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Maserati pulls the plug on Trofeo spec racing series [w/video]

For the past twelve years, customers looking to push their Maserati to the limit have been taking part in the Trofeo series. But the Italian automaker is pulling the plug and stepping into to GT4 competition. The Trofeo World Series kicked off back in 2003 when the field was made up of spec racers based on the old Maserati 4200. The newer GranTurismo MC took its place in 2010, and with it the series expanded from Europe into other locations. This year's calendar saw it race at Paul Ricard in France and the Red Bull Ring in Austria, at Road America, VIR, and Laguna Seca here in America, at Suzuka in Japan and Abu Dhabi in the Middle East.This will be the last season for the championship, but that doesn't mean client racers won't have a chance to turn the wheel of a Maserati in anger again. Instead of competing exclusively against identical machinery, Maserati will now support customer teams in two racing series under GT4 regulations: the Pirelli World Challenge here in the US and the European GT4 Championship across the pond. To that end, it's adapting the GranTurismo MC from Trofeo spec to GT4 by reducing the output from the 4.7-liter V8 from 488 horsepower to 430 and tweaking the aero package. Following the Balance of Performance tests to be undertaken under the auspices of the SRO (which runs the Euro GT4 series as well as the Blancpain championships), a good 10 teams will field 20 cars between the two series on both sides of the Atlantic. Those still interested in competing in spec racing series with identical machinery still have plenty of places to turn, including the Ferrari Challenge, Lamborghini Super Trofeo, and the Porsche Supercup. Check out the modified Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4 in the gallery above and video below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. MASERATI TO COMPETE IN THE 2016 GT4 CHAMPIONSHIPS 17 December 2015 - The final round of the 2015 Trofeo World Series took place at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina circuit last weekend, bringing the sixth and final season in Maserati's single-make series to a close. This, however, will not be the end of Maserati's sporting activities: the GranTurismo MCs will be back on track in 2016 competing in the international GT4 series run by private teams.

2017 Maserati Levante First Drive

You can argue all you want about whether or not certain companies should build crossovers. That's what the comments section is for. We'd argue that Maserati should have done it a long time ago, having shown its first crossover concept back in 2011 and only delivering on it now. Porsche blazed that trail with the Cayenne and others have followed suit since, racking up big sales. It's a little odd, then, that after waiting so long to get in the game, the Levante came together in just 22 months. Blame nationalism. The original plan was for the Levante to be based on and built in Detroit alongside the Jeep Grand Cherokee. That changed when Sergio Marchionne decided, in his dictatorial way, that all Maseratis and Alfa Romeos would be designed, engineered, and manufactured in Italy. So the team hit reset, borrowed the Ghibli platform, and went about creating a not-quite-a-crossover, taller-than-a-wagon hatchback with air suspension. Just shy of two years later, we're driving the Levante. In Italy, naturally. The dimensions and stance are what set the Levante apart from the abundance of luxury performance crossovers and emphasize its Italianness. It's longer, wider, and lower than a Porsche Cayenne or the Grand Cherokee it was nearly spawned from. The hood looks impossibly long in person because it is really long. The front end takes inspiration from the Alfieri concept, and there's a refreshing lack of mesh or filler between the grille's thin vertical slats. It can stand to be so open because there is a set of active grille shutters just behind to manage airflow. What would be usable cargo space on a blockier crossover is sacrificed by a rakish hatch, which looks pretty and we're told routes air in a particularly aerodynamic-friendly fashion. Instead of building the boxy version first, Maserati took the gamble and went straight to the fashionable coupe-ish shape. That foresight paid off, as it seems the coupe-like SUV trend is here to stay. For all the scrambling that must have gone on to produce this new model so quickly, it doesn't present like a rush job. Sure, most of the engineering was already done for the Ghibli and Quattroporte, but the Levante actually feels like a more complete effort than those cars. The attention to detail is most felt in the cabin, where the latest corporate infotainment system has been neatly integrated into familiar surroundings.

Maserati Pelletessuta models bring their Italian fashion to the U.S.

Maserati's partnered with Italian fashion house Emenegildo Zegna for seven years, going back to the Maserati Quattroporte Ermenegildo Zegna Limited Edition Concept worked up as part of Maserati's centennary celebrations in 2014. At last year's New York Auto Show, the pair debuted the results of another collaboration, the new Pelletessuta woven leather interior. Working with hide as it would with yarn, Zegna wove thin strips of lightweight Napa fabric for 100 special edition vehicles that the Italian automaker pledged for the U.S. market and said it would never build again. After previews during Monterey Car Week in August, the 100 limited edition models have finally reached U.S. dealerships. Until they're sold out, the two models will stand here as the carmaker's fullest expression of Italian prowess. Meanwhile, in Italy, Maserati made a gesture towards its compatriots and its country by lighting the towers at its Modena headquarters in the three hues of il Tricolore, the Italian flag. There are 50 examples of the 2020 Quattroporte S Q4 GranLusso, which already comes with a Luxury Zegna Package interior compared to the entry-level Quattroporte. Each special model wears a custom Blu Sofisticato metallic paint with blue brake calipers. Inside, dark brown Pelletessuta interior includes sport seats for the front passengers and a Zegna badge to highlight the work. It's joined by 50 examples of the 2020 Levante S GranSport dressed in Bronzo Tri-Coat and 21-inch polished Helios rims, those wheels an inch larger than the standard units. The Levante interior gets tailored in black Pelletessuta fabric, accented with custom Radica wood trim — radica being a kind of veneer or parquet with a history in Italian luxury. The news about U.S. arrival didn't come with prices, though, so the interested will need to make the call to a dealer for information. Since the Quattroporte S Q4 GranLusso starts at $114,485 after destination and the Levante S GranSport at $91,985, those are good baselines to add to the required premiums for exclusive upgrades and low volume. Related Video: