06 Maserati Quattroporte Sport Gt*68k Miles $145,875 Msrp on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jay Kay's 1955 Maserati A6G/54 on the docket for Pebble Beach

Gooding & Company has revealed the highlights of its consignments for its Pebble Beach auction during the action-packed Monterey weekend. At the top of the list is the classic 1955 Maserati A6G/54 Frua Berlinetta currently owned by Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay. This Maserati, the show car from the 1955 Paris Auto Salon, features Frau coachwork, won Best in Show at the Salon Privé, and is expected to fetch between $1.5 and 2 million.
No less prestigious is the 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Stelvio convertible that belonged to Prince Louis Napoleon of France, grandson of Emperor Napoleon I and noted Bugatti collector of the time. Supercharged from the factory, the stunning two-tone droptop is projected to sell for $1.3 to 1.6 million.
Finally, an original 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra is on the docket, with pre-sale estimates at $750,000 - $950,000. See below for the full press release and watch this space as the classic car world gears up for Pebble Beach.

Maserati's sub-Quattroporte sedan spotted testing

The spy photogs at CarPix have caught the upcoming small sedan from Maserati to slot under the Quattroporte, rumored to be dubbed Levante, out testing. The spy shots frankly don't tell us much more than that, since the mule is wrapped in an ill-fitting Quattroporte body giving away little more than a shorter wheelbase and smaller brakes.
The Levante, if that's what it's called, will be Maserati's entry into the luxury mid-sized sedan segment to compete with the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Audi A6 and BMW 5 Series. Said to arrive late next year, it will have its luxury ducks in a row, supposedly offering a twin-turbo V6, a V8 and a 300-horsepower diesel with 500 pound-feet of torque.
Questions about engines and their provenance remain; the next Quattroporte is getting a Ferrari-sourced supercharged V6 and turbocharged V8, but it is wondered if the Levante's V6 might come from the other side of the Fiat stable, namely Chrysler. No matter where the motors come from, though, they'll be run through an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission.

Marchionne threatens to move Alfa production out of Italy

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne was unsurprisingly frank when asked by reporters about potential investments in Italian manufacturing for Alfa Romeo and Maserati, giving the Italian government the ultimatum, "Italy should decide if they want [Alfa Romeo's relaunch] to happen here or not as Fiat and Chrysler have several alternatives." Them's fightin' words.
Fiat's issue with the government stems directly from its courtroom clashes with the Fiom labor union. The two are currently embroiled in proceedings over longer shifts and shorter breaks, as Fiom has so far refused to sign a new contract citing revised labor laws that it says are anti-union.
According to Bloomberg, Fiat will be spending over $2.5 billion on development of eight new Alfas and six new Maseratis, in a bid to wrest some of the luxury pie away from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. But that's only going to happen if the government is willing to play ball and make life easier on Fiat.