2014 Maserati Quattroporte S Q4 on 2040-cars

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Maserati Ghibli overtakes Levante, headed for Shanghai?

While earlier reports indicated that the next Maserati product out of the gate would be the Levante SUV, Motor Trend is now reporting that the Audi A7-shaped Ghibli has cut in line. Word is that we may see the new Ghibli as early as the Shanghai Motor Show in April.
Citing unnamed sources, MT predicts that the minds at Maserati now see a more pressing need to fight off the likes of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the BMW 5 Series than to go after luxury utes. However, if our spy shots of Ghibli prototypes are anything to go on, it's also likely that the sub-Quattroporte Maser won't be a traditional sedan. The car above's long nose, low roof and brief, sloping rear deck all bring to mind Audi's lovely A7, Meaning the Ghibli may fall into the always murky four-door-coupe/luxury hatchback genre.
Bi-turbocharged iterations of both a V6 and a V8 should make up the early powertrain choices for the Maserati, meaning the top-spec Ghibli should have loads of shove to match its promised good looks.

Fiat/PSA's dominance in small vans hangs up EU's merger approval

BRUSSELS — EU antitrust regulators are concerned about Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot / PSA's combined high market share in small vans and may require concessions to clear their $50 billion merger, people familiar with the matter said. The companies, which are seeking to create the world's fourth biggest carmaker, were told of the European Commission's concerns last week. If Fiat and PSA fail to dispel the European Commission's doubts in the next two days and subsequently decline to offer concessions by Wednesday, the deadline for doing so, the deal would face a four-month-long investigation. The EU competition enforcer, which has set a June 17 deadline for its preliminary review, declined to comment. Fiat was not immediately available for comment while PSA had no immediate comment. Hiving off overlapping businesses, usually a regulatory demand to ensure more competition, could prove tricky for the carmakers because of the technicalities. Fiat and PSA are looking to merge to help offset slowing demand and shoulder the cost of making cleaner vehicles to meet tougher emissions regulations. The deal puts under one roof the Italian carmaker's brands such as Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Maserati and the French company's Peugeot, Opel and DS. Related Video: Government/Legal Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Citroen Opel Peugeot

The Maserati Bora turns 50. It was 'the thinking man's exotic'

The Maserati Bora made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1971, meaning the V8-powered supercar from Modena has just turned 50 years old. It arrived at a time when the Italian sports car manufacturers were undergoing a paradigm shift to the mid-engined layout that defines the modern supercar. The Bora (not to be confused with the VW sedan we knew as the fourth-generation Jetta) was named after a winter wind that blows from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea. Though it holds the distinction of being the first Maserati to employ the mid-engine configuration, it was a bit of a latecomer, following on the heels of Lamborghini's 1966 Miura, De Tomaso's 1964 Vallelunga and Ferrari's 1967 Dino 206 GT. However, it was a dramatic departure from the curvaceous designs of the 1960s. Skinned in an avant-garde wedge penned by legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign, the Bora was like a concept car come to life. Its most distinguishing characteristic, the unpainted A-pillars and roof, were polished stainless steel, a preview of Giugiaro's DeLorean that would not arrive for another decade. Any resemblance to De Tomaso's Mangusta was probably a coincidence (or the fact that it too was a Giugiaro design). The Bora's massive rear glass area showed off its aluminum twin-cam V8, nestled in a racecar-like steel-tube subframe. Motors came as either a high-revving 4.7-liter unit good for 310 horsepower and 325 pound-feet, or a torquier 4.9-liter producing 320 hp and 355 lb-ft. Delivered through a smooth-shifting ZF five-speed, it carried the car from 0-60 in a reported 6.6 seconds, and onward to a top speed of 174 mph. The Bora modernized Maserati, offering a four-wheel independent suspension for the first time behind the Trident badge. The Bora was considered more liveable than a Countach, thanks to features like double-paned glass between the cabin and engine compartment, a carpeted engine cover, and adjustable pedal box. Though overshadowed by its contemporaries from Maranello and Sant'Agata Bolognese, the Bora was considered the thinking man's exotic. As evidence of its decidedly un-basic following it was even cited in 1984's The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, describing the evil Dr. Emilio Lizardo's escape from imprisonment: "Last night he kills a guard, breaks out of Trenton Home for the Criminally Insane. Ten minutes later, he cops a Maserati Bora.