2023 Maserati Grecale Modena on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Maserati GT2 turns the MC20 into a real race car

Maserati previewed a racing version of the MC20 super car last year, and now it's finally showing the real thing. The car has dropped the MC20 name altogether, becoming just the Maserati GT2. That's a bit odd, considering it's still an MC20 at its core, but regardless, the race car is still pretty sweet. Significant exterior changes have been made to become a GT2 race car. Vents, louvres and intakes are all over and much larger. It's all in service of increased downforce, as well as increased cooling. And besides adding more holes, the GT2 features a flat undercarriage, bigger diffuser and a giant adjustable rear wing. The carbon fiber chassis is the same as the MC20, and it continues to use double-wishbone suspension front and rear. But geometry has been updated, and it uses unique shocks, springs and anti-roll bars. And of course, they're all adjustable. Stopping power is provided by six-piston front calipers, four-piston rears, and ventilated steel rotors. The engine is also pretty much what you would expect in a regular MC20, and Maserati even quotes the same 621 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque. But the output of the twin-turbo Nettuno V6 can be adjusted based on balance of performance needs for races. It also is capable of greater overall boost pressure and reduced back pressure in the opened-up exhaust. It does ditch the eight-speed automatic in favor of a six-speed sequential manual transmission, plus a competition-ready limited-slip differential. The interior is expectedly gutted. In place of the more luxurious MC20 cockpit, the GT2 gets race-spec seats, a multifunction steering wheel and control stack and a screen for instruments. It also has a roll cage and six-point racing harness. While many niceties are gone, the GT2 does still have air conditioning. Maserati will be offering the GT2 to professional racing teams for regular competition and private owners for track and occasional racing use. The company expects the car to start appearing in the Fanatec GT2 European Series this year, with full-year competition starting next year. Related Video:

2014 Maserati Quattroporte to get twin-turbo V6

As we wait for the Detroit Auto Show to get our up-close and in-depth look at the redesigned 2014 Maserati Quattroporte, some details are just starting to emerge about the car's powertrain, but nothing is official just yet. Autocar has posted a first drive of the new Quattroporte, finally spilling the beans about what motivates this sporty and luxurious sedan.
We already knew that the 2014 Quattroporte will offer two engines - a V6 and V8 - but what we didn't know is that both engines will get a pair of turbochargers and direct injection. Previously, we speculated that the smaller V6 would be supercharged, but this 3.0-liter V6 will get turbos instead helping it produce an estimated 410 horsepower. As for the larger 3.8-liter V8, this engine is said to produce 530 horsepower (confirming our previous report) to go with 479 pound-feet of torque; performance specs for the V8 include a top speed of 191 miles per hour and a 0-60 mph time of well under five seconds.
All cars will have a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive will be optional allowing for all of the engine power sent to the rear wheel during normal driving and a full 50/50 split between front and rear axles when needed. As we suspected, the 2014 Quattroporte has grown in size to better compete with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

2024 Maserati GranTurismo First Drive Review: Striking balance

ROME — ItÂ’s easy to argue that the coupe is dead — especially big coupes with four seats. Never a huge segment to begin with, this slice of the market has shrunk in recent years as buyers flock to SUVs and carmakers allocate their development budget accordingly. In 2023, it makes more sense from a business point of view to slap the “coupe” label on a four-door crossover than to put it on a real coupe with two doors. Maserati isnÂ’t giving up. ItÂ’s not just business; itÂ’s also personal. ThereÂ’s a big chunk of its heritage built on four-seater coupes, so it completely reinvented the GranTurismo instead of throwing the nameplate into the darkest locker of automotive history. ItÂ’s still a coupe, and it still has four seats, but significant changes to the powertrain (including a smaller engine and all-wheel drive) aim to broaden its appeal. Maserati planted its flag on this turf in 1947 when it released its first road car, the Pininfarina-designed A6 1500 Gran Turismo, and it has never strayed far from it since. Its designers channeled this heritage into the second-generation GranTurismo without veering into retro territory or using a Xerox machine. “People often ask me, ‘Are you inspired by the past?Â’ WeÂ’re not copying elements, weÂ’re not copying styles necessarily, but we do allow ourselves to be inspired by the way we were constructing our cars back then,” Klaus Busse, the head of MaseratiÂ’s design department, told me. He cited the proportions as an example: sitting low to the ground, the GranTurismo features a long hood and a short trunk lid, which are shapes that have characterized dozens of cars positioned in the gran turismo segment for decades. Beyond the basic shape, the GranTurismo shares little with its predecessor — it illustrates what Busse meant in 2020 when he told me that the then-new MC20 would influence the rest of the range. ItÂ’s recognizable as a Maserati thanks in part to vertical headlights mounted above an oval grille, and of course it features the three fender-mounted vents that have become the Italian carmakerÂ’s signature. The coupe features a pure, fluid design with one exception: the fin-like protrusion on the roof. It houses a camera, and itÂ’s only fitted to GranTurismo models ordered with the digital rear-view mirror. I learned that integrating it into the trunk lid, like a rear-view camera, wouldnÂ’t have provided sufficient visibility.