2015 Maserati Ghibli S Q4 on 2040-cars

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FCA inline-six rumored to be real, headed for Jeep Wagoneer

In September, Allpar reported that that clues being dropped at Fiat- Chrysler headquarters, in the carmaker's factories, and on engineer resumes pointed to the development of an inline six-cylinder engine. The site has just proclaimed the rumor is reality, writing that the straight-six, "turbocharged to meet or beat 5.7 Hemi power ratings, with a smoother torque curve, is on the way." The motor's first outing is expected to be either the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, debuting perhaps next year, or the Jeep Wagoneer, debuting in 2020 or 2021. "Tornado" is the purported codename for the power plant said to be just under three liters in displacement, expanding the family begun with the Global Medium Engine 2.0-liter turbo codenamed Hurricane. Engine bay constraints and a long use horizon mean engineers won't simply add two more cylinders to the GME, however. Allpar says the brief is to keep the Tornado GME-T6 — the alphanumeric for "turbocharged six" — no more than three inches longer than the Tigershark 2.4-liter four-cylinder. That means "major design changes" that could include a space-saving head, more closely spaced cylinders, and no cylinder liners. An FCA division called Comau could be called on for its "SmartSpray" plasma lining technology. Allpar muses that the standard version of the engine for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram could get a single twin-scroll turbocharger. Performance trims for Alfa Romeo and Maserati could get different heads and maybe twin turbos, an SRT version might also get both those tweaks. History shows that the Italian versions would make changes to the block, as well. Even so, the Tornado would be less expensive than any Ferrari-supplied V6. A straight-six would put FCA in company with current adopters BMW and Mercedes-Benz, future users like Jaguar, and perhaps Aston Martin. The engine would span the widest range of use cases in the U.S. carmaker's portfolio, though. Potential applications include being a base engine for Ram trucks, serving double duty as a base engine and 5.7-liter Hemi replacement for the Dodge Charger and Challenger, working in the high-end Jeeps, and as a properly hot trim — with Ferrari-designed heads — in the luxury Italian sports cars. The Alfa Romeo Giulia begs for just such motivation to fill the gap between the 280-hp, $42,695 Ti Sport RWD and the 505-hp, $73,700 Giulia Quadrifoglio RWD. And a twin-turbo inline-six in a Maserati Alfieri would stack up nicely with the Germans.

Maserati confirms the Grecale SUV will get a high-performance version

Maserati will parachute its second SUV, the Grecale, into territory controlled by the Porsche Macan. It hasn't unveiled the model yet, but it has already confirmed a fire-breathing high-performance variant is in the pipeline. "We will have a Trofeo version of [the Grecale], we will have a Modena version of that. We will have a GT version," revealed William Peffer, the CEO of Maserati's North American division, in an interview with The Drive. While he stopped short of revealing specifications, Maserati saves the Trofeo name for its quickest and most powerful models. As of writing, all of its cars with the exception of the MC20 are available in Trofeo tune. They're powered by a twin-turbocharged, 3.8-liter V8 engine — even the smaller Ghibli — and they gain a number of chassis tweaks as well as several model-specific styling cues. We expect the Grecale will get a similar treatment. One ingredient of the traditional Trofeo recipe that the Grecale might not be cooked with is the V8. It's an older engine, and we're not sure that an eight-cylinder fits in the engine bay. Rumors claim the model will ride on an evolution of the Giorgio platform that Alfa Romeo's Stelvio and Giulia are built on, so the top engine might be a V6. Maserati is nearly done fine-tuning the Grecale. It will unveil the model in November 2021, and sales will start in time for the 2022 model year. Additional details about the firm's next SUV will emerge in the coming months. Related Video This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2015 Maserati Quattroporte gets the lightest possible updates

A week after its debut on the interwebs, Maserati has trotted out its freshened Quattroporte range at the LA Auto Show, giving us our first in-person look at the changes to the top-of-the-line GTS trim.
Maserati has tweaked the headlights across the range, while the GTS gains new body-color trim pieces on the lower bodywork. Red badging on the wheelcaps and and a freshened trident badge are some of the more obvious changes, while new lower bodywork is matched to the main exterior color. While these tweaks are nice, we aren't totally sure they deliver on the "sportier and aggressive appearance" that the Italian company is aiming for in model year 2015.
What do you think? Could Maserati have stood to go further for the 2015 Quattroporte, or is this sort of super-light freshening just what the doctor ordered? Let us know what you think in Comments.