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2017 Maserati Quattroporte First Drive

When German companies launch a new luxury sedan, they chat about more power, better economy, and leveraged links to Silicon Valley's hottest microchip and graphics powerhouses. It's not like that in Italy. The Mediterranean peninsula only has one authentic maker of luxury sedans, and cutting-edge consumer technology has never been Maserati's forte. Beautiful cars, sure. Compelling engine notes, yup. The prioritization of handling emotion above cornering speed and even ride quality? Absolutely. Three years ago Maserati thought that blueprint would be enough for its all-new Quattroporte. It wasn't. For starters, the car wasn't beautiful. Compared to the filigreed purity of its predecessor, the QP (as they call it in Modena) looked awkward, even clunky. A big part of that was the sheer scope of the 124.8-inch wheelbase, which made it nigh impossible to deliver the proportional elegance and unfussed panel pressings of its predecessor. Still, the added length provided rear legroom that takes surveyors to measure. More important than what it had (and whether that was good or bad) was what it didn't have. There was no button on the remote to open the trunk, no self-parking system, no reversing camera, definitely no 360-degree camera setup, no radar cruise control, no semi-autonomous steering, and no modern navigation or infotainment. By far the biggest Maserati (at 207.2 inches, it dwarfs most of the standard versions of almost any sedan, anywhere), the Quattroporte now has some small visual changes and enough driver-assistance stuff (like radar cruise) to bring it up to German levels. At least, that's the on-paper argument. Not one of the 2017 model's visual upgrades is metallic. The changes include a new plastic grille (inspired by the design language of the Alfieri concept car), updated lights, and some very subtle differences between the sportier GranSport and the more luxurious GranLusso versions, two new trim packages. The aero guys have been busy, too, with a flat floor and a new Air Shutter that lowers drag by 10 percent and by itself improves the fuel consumption by three percent (anything else is down to stop-start). In a tech, tech, tech world, the Quattroporte is the anti-Tesla. There are no plans to give the big boy any form of hybrid power much less a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Maserati's engineers look at you funny for mentioning hydrogen fuel cell or battery-electric power.

Alfa Romeo Giulia to get Ferrari-related engine

Alfa Romeo has a long, proud history of using V6 engines in its coupes, sedans, and sports cars over the years, but as the new Giulia sedan approaches, the Italian marque is allegedly turning to Ferrari for its next six-cylinder. This is obviously not the first time a Ferrari-sourced or derived engine has been found under an Alfa's long hood. While 8C Competizione famously used a version of Ferrari's F136 V8 during its short run, the Giulia's new V6 will be offered on a much larger scale, slotting in above an entry level, four-cylinder turbo (likely the next-gen version of the 4C sports car's 1.75-liter engine). According to Autocar, the new V6 will be "specially developed for Alfa Romeo," and will be built at the Termoli engine factory alongside the new turbo four-cylinder. As for the rest of the Giulia, Autocar has been able to shine a light on a number of other details about the new midsizer. It will, thankfully, be rear-wheel drive, and designed to counter the "mostly cold and clinical" and soulless cars of the German competition, Maserati chief Harald Wester told AC. Some of the new sedan's structural elements will even be shared with Maserati's entry level model, the Ghibli. Most notable of all, though, is what the Giulia means for American consumers. After the limited-run 8C and the niche 4C, the new sedan will lead Alfa Romeo's long-awaited, large-scale return, where it will combat the popular BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Audi A4, not to mention rivals like the Cadillac ATS and Lexus IS. Look for more on the Giulia next week when it's officially revealed in Milan.

2014 Maserati Ghibli prototype spied for the first time

Looking to better compete with mainstream luxury automakers, Maserati has already announced its plans for expanding its model lineup. Now, these spy shots give us our first look at a new, smaller sedan that resurrects the Maserati Ghibli nameplate. Seen for the first time as a prototype rather than a Quattroporte-based test-mule, this is the closest-to-production view of the upcoming Ghibli thus far.
Aside from its name, we don't know much about the 2014 Ghibli, but we do hear that this Maserati, like the upcoming Maserati Levante SUV, will have a direct lineage to a Chrysler product. While the Levante will be based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee, it sounds like the Ghibli could use the Chrysler 300 as its starting point. This means that the standard version of the car could get Chrysler's 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 - rumored to produce around 400 horsepower - paired with the latest eight-speed automatic transmission; sportier trim levels would almost certainly get a V8 from Ferrari rather than using the 300C's Hemi.
As for some of the details apparent in the spy photos, we can obviously see the size difference between these two cars when comparing previous spy shots of the newly released 2014 Quattroporte, which we drove last week. We also see that this car gets some performance-oriented, cross-drilled brake rotors, and based on the depth of the snow in which this car was caught testing, we also wouldn't rule out the use of all-wheel-drive on the Ghibli.