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Maserati GranTurismo successor to be smaller, fight Porsche 911

The Chevrolet Corvette, Jaguar F-Type and Porsche 911 all belong to a club that shuns the Maserati GranTurismo as an outsider. You see, those three key sports cars all measure within an inch of one another in length - 176 to 177 inches and change - while the Maserati comes in at over 192 inches. Naturally, there's extra length between its wheels, as well.
While those extra inches would seemingly pay dividends in interior roominess and storage space, those are not exactly the most important attributes in the segment, which values proper proportions and proper driving feel over all else. All of this is why it comes as little surprise that Maserati is working on a smaller version of its two-door sports car platform when the next generation is ready in roughly three years.
According to Motor Trend and echoing rumors we've heard in the past, the smaller model will be known as the Gran Sport while a larger model will still be called GranTurismo in coupe form and GranCabrio in convertible guise. We're told, again, to expect Maserati's new 404-horsepower supercharged V6 engine as standard, while the V8 would still be a possible option.

The Maserati Bora turns 50. It was 'the thinking man's exotic'

The Maserati Bora made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1971, meaning the V8-powered supercar from Modena has just turned 50 years old. It arrived at a time when the Italian sports car manufacturers were undergoing a paradigm shift to the mid-engined layout that defines the modern supercar. The Bora (not to be confused with the VW sedan we knew as the fourth-generation Jetta) was named after a winter wind that blows from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea. Though it holds the distinction of being the first Maserati to employ the mid-engine configuration, it was a bit of a latecomer, following on the heels of Lamborghini's 1966 Miura, De Tomaso's 1964 Vallelunga and Ferrari's 1967 Dino 206 GT. However, it was a dramatic departure from the curvaceous designs of the 1960s. Skinned in an avant-garde wedge penned by legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign, the Bora was like a concept car come to life. Its most distinguishing characteristic, the unpainted A-pillars and roof, were polished stainless steel, a preview of Giugiaro's DeLorean that would not arrive for another decade. Any resemblance to De Tomaso's Mangusta was probably a coincidence (or the fact that it too was a Giugiaro design). The Bora's massive rear glass area showed off its aluminum twin-cam V8, nestled in a racecar-like steel-tube subframe. Motors came as either a high-revving 4.7-liter unit good for 310 horsepower and 325 pound-feet, or a torquier 4.9-liter producing 320 hp and 355 lb-ft. Delivered through a smooth-shifting ZF five-speed, it carried the car from 0-60 in a reported 6.6 seconds, and onward to a top speed of 174 mph. The Bora modernized Maserati, offering a four-wheel independent suspension for the first time behind the Trident badge. The Bora was considered more liveable than a Countach, thanks to features like double-paned glass between the cabin and engine compartment, a carpeted engine cover, and adjustable pedal box. Though overshadowed by its contemporaries from Maranello and Sant'Agata Bolognese, the Bora was considered the thinking man's exotic. As evidence of its decidedly un-basic following it was even cited in 1984's The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, describing the evil Dr. Emilio Lizardo's escape from imprisonment: "Last night he kills a guard, breaks out of Trenton Home for the Criminally Insane. Ten minutes later, he cops a Maserati Bora.

Maserati details the new, 630-hp V6 that will power its mid-engined MC20 coupe

Maserati is done leaning on former sister company Ferrari for technical support. It has unveiled the six-cylinder engine it designed and will build in-house to power the MC20 supercar that's scheduled to make its debut later in 2020. Ferrari's willingness to develop and/or build engines for Maserati shrank significantly when it split from former parent company Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) in early 2016 and became independent. Insiders knew the division would be spun off, so they began designing Maserati's new engine (which is called Nettuno) in 2015 and accelerated the process in 2017. It's a 90-degree, 3.0-liter V6 with a dry sump and a twin-spark, pre-chamber ignition system rooted in racing. In this application, it's twin-turbocharged (the turbos are mounted on the outside of the engine rather than in the middle of it) and it's equipped with both direct and indirect fuel injection.  All told, the 485-pound Nettuno engine develops 630 horsepower at 7,500 rpm and 538 pound-feet of torque between 3,000 and 5,500 rpm. It continues revving to a redline of 8,000 rpm.  Matteo Valentini, Maserati's chief engineer, explained the Nettuno engine will ultimately power the company's entire range of vehicles, though he stopped short of naming the specific models that will use it after the MC20. He added the six-cylinder will "bring Maserati back into the world of racing," meaning its output will likely grow in the not-too-distant future. We'll learn more about the engine when the MC20 makes its debut September 9. What remains to be seen is whether Maserati will replace the V8 available in the Levante and the Quattroporte, or if it will surf the downsizing wave sweeping across the industry. Developed jointly with Ferrari in the early 2010s, that engine makes 590 horsepower when it's bolted in the Levante Trofeo's bay, meaning its output is eclipsed by the Nettuno V6's. Both engines are built around a 90-degree architecture, so the 3.0-liter V6 could turn into a 4.0-liter V8 if it's modular enough to gain a pair of cylinders — and if Maserati sees a market for another eight-cylinder. Featured Gallery Maserati Nettuno 3.0-liter V6 engine Maserati Coupe Performance