2004 Maserati Coupe on 2040-cars

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Heidi Klum and Maserati go Beyond the Swimsuit for Sports Illustrated

When sports and cars come together, the world "super" often comes up - whether it's a high-performance super sports car, a racing series (like Japan's Super GT, Australia's V8 Supercars or Italy's Superstars series), the latest crop of Super Bowl ads from the world's automakers or a supermodel posing with a car in the pages of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
This year's edition already saw Lisalla Montenegro cozying up to the new Lexus RC F, but it's not the only pairing to be found between an import luxury performance machine and a swimsuit model. The new 50th anniversary edition of the popular bikini special features a seven-page pictorial titled "Beyond the Swimsuit" shot by Francesco Carrozzini.
The spread features the inimitable Heidi Klum posing beside and inside various Maserati models - including the new Ghibli S Q4, the GranTurismo MC Trofeo race car and the Quattroporte Ermenegildo Zegna concept. Of course it's not the first time we're seeing a leggy blonde stepping out of Modena's finest - a role often taken up by one Jodie Kidd, to say nothing of the rich and beautiful in exotic locales the world over - but it's a pairing of which we'll never grow tired.

Maserati Project24 is a custom, limited-edition, track-day special

Maserati joins the parade of limited-run, track-only cars designed to a set of specs instead of a set of established racing regulations. The entry is known by the codename Project24 at the moment, and Maserati says it will build just 62 examples. We don't know the significance of 24 nor of the production run. When the automaker launched the MC20, it said it planned to get return to heritage values founded at Formula 1 and sports car tracks around the world. While we wait on an MC20 developed for FIA GT racing, Project24 will be automaker's second outlet for racing aspirations, the Italians planning on entering Formula E next season. It's possible the Project24 is an offshoot of Maserati's reportedly dead GT3 program for the MC20. In December 2020, Daily Sports Car reported that a GT3 challenger "was said to be under development" when Maserati debuted the MC20, but perhaps due to ramifications of Covid, the circuit version was "shelved for the time being." The automaker hasn't divulged performance targets for the Project24, only a weight target: Below 1,250 kilograms, or 2,756 pounds. If achieved, the racer would be 552 pounds less than Maserati's claimed weight for the MC20. Part of the weight loss comes courtesy of carbon fiber bodywork that's two inches wider than on the MC20, Lexan windows, and making the passenger's seat optional. The gains should be felt everywhere around a track, especially because Project24's 3.0-liter V6 engine sports a larger pair of turbos that boost output by 119 horsepower, to 740 hp. The road car's eight-speed automatic is replaced by a six-speed sequential auto with paddle shifters, from there sending power to the rear wheels through a mechanical limited slip differential instead of the electric LSD in the MC20. Brembo CCMR racing brakes hang off a double wishbone suspension with anti-roll bars front and rear and adjustable dampers, just behind custom, forged 18-spoke center lock wheels on racing slicks. An adjustable front splitter and rear wing fine tune aero performance, on-board air jacks help pit crews put in the best performance.   The cabin offers an adjustable, multifunction carbon fiber steering wheel and pedal box. The wheel contains a digital display working alongside a dash and data acquisition system, but a driving performance optimization display is extra.

2024 Maserati GranCabrio previewed in official photos

The new 2024 Maserati GranTurismo made its official debut in September 2022, so it stands to reason that the GranCabrio is right around the corner. It's not ready for its big debut yet, but "official spy shots" released by the company give us a decent idea of what to expect. While the prototype is covered in camouflage, we can tell it looks a lot like the GranTurismo from the rocker panels to the belt line. That's not a bad thing: The second-generation coupe is characterized by an elegant, swoopy design that perfectly embodies the definition of a grand tourer. Above the belt line, the GranCabrio receives a power-operated cloth soft top. Photos of the interior haven't been released yet, though it's reasonable to assume the coupe and the convertible will look a lot alike from the driver's point of view. Maserati told Autoblog that the GranCabrio range will mirror the GranTurismo's, so buyers will have three variants called Modena, Trofeo, and Folgore to choose from. Power for the Modena will come from Maserati's excellent Nettuno engine, a 3.0-liter V6 that's twin-turbocharged to 490 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. This engine was developed in-house, and it's also found in the MC20 and the Grecale. Next up is the Trofeo, which will receive an evolution of the six rated at 550 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. The engine will spin the four wheels — that's a significant change, as the original GranCabrio was rear-wheel-drive — via an eight-speed automatic transmission. Alternatively, the electric Folgore model will use three motors rated at a combined 751 horsepower and 996 pound-feet of torque. That system is built around an 800-volt electrical system and linked to a 92.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. "We're going to let buyers decide [whether they prefer the V6 or the EV]; we can scale production up or down depending on demand. We don't want to influence our customers' choice," William Peffer, the head of Maserati's North American division, told Autoblog. Additional details about the 2024 Maserati GranCabrio will emerge in the weeks leading up to its launch, which is scheduled for early 2023.