use a cat so you can hear your engine purr." A blogger joked you'd never actually use a dog to polish a $2 million car because dirt in its hair could scratch the paint. And one young philosopher of Instagram, whose spelling is too poor to quote him directly, makes the fair point that perhaps some people are less angry about the dog than they are jealous that these ne'er-do-wells are rich. A spokeswoman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said: "We can understand why people are concerned about this video.

2023 Maserati MC20 Cielo offers unlimited headroom and 621 hp

Maserati is returning to the convertible segment after a brief hiatus with a topless version of the MC20 named Cielo. The roadster offers the same twin-turbocharged V6 engine and carbon fiber chassis as its coupe counterpart but it gains a power-retractable glass roof panel. "Cielo" means "sky" in Italian — it's a fitting name. Visually, the MC20 Cielo is nearly identical to the MC20 coupe from the rocker panels to the belt line. It's what's above that counts: Maserati fitted the roadster with a glass roof panel that opens or closes at the push of a button in about 12 seconds. The space that it occupies is located behind the passenger compartment so engineers had to redesign the decklid, and the engine is no longer visible through a glass cover. We're told that the transformation adds only about 143 pounds to the MC20 for a curb weight of roughly 3,400 pounds. Maserati planned the convertible model from the get-go so few compromises were made during the development process. The Cielo keeps the cool butterfly-style doors, and it offers the same amount of cabin and trunk space as the coupe. Folding away in a couple of seconds isn't the roof's only trick: it can go from clear to opaque in a matter of seconds thanks to Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) technology. Like the coupe, the MC20 Cielo is powered by Maserati's excellent 3.0-liter Nettuno V6 engine. The mid-mounted six is twin-turbocharged to 621 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque, and it spins the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. Maserati quotes a zero-to-62-mph time of approximately 3 seconds and a top speed of around 200 mph, which sounds like a quick and fun way to dry your hair. Brembo-built six-piston front and four-piston rear brake calipers keep the engine's power in check. Built in Italy, the 2023 Maserati MC20 Cielo will reach showrooms in the coming months. Pricing will be announced closer to the model's on-sale date. At launch, buyers will be able to order a limited-edition version called PrimaSerie Launch Edition that stands out from the standard model with a specific, three-layer paint color called Acquamarina that was initially developed for Maserati's customization program.