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2014 Maserati Ghibli Diesel

It used to be easier to make sense of the auto industry. There were mainstream manufacturers, and there were niche sports car manufacturers. That was before Porsche starting selling more crossovers than it does sports cars, Lamborghini began preparing to go down the same road, and Ferrari introduced an all-wheel-drive hatchback. But long before the arrival of the Cayenne, the unveiling of the Urus and the advent of the FF, the storied marque that is Maserati was already bolstering its sports car offerings with four-door sedans.
In fact, it's now been half a century and six generations since the launch of the original Quattroporte. So the idea of a four-door Maserati shouldn't come as any surprise by now, but the vehicle you see here has the Modenese automaker breaking new ground in another way entirely. And it's not the size, either: although the new Ghibli is smaller than the current QP, it's roughly the same size as the aforementioned original - not to mention the Dodge Charger, a corporate stablemate which similarly revived a coupe nameplate for a four-door sedan. No, what makes this Ghibli 'special' is what resides under the hood, because the model you're looking at packs the very first diesel Maserati has ever offered in its hundred-year history.
Sacrilege, you say? Maybe, but as so-called performance brands have turned their attention to four-door sedans and crossovers, they've also begun to embrace diesel propulsion. In Europe these days, even Porsche, Jaguar, the BMW M division and Audi Quattro GmbH are burning the midnight oil. So while it may be new territory for Maserati, the Ghibli is far from the first high-end, performance-oriented diesel on the Old World's market. It's also a vital addition to the brand's portfolio, particularly in Europe where the advantageous price of diesel fuel over gasoline (and the smaller volumes of fuel a diesel engine typically consumes) makes offering a model so equipped vital to the Trident marque's ambitious growth plans. The question, then, is whether it delivers.

Maserati bringing new sports car concept to Geneva?

Maserati is in the midst of a major product overhaul. The Quattroporte was recently redone, the Ghibli is a fresh new model and the Levante crossover is still in the pipeline. But what about its two-door line? Surely Maserati hasn't forgotten about those, right?
Not according to the latest gossip, it hasn't. Word has it that in celebration of its centenary this year, the Trident marque is preparing a new sports car concept to unveil at the Geneva Motor Show. Apparently smaller than the aging GranTurismo, the new concept is said to take aim at the Jaguar F-Type - not to mention the Porsche 911.
According to GTSpirit, the concept could pack the Modenese automaker's new twin-turbo V6 or V8 engines, but no matter how many cylinders, it's understood we're likely looking at a front-engine/rear-drive layout and an automatic transmission.

Heidi Klum and Maserati go Beyond the Swimsuit for Sports Illustrated

When sports and cars come together, the world "super" often comes up - whether it's a high-performance super sports car, a racing series (like Japan's Super GT, Australia's V8 Supercars or Italy's Superstars series), the latest crop of Super Bowl ads from the world's automakers or a supermodel posing with a car in the pages of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
This year's edition already saw Lisalla Montenegro cozying up to the new Lexus RC F, but it's not the only pairing to be found between an import luxury performance machine and a swimsuit model. The new 50th anniversary edition of the popular bikini special features a seven-page pictorial titled "Beyond the Swimsuit" shot by Francesco Carrozzini.
The spread features the inimitable Heidi Klum posing beside and inside various Maserati models - including the new Ghibli S Q4, the GranTurismo MC Trofeo race car and the Quattroporte Ermenegildo Zegna concept. Of course it's not the first time we're seeing a leggy blonde stepping out of Modena's finest - a role often taken up by one Jodie Kidd, to say nothing of the rich and beautiful in exotic locales the world over - but it's a pairing of which we'll never grow tired.