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Maserati's Super Bowl spot may have cost more than $700 per car [w/video]

It's no secret that Super Bowl ad time is very, very expensive, with a 30-second spot for this year's game costing around $4 million. For Maserati, which aired a 90-second spot showing off its new Ghibli sedan during this year's game, the price was considerably above $4 million, though.
Automotive News estimates that the spot cost Maserati the equivalent of over $700 for each of the 15,400 vehicles sold last year. That works out to nearly $11 million. It may have paid off, though, as search traffic for Maserati and the Ghibli in particular saw a significant spike following the airing of the stylish commercial, and the brand's total sales were already on target for record levels before the ad aired.
The Ghibli "deserved a wide audience platform such as the Super Bowl," according to Maserati's chief marketing officer, Saad Chehab. The sports sedan is Maserati's most affordable entry, with prices starting around $67,000, moving the brand further downmarket than it's ever ventured before.

Autocar compares new Maserati Quattroporte to Jaguar XJ

Autocar's Steve Sutcliffe took the 2014 Maserati Quattroporte on a spin along snowy mountain roads to test it for a specific brief: as a limousine for the chauffeured class. It's sporting credentials are impressive: Twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8, 532 horsepower, 475 pound-feet of torque in casual circumstances that rises to 532 lb-ft in overboost, a 0-to-60 mile-per-hour sprint of 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 191 mph.
However, citing Maserati's desire to not just increase its sales to 50,000-per-annum by 2015, but to sell many more of its cars in China, Sutcliffe wanted to find out if the livery side of the Quattroporte could match its sport sedan side. So after taking the pilot's seat and trying out the sport settings, Sutcliffe hops in back to test out the CEO's seat.
Then he compares the Quattroporte against the long-wheelbase Jaguar XJ with its supercharged V8, a sedan that's 15,000 pounds less expensive than the Maserati. It doesn't take long for him to find that one of them is a clear winner when it comes to transporting VIPs. To find out which one, enjoy the video below.

2017 Maserati GranTurismo will only come with a hard hat

If you've been waiting for the next generation of the Maserati GranTurismo to come along before you place your order for a four-seat convertible, you'd better change your plans and act fast. Because the latest report coming in from across the pond confirms what we long suspected: that the next GranTurismo will be offered in coupe form only. The news comes from Auto Express, which quotes Peter Denton – Maserati's manager for Northern Europe – as saying that "The GranTurismo will be replaced at the end of 2017, but as a coupe only." That coupe will also be smaller than the current model, but the timeframe means that by the time it's phased out, the current GT will have been on the market for a staggering ten years – based on architecture dating back to 2003, if not earlier. That doesn't mean that Maserati won't offer a convertible altogether, though. By the time the new GranTurismo arrives, the Trident marque will have introduced the Alfieri, which (like the outgoing GranTurismo) will be offered as both a coupe and a convertible. The trend seems to follow a larger industry direction away from four-seat convertibles – particularly under the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles umbrella. Chrysler discontinued the 200 Convertible, and unlike Ford and Chevy that offer convertible versions of the Mustang and Camaro, Dodge does not offer a convertible Challenger. Aside from the fated GranTurismo Convertible (known as the GranCabrio overseas) and the Jeep Wrangler, the only droptop in the entire sprawling group with more than two seats is the Ferrari California – a model whose presence may have factored in to the decision to discontinue the Maser cabriolet as well. The news will undoubtedly come as welcome to competitors like Aston Martin and Bentley, which between them offer several four-seat convertibles including the DB9 Volante, Vanquish Volante and Continental GTC. It remains to be seen, however, whether Jaguar will offer a convertible version of the next XK to stand alongside the smaller F-Type roadster.