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Maserati MC20 bringing twin-turbo V6 to September debut

There is a touch more information on the pieces going into the Maserati MC20, starting with intel to Car and Driver that the mid-engined coupe will launch with a "new twin-turbo V6 rumored to make more than 600 horsepower." Last time we heard about the flagship coupe created to return Maserati to the race track — and serve as a halo to burnish the entire lineup and drive more impressive global sales — the rumblings predicted a hybrid V6 making 600 hp or thereabouts. Mystery shrouds the engine's displacement, but the stillborn Alfa Romeo 8C and GTV were predicted to get a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6. When Car magazine asked a Fiat Chrysler engineer if the MC20's engine would take that motor and enlarge it to 3.6 liters, the response was, "Displacement costs only pennies, but pays back big bucks in power and torque."  C/D writes that a hybrid version of the twin-turbo V6 comes later. Car predicts the electronics crank output to roughly 700 horsepower, which can't be a random number since Alfa Romeo touted the now-dead 8C as having "700+ combined horsepower." The naturally aspirated mill and its sequential turbochargers send power exclusively to the rear wheels through a Getrag eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. The hybrid models, perhaps earning the Trofeo name signifying top-tier grunt, go all-wheel drive with "e-modules" on the front axle. Previous scuttlebutt pegged the most intense trim as having three electric motors, which sounds like the setup found in other super coupes like the Acura NSX, placing one e-motor between the engine and transmission, the others on the front axle. The lineup eventually welcomes a battery-electric model, too, as well as a convertible. Rumor has a massaged version of the carbon tub from the Alfa Romeo 4C sitting between the front axle and engine, although longer and wider and sitting on a longer wheelbase.   With the novel coronavirus still upending everything, the MC20 debut has been moved from May to September. C/D figures a starting price of around $160,000 when the model goes on sale in the U.S. next year, after launching in Europe toward the end of 2020. That theoretical price might sound substantial, but it only adds $9,000 to the MSRP of the current GranTurismo Convertible. Car's figure comes in a little higher, at "less than GBP200,000," around $250,000 U.S. Related Video:      

Maserati calling in new Quattroporte for electrical issue

Exotic automobiles are just that: exotic. As in, rare. While Maserati is trying is darnedest to emerge from the fringes, its products are still less common than competitors from Germany, Japan or even the UK. Which is probably - more so than any superior quality or safety standards - why we rarely see the Trident marque's products the subject of a recall. Although it does happen upon occasion.
Back in the spring, Maserati had to call in over seven thousand examples of the Quattroporte, GranTurismo and Alfa 8C over rust issues. Now that the new Quattroporte is upon us, the Modenese automaker has apparently run into another small problem.
This time the issue revolves around the wiring harness for the alternator/starter motor, an improper crimp in which could cause the battery cable to short and start a fire. As a result, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is prompting 63 owners of the 2014 Quattroporte GTS V8 to bring their cars in to their local Maserati dealer to have the wiring harness replaced.

1967 Maserati Ghibli puts the grand in grand tourer

Motor Tend technical director Frank Markus owns a 1967 Maserati Ghibli, bought back in the early 2000s when "they could be had for Camry money" - now Hagerty values them anywhere from $63,000 to $107,000. The grand tourer designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro outsold the more powerful and less expensive Ferrari 365 Daytona, and the more powerful and more expensive Lamborghini Miura.
Carlos Lago, host of the magazine's Ignition video series, figures it's because of the Ghibli's long-haul comfort and the tractability of its 4.7-liter V8 with 330-horsepower and 330 pound-feet accessed with a five-speed manual, even though he cites the powertrain and suspension as being behind the times.
There's no arguing about the Ghibli's sound, though. You can get several ears-full of it, as well as Lagos' and Markus' thoughts on the car, in the video above.