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Jay Kay's 1955 Maserati A6G/54 on the docket for Pebble Beach

Gooding & Company has revealed the highlights of its consignments for its Pebble Beach auction during the action-packed Monterey weekend. At the top of the list is the classic 1955 Maserati A6G/54 Frua Berlinetta currently owned by Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay. This Maserati, the show car from the 1955 Paris Auto Salon, features Frau coachwork, won Best in Show at the Salon Privé, and is expected to fetch between $1.5 and 2 million.
No less prestigious is the 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Stelvio convertible that belonged to Prince Louis Napoleon of France, grandson of Emperor Napoleon I and noted Bugatti collector of the time. Supercharged from the factory, the stunning two-tone droptop is projected to sell for $1.3 to 1.6 million.
Finally, an original 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra is on the docket, with pre-sale estimates at $750,000 - $950,000. See below for the full press release and watch this space as the classic car world gears up for Pebble Beach.

Maserati reorganizes, tries to sharpen the trident

When's the last time we posted on a run of comprehensive success at Alfa Romeo or Maserati? True, Maserati nearly tripled its U.S. sales from 4,768 in 2013 to 12,942 in 2014. However, the brand's been stuck around that number ever since, selling 13,711 units in 2017. Worse, those figures highlight how far Maserati has fallen behind its own goals. In the last five-year plan, the brand targeted 75,000 global sales this year — then downgraded the target to 50,000 in June this year. At 26,400 units through the first nine months of 2018, short of Poseidon surfacing to work some deus ex machina, even that reduced goal won't be met. New Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley is working to give Maserati the leaders and support it needs to point the trident in the right direction. On an analyst call at the end of October, Manley said, "With hindsight, when we put Maserati and Alfa together, it did two things. Firstly, it reduced the focus on Maserati the brand. Secondly, Maserati was treated for a period of time almost as if it were a mass market brand, which it isn't and shouldn't be treated that way." In October 2016, FCA named Reid Bigland to head Alfa Romeo and Maserati; this was back when Alfa Romeo dreamed of selling 400,000 cars annually by 2018. When Manley named his new executive teams last month, after assuming the CEO post following Sergio Marchionne's death in July, Manley separated Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Tim Kuniskis, who had taken over from Bigland, now heads Alfa Romeo and Jeep. Manley then restored Harald Wester to the head of Maserati. Wester ran Maserati from 2008 to 2016, after which he became FCA's chief technology officer, a role he maintains in the latest shuffle. Wester poached Jean-Philippe Leloup from Ferrari. LeLoup ran Ferrari's Central and Eastern European business operations; he now heads a concern called Maserati Commercial. Al Gardner, head of Maserati's North American dealer network since 2015, keeps that role and takes over as head of Maserati North America. Maserati has favorable brand value, but the leadership will confront almost every other problem a brand can have. Half the automaker's sales come from China, and the economic slowdown there is a serious drain on the numbers. In Europe, the WLTP emissions protocol, bloated inventories, and the need for incentives have dulled the edge. Sales worldwide are down 26 percent this year.

Maserati Shamal restomod is sketched out and could become reality

Remember the Maserati Shamal? Alright, maybe you don’t, but Maserati certainly hasnÂ’t forgotten. As this year's quasi-virtual SEMA show continues, Maserati has joined the fray by threatening to build a restomodded version of the Shamal. All we have to go on are some renderings posted to Instagram, but Maserati does a bit of explaining in its post. The company is calling this Project Rekall. If Maserati goes through with it, weÂ’d end up with a sci-fi Shamal full of modern technology conveniences and some epic, retro design. Maserati says it needs help to turn this idea into reality, and by that they mean people need to show some financial interest in such a thing. Since the Instagram post is on the Maserati Fuoriserie account, we'll assume this customization arm of the company would be doing the work. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. As a quick history lesson, the Shamal is an exceedingly rare Maserati that was sold in the early-to-mid 1990s. It was designed in part by Marcello Gandini, the famous Italian car designer who happens to have the Miura, Countach and so many other famous designs on his resume. Power came from a 3.2-liter twin-turbo V8, and it used a front-engine, rear-drive layout. These renderings depict a deeply changed Shamal. And while the boxiness and sharp edges remain, many elements of the car were revised. The changes are most obvious inside, where Maserati is showing a totally digital instrument cluster and some spacey bucket seats. WeÂ’d love to see Maserati turn it into reality, so if youÂ’re someone who would purchase a restomodded Shamal, speak up now. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Maserati wasnÂ’t quite done yet, though. A snow-munching MC20 supercar rendering also made it to Instagram. It looks as though it was lifted, fitted with studded winter tires and given a set of skis to carry around. And for whatever reason, Maserati also drew a caution tape insert on the side of the mid-engine supercar. This MC20 is definitely far off in SEMA fantasy land, but we still fully support anyone who ends up using their MC20 in the snow one day.