2002 Maserati Coupe Ferrari Red With Tan Interior on 2040-cars

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High school design students sketch out FCA's 'ultimate status vehicle'

Each year since 2013, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) hosts a design contest for high school students called Drive for Design intended to educate and encourage automotive career hopefuls. For 2019, FCA prompted 10th, 11th, and 12th graders to imagine the "ultimate status vehicle." The top three choices include two Alfa Romeos and a Maserati. FCA named first, second, and third places in the contest. Maximillian Cooper (lead image) from Design and Architecture Senior High in Miami won first place. Mason Ross (first inline image) from Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien, Wash., took second. Vincent Piaskowski (Maserati image) from Ernest W. Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Mich., placed third. The three winners of the contest will be awarded with numerous valuable prizes. They will get behind-the-scenes tours at the FCA U.S. Product Design studios, as well as mentoring time with some of FCA's designers. They will also get scholarships to attend the Precollege Summer Experience Transportation Design program at the College for Creative Studies. Lastly, they'll have the honor of serving as junior judges at the EyesOn Design Car Show. Although each sketch has a unique look, all three take the same approach: cab-forward, bubble-top supercar coupes with dramatic lines and curves. Piaskowski's shows direct inspiration from a shark, but we wouldn't be surprised if all three students have special places in their hearts for the Pininfarina Maserati Birdcage Concept.

Bid on the very first Maserati Ghibli Spyder [w/video]

In reviving the Ghibli nameplate, Maserati may have applied it to a sedan this time around. But the original Maserati Ghibli was a coupe – and as anyone who knows their history of exotic Italian automobiles will tell you, it also bred a convertible. What you see here is the first example, and now it's going up for auction during Monterey Car Week. Maserati only built 128 examples of the Ghibli Spyder, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro for Ghia, making it a highly sought-after roadster and an icon of its time. This Ghibli – bearing chassis number AM115/S 1001 – wasn't merely one of them. It was the factory prototype, the one which the Modenese automaker displayed at both the Turin Motor Show in 1968 and the Geneva Motor Show in '69. The production models that followed featured some subtle changes, particularly to the trunk, filler caps, and door handles. But rather than hold on to the prototype, Maserati sold this yellow show car when it was done with it. The roadster was bought by one Ruggiero Capuano in 1969, who had it for six years before selling it to Libero Girardi, an Italian-American and Ferrari mechanic in Rhode Island, who in turn transferred ownership to John Ferro, his son-in-law. Ferro drove it for over a decade before putting it in storage for the better part of 30 years. Its current owner bought it from Ferro, took it out of storage, and put it on the concours circuit, picking up numerous trophies along the way. Having been properly stored, the Ghibli Spyder never required much restoration, and remains in highly original condition. That ought to make it a hot item even among the other notable lots that RM Sotheby's has lined up for Monterey this year. Though the auction house isn't saying how much it expects the prototype to sell for, Sports Car Market records that a Ghibli Spyder (also in yellow) was sold by Artcurial in Paris last year for over $1 million. Considering the provenance and condition of this prototype, we'd expect it to sell for even more. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 1968 Maserati Ghibli Spyder Prototype - AM115/S 1001 View 41 Photos News Source: RM Sotheby'sImage Credit: Darin Schnabel/RM Maserati Auctions Convertible Concept Cars Classics Pebble Beach RM Sotheby's maserati ghibli

Maserati Levante starts at $72,000, Levante S for $83,000

The 2017 Maserati Levante won't arrive in the US until later this year, but we know it will cost $72,000 to park the posh crossover in your garage, Maserati spokesperson Jiannina Castro told Autoblog. The extra power from the Levante S will ring up for $83,000. The actual amounts to buy one will be somewhat higher because Maserati won't discuss option pricing or the destination charges until dealer orders begin in April. In its US guise, the standard Levante uses a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 with 345 horsepower, which can get the CUV to 60 miles per hour in 5.8 seconds. The Levante S uses the same engine with 424 hp, which cuts the 60-mph run to 5.0 seconds. Both mills use an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. A plug-in hybrid with the powertrain from the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid will reportedly join the US lineup later, too. The newcomer Levante faces stiff competition among more established luxury CUVs in the US. For example, the base Porsche Cayenne with 300 hp starts at $60,650 after destination and the 420-hp Cayenne is $77,250. The Land Rover Range Rover Sport with the 340-hp 3.0-liter supercharged V6 is $65,945. We'll get another look at the Levante at next week's New York Auto Show. The Geneva Motor Show earlier in the month already provided a great opportunity to check it out. Related Video: LEVANTE - THE 'MASERATI OF SUVS' TO MAKE U.S. DEBUT AT 2016 NEW YORK AUTO SHOW Thoroughbred on-road handling meets solid off-road capabilities "Levante" is inspired by a warm wind that can change from gentle to gale force in an instant that can emerge any season or time of the year, day or night, mirroring the powerful and soulful character of Maserati's first SUV. Following the success of its global reveal in Geneva earlier this month, the all new Maserati Levante will make its way to the New York Auto Show on March 23rd for its official U.S. debut. The U.S. market launch is planned for late summer 2016 with a starting price of $72,000 for the 345 hp (Levante) and $83,000 for the 424 hp (Levante S) model (not including destination and delivery), which will be available for order in the U.S. this April. The Levante represents a new chapter in Maserati's iconic history. With over one hundred years of automotive excellence behind it, Maserati is well positioned to introduce its first ever SUV that represents the house of the Trident's core values and truly is the 'opposite of ordinary'.