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One-off Maserati GranTurismo models celebrate the brand's past and future

The new Maserati GranTurismo is headed to the 2023 Milan Design Week to show off some of the different outfits it can wear. The Italian company's Fuoriserie department, which handles one- and few-off requests from customers, prepared a pair of one-of-a-kind coupes. Maserati calls the Design Week-bound models GranTurismo One Off Prisma and GranTurismo One Off Luce, respectively. "Prisma" means "Prism" in Italian (coincidentally, the name also appeared on a three-box version of the original Lancia Delta) while "luce" translates to "light" (as in, what the sun emits, not how you'd describe a Mazda MX-5 Miata). Both will be difficult to miss if you're walking around the show floor. Designed as a celebration of Maserati's past, present, and future, the Prisma is painted in no less than 14 different colors. Two of those colors look to the future, according to the carmaker, while the remaining 12 are colors that were offered on the GranTurismo's predecessors. Amaranto — a purple-ish color — was available on the 1947 A6 1500, and Oro Longchamps was offered on the 1973 Khamsin. Once the colors were applied to the body, over 8,500 letters that spell the name of historic Maserati models were applied by hand to create a second layer. At the other end of the spectrum, the Luce (shown above) represents Maserati's future. It's not as colorful as the Prisma but it's equally eye-catching: it features a mirror-like finish, a laser-etched pattern, and a color that the company describes as being "almost absent." We're told that this treatment makes the contours of the car blend into their surroundings, though so far we've only seen a sketch of the car — it likely looks quite a bit different when you're standing in front of it. Maserati used a recycled type of nylon called EcoNyl throughout the interior. Maserati hasn't announced what the future holds for the two design studies. They might join the company's collection, or they could end up in a lucky collector's garage. As for the regular-production model, it's scheduled to reach showrooms across the nation this month with a twin-turbocharged, 3.0-liter V6 and a base price set at about $174,000. The next-generation GranCabrio convertible isn't far behind. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2019 Maserati Levante GTS First (Wet) Drive Review | A brief taste of a Ferrari-flavored SUV

If it rained any harder, someone would've had to scrounge up an extremely old man to build a giant ship and start herding animals. Lake Huron is dryer. My shoes were still unwearably soggy the next day. So, not exactly the best environment to sample the 550-horsepower, V8-powered leviathan of a performance SUV known as the 2019 Maserati Levante GTS. Sure, it has all-wheel drive and a limited-slip rear differential, but those are traction aids, not magic. In any event, our time with the "lesser" of two V8-powered Levantes would be limited, compromised and extremely damp, but several laps around the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Mich., nevertheless provided a taste of what one might expect under better conditions. Chiefly, you can expect noise. Beautiful, beautiful noise. Even with our heads and ears encased in helmets, the V8 sang a nasty warbling wail. Though built by Ferrari in Maranello, the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 doesn't build to the expected screaming Italian crescendo – it's deeper, more muscular and still deeply invigorating. You'd undoubtedly drive like a buffoon just to hear the thing. Second gear may be popular. Maserati Levante GTS View 8 Photos Stuffing a V8 into the Levante was never originally intended. It was only supposed to have a V6. Nevertheless, a group of engineers secretly took it upon themselves to see if they could fit the Quattroporte GTS' V8 into the Levante, because why not? Turns out they could and in the process, even beef up the engine. Rather than being lambasted by their bosses for going rogue on their little skunkworks project, Maserati instead green-lit not one but two V8-powered Levantes: the 550-hp GTS and 590-hp Trofeo. See, screwing around at work does have its benefits. The differences between GTS and Trofeo are largely horsepower, some minor cosmetic differences, and the Trofeo's extra standard equipment and heftier price tag. Respectively, that would be $121,475 and $171,475. The priciest V6-powered Levante S GranSport goes for $93,475. Maserati Levante Trofeo View 13 Photos Maserati didn't stop with the engine, however. The chassis was tuned to handle all those extra prancing horses, and while suspension componentry is shared with the rest of the line, tuning is specific for the V8's. The Sport Skyhook adaptive damping system was also retuned, while the air springs feature six different height levels spanning a total of 3 inches from its lowest to highest position.

2014 Maserati Ghibli snarls in Shanghai

Big things are happening at Maserati, where the automaker is looking to increase its sales to 50,000 units annually. In addition to the revised Quattroporte that we saw at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year, Maserati has launched the all-new Ghibli here in Shanghai - a smaller, more driver-focused model that will take on the likes of the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
At launch, the Ghibli will be offered with three six-cylinder engines, two gas and one diesel. The base engine is a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 with 330 horsepower and 368 pound-feet of torque, good for a 0-62 time of 5.6 seconds. The more powerful Ghibli S, however, comes with a twin-turbocharged version of this engine, good for 410 hp and 406 lb-ft, reducing that 0-62 time to just five seconds flat. On the diesel end, the Ghibli will offer a 3.0-liter diesel V6 with 275 hp and 443 lb-ft of twist, able to do that same 62-mile-per-hour run in a still impressive 6.3 seconds. The more powerful Ghibli S will also be available with Maserati's new Q4 all-wheel-drive system, though we're told that this feature cannot be had on right-hand-drive versions.
As for what we can see here in Shanghai, the Ghibli looks pretty darn good, though that front fascia reminds us an awful lot of the BMW 3 Series. (Seriously, just picture the Bimmer with a more gaping grille opening.) Maserati will offer the Ghibli with standard 18-inch wheels, though 19s, 20s, and even 21s will be available as optional extras.