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Former BMW M boss and Maserati CEO killed in freak motorcycle accident

It's a tragic coincidence that on the same weekend the BMW M4 Coupe Concept was introduced in Monterey, one of the men most integral to BMW's M and Motorsports divisions, Karl-Heinz Kalbfell, was killed in England. Kalbfell, a vintage motorcycle enthusiast, was set to compete in the Lansdowne Classic Series at Brands Hatch and had an accident during a practice session. After going wide at Druids Corner and falling, he was hit by a competitor following close behind and died of his injuries after being transported to hospital.
Kalbfell, an engineer, began his career at BMW in 1977 in the communications department; a decade later he was chairman of BMW M GmbH, overseeing development of some of the cars responsible for the myth of M. In 1994 he was named chairman of BMW Motorsport, and his cap full of feathers includes getting the BMW V12 into the McLaren F1, getting the BMW V8 into two Morgan cars, along with developing BMW's Formula One engine and return to the sport. Not incidentally, he also assumed leadership of Project Rolls-Royce after BMW bought the British marque in 1998, which means he oversaw the Goodwood factory upfit and the creation of the Phantom.
He left Rolls-Royce for a brief stint at Fiat, heading Alfa Romeo and Maserati, then went into consulting for clients like Lotus and Paragon, who built the Artega GT. As Autocar notes, Kalbfell "had an abiding sense that customers needed to be attracted to cars by their aura and reputation, not just their engineering." He will be missed.

Maserati teases MC20 Cielo debut for May 25

A while back, Maserati's product roadmap penciled in an MC20 Spider to hit the market this year. In December 2021, the Modena automaker teased frontal views of the droptop supercar wearing camouflage full of fluffy clouds. In a series of Instagram posts over the last week, Maserati posted photos from the point of view of someone with an uninterrupted view skyward — the same kind of view one would experience in a convertible, say. One of the captions was, "You will admire the sky in a new way on Wednesday 25 May." That will be the reveal date for what the automaker is now calling the Maserati MC20 Cielo, with that last word being Italian for "sky." This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Since we got no views of the rear of the camouflaged car, we have no idea what design changes we'll see in a little more than a week. Looking closely at the photos of the camouflaged prototype, it's clear there's are temporary panels between behind the B-pillar all the way to the decklid spoiler. An odd feature on the prototype is a trio of ribs running from the A-pillar to the rear of the car, with the middle protrusion looking like a papered-over roof scoop. That seems like a lot of work to hide a form we're already familiar with, and a convertible mechanism we don't expect to hold any surprises, so we'll see what we see on May 25. Maserati's usual Spider formula hasn't traditionally altered a car's underpinnings, so the same carbon fiber monocoque should come bolted to the same 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 making 621 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque. The skylight does traditionally jack up the price, so expect to pay more than the coupe's $210,000 MSRP. We figure the model will arrive in showrooms late this year at the earliest, an appearance in the U.S. likely in 2023. After this, we know there's an even more powerful electric version on the way that will be the flagship of the range. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Maserati MC20 supercar plays in the snow

2017 Maserati Levante is somewhere under all that cladding

There's an influx of crossovers coming from high-end European marques in the coming years – and we've already seen most of them in one form or another. One of the few exceptions is the forthcoming Maserati Levante, and if you can believe it, this is the best look we've had at it yet. Like the Bentayga for Bentley, the F-Pace for Jaguar, the DBX for Aston Martin, or the Urus for Lamborghini, the Levante will be Maserati's first crossover. It was previewed by the Kubang concepts of 2003 and 2011, but the closest we've gotten to the finished product so far has been some test mules running under modified Ghibli sedan bodywork and a series of purported patent drawings. Mind you, these spy shots don't show us a whole heck of a lot either, as heavily camouflaged and cladded as this prototype is. But under all that padding is what appears to be the bodywork that we'll be seeing on the production version once it makes its debut sometime next year. Look for the Ghibli's twin-turbo V6 engines to propel Maserati head-first into new territory, and likely pave the way for an Alfa Romeo crossover to follow. All we can see for the time being, really, are the exposed wheels. But if those giant brake discs filling their spokes are anything to go by, the Levante ought to represent the Modenese automaker well in what's becoming an ever-pricier, more performance-focused, and more competitive market segment. Porsche and its trendsetting Cayenne ought to take notice. Related Video: