2009 Maserati Quattroporte S on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Car designer Frank Stephenson wants to show you something ... smaller

Influential car designer Frank Stephenson has often thought small. Now he’s thinking smaller. Throughout the past three decades, he has shaped — literally — some of the most indelible designs in automotive history: the modern Mini, the Ferrari FXX track star, the Maserati Gran Sport, a range of stunning McLarens and down to the funky 21st-century version of the Fiat 500. Now heÂ’s turned his pen to fashioning watches. His Cosmos analog piece, made to mirror “a black hole in space” and detailed “with an orange pinstripe which simulates the supernova glow of a neutron star,” features a Japan-built quartz movement and was created in concert with the Time Concepts company. “ItÂ’s the age-old adage ‘car people are watch people,Â’ so it was a natural step for me to get creative with timepieces too,” Stephenson said in a statement. “The collection showcases the love I have for exceptional and emotionally charged design, just like what is required in designing world class cars.” While Stephenson, who is 64, may be best known publicly for his vision of “affordable style” with the Mini and the Fiat, his ethos also translated to the utilitarian. In the case of BMW in the mid-1990s, the company was hustling to market an SUV, and turned to him for inspiration. His team had six months to complete the project. The result was the high-end X5, which Stephenson sketched during a two-hour flight. In 2018, Stephenson established the independent design company, Frank Stephenson Design, based in London. Related video: Design/Style BMW Ferrari Fiat Maserati McLaren MINI Gadgets watch frank stephenson

Maserati confirms mystery concept, Zegna edition QP for Geneva

Debate ensued last week around the Autoblog offices when we first heard rumors that Maserati was bringing a new sports car concept to the Geneva Motor Show this year. Could there be any truth to the rumors? Did the timing make any sense? Does Maserati even need a two-door halo car to help it move examples of the new Ghibli, Quattroporte and upcoming Levante?
Well, we still don't have any official answer, but Maserati has indeed confirmed a new concept car to debut this week at the Swiss expo. The Modenese automaker hasn't indicated what form the concept will take, but assuming it's not doing another sedan or crossover, and unless it's planning a wagon concept like Touring's Bellagio Fastback or StudioTorino's Cinqueporte (both based on the previous Quattroporte), we feel it's more likely than not that we'll be looking at a two-door (be it a coupe, convertible or something in between).
Of course, we also don't know at this point just what size and segment Maserati is pursuing with this concept car (initial rumors had it going after the Jaguar F-Type) or for that matter whether it will presage a production version to follow or simply stand as a design study. But Maserati doesn't typically do many of the latter: the Kubang concepts of 2011 and 2003 previewed the Levante (albeit several years in advance), and the Birdcage was really more of a Pininfarina project, despite the Trident on the nose. With the exception of a couple production-based show cars (which themselves previewed production versions to follow), those are pretty much the only concepts Maserati has done in recent memory.

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