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Limited woven-leather Maserati Quattroporte and Levante headed to Monterey

At the New York Auto Show, Maserati unveiled two luxury novelties. One was the carmaker's new One of One customization program with the tagline, "Anything is possible." The other was the new Pelletessuta woven leather interior developed in conjunction with Italian fashion house Ermenegildo Zegna. Calling it a first for the automotive industry, Maserati will offer the lightweight Napa fabric in 100 special-edition vehicles coming to North America next year. During Monterey Car Week, customers will get the opportunity to order one of the 50 custom editions of the 2020 model year Quattroporte S Q4 GranLusso, and 50 custom editions of the Levante S GranSport. It should be known that the standard GranLusso trim of the Quattroporte comes with a silk and leather interior by Zegna, so the Pelletessuta version is a cut above. The sedan wears custom Blu Sofisticato metallic paint over a dark brown Pelletessuta interior. The brake calipers are also dressed in blue, and a Zegna Edition badge adorns the cabin. Maserati hasn't mentioned pricing, but the regular sedan starts at $122,775, so that's there to start adding a premium. The Levante gets an exclusive Bronzo tri-coat outside over a Black Pelletessuta leather interior with custom Radica wood trim. Instead of the usual 20-inch wheels on, the limited edition gets 21-inch Helios rims hiding black brake calipers. The standard SUV starts at $94,475, we wouldn't be surprised if one of these 50 examples surpassed six figures before options. The Italian camaker says these configurations will not go on sale again.

Alfa Romeo 8C, Maserati Quattroporte and Granturismo models recalled over rust fears

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced Maserati and Alfa Romeo are recalling certain Quattroporte, Granturismo and 8C models over potentially faulty tie rod ends. According to NHTSA, 2005-2008 Quattroporte, 2008 Granturismo and 2008 8C units may have been assembled with tie rod ends that have insufficient corrosion protection. As such, the components may rust, weaken and potentially fail. If that happens, the driver could lose control of the vehicle and cause an accident.
Maserati and Alfa Romeo will contact owners and replace the tie rod end assemblies once the recall gets underway in June. All told, 7,438 vehicles are impacted by the recall. You can read the full NHTSA notice below for more information.

Check out the Maserati Levante's not-finished interior

Maserati continues to develop the Levante luxury crossover years after previewing it as the Kubang concept, but new spy shots give us the best look yet at the interior of this long-awaited CUV. Our spies think we could finally see the production version as soon as the Geneva Motor Show in March. Look past the giant computer screen, keyboard, and rat's nest of wires to get an idea of what Maserati has in store for the Levante's wealthy occupants. The company fits the luxury crossover with thickly bolstered leather seats to hold front passengers tight, and the driver grips a three-spoke steering wheel. A piece of cloth partially covers the infotainment system, but its position echoes the one on the Ghibli. A wood-trimmed center console features several buttons, including a large control dial. This Levante's exterior camouflage and cladding hide a lot, but it's clear that the design sticks fairly close to last year's patent drawings. The big hump on the roof also can't hide the coupe-like arch that leads to the rear hatch. Maserati's crossover uses a tweaked version of the platform from the Ghibli and Quattroporte and likely shares their turbocharged V6 and V8 engines, too. The Italian company has high hopes that the Levante's mix of luxury and performance appeals to customers in the booming CUV segment because a success could turn around the brand's flagging sales. However, the vehicle needs to compete in a rapidly crowding market of high-priced entries that would soon include models like the Bentley Benayga, Lamborghini Urus, and Aston Martin DBX. Related Video: