2004 Maserati Spyder Cambiocorsa Convertible 2-door 4.2l 26k Miles Black/tan on 2040-cars

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Maserati to cap output at 75,000 cars

Maserati appears set to take a page out of corporate sibling Ferrari's playbook with the possibility that it may cap global annual output in the coming years. Ferrari announced in 2013 that it would limit itself to 7,000 vehicles a year to maintain exclusivity, and so far, it has stuck to the plan.
According to an unnamed Maserati executive speaking to Reuters, the Italian luxury car maker wants to cap its sales to 75,000 vehicles a year. However, it's hardly there yet. The company doesn't forecast reaching that production benchmark until 2018.
Dave Sullivan, an auto industry analyst for AutoPacific, thinks that limiting sales could be a smart move for Maserati. "If it is profitable at 75,000 and doesn't require a significant investment in capacity to get there, this appears to be sound," he said to Autoblog via email. "Alfa Romeo is intended to be the volume brand and by capping Maserati, it means that even if you opted to buy the 'entry level' Ghibli, you still have a level of exclusivity."

Veneno Roadster, One:1, One-77, LaFerrari, P1, Veyron headline 25-car Bonham's auction

Bonhams is holding a no-reserve auction in fall 2019 that includes some of the most valuable and sought-after supercars of the past decade. The lot of 25 beautiful collector items includes a Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, a Koenigsegg One:1, an Aston Martin One-77, a Ferrari LaFerrari, a McLaren P1, and a Bugatti Veyron. The collection, which was seized from a corrupt politician from Equatorial Guinea, is valued at roughly $13 million. If selling off future classics that are still in their infancy as collector items seems strange, it's because this is not a straightforward situation. These cars will be sold off by the State of Geneva, not a person. The collection was previously owned by the vice president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, but the cars were seized when he was placed under investigation for money laundering and unfair management of public interests. These 25 cars, which were located in Geneva, were first sequestered in fall 2016. A trial court ordered them sold off, and the money earned from the sales would be invested in social programs that benefit Equatorial Guinea. And so, Equatorial Guinea is about to see an influx of cash, as every vehicle is valued in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. The rarest might be the Koenigsegg One:1. One of only six remaining, it has 371 miles on the dial, and is valued at roughly $1.8 million. The Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, one of nine in the world, is a close second. It has 202 miles logged, and is valued at about $5.1 million. The Aston Martin One-77 is another rare bird. It is example No. 35 of 77, holds a 7.3-liter V12 engine, and is valued at about $1.4 million. A McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari, and Bugatti Veyron 16.4 round out the top of the list. The remaining cars are not fully detailed, but they include examples from Mercedes-Maybach, Bentley, Maserati and Porsche. The auction will take place on Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Bonmont Golf & Country Club near Lake Geneva. For more photos and information, visit Bonhams.

Maserati rules out smaller Macan rival

These days every luxury automaker is going after the Porsche Cayenne with a crossover of its own. Among those coming up is the Maserati Levante, which will mark the Trident marque's first foray into high-riding territory. But don't expect it to follow up with a Macan rival as well. Speaking with Autocar, Maserati chief Harald Wester ruled out the possibility of a smaller crossover to join the Levante in the Modenese automaker's lineup, ostensibly because doing so would step on the toes of other brands under the Fiat Chrysler umbrella – particularly with Alfa Romeo set to launch a crossover of its own. "We are an extremely complex multi-brand group and to have every doing a little bit of everything is not the right way," Wester told the British magazine. "In this business, you should never say 'no' in a dogmatic way, but my personal opinion is that Maserati wouldn't want to go below the Levante in size." And Wester's opinion goes a long way in the halls in Turin and Auburn Hills: he's head of both the Maserati and Alfa Romeo brands, and is also the group's Chief Technology Officer. That's something that has never seemed to deter the Volkswagen Group, though, where Bentley is gearing up to take on its sister company's Cayenne with the upcoming Bentayga and is also said to be considering a Macan rival. And that's to say nothing of other SUVs occupying similar size and price positions from Volkswagen, Audi and potentially Lamborghini. Which only serves to underline the different approaches taken by Europe's two largest automakers. Look for the Levante to debut at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show.