1955 Porsche Spyder Recreation With Aluminum Interior on 2040-cars

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Barbie-themed Maserati Grecale Trofeo: Stick that in your dream house

A new live-action Barbie movie is coming, which means brand collaborations across several industries. The car-crazy Barbie world is teaming up with Maserati and Neiman Marcus to create a one-off Grecale Trofeo SUV with so much pink that the Mary Kay paint factory may be running low for a while.  As a whole, the Barbie universe is incredibly car-friendly and has featured some iconic models over the years, including Corvettes, a 911, a Ferrari, and various Jeeps. Maserati’s hoping to get on that list with its new Grecale Trofeo SUV. The automaker partnered with Neiman Marcus on the car as part of its Fantasy Gift Launch and to celebrate the release of the new Barbie movie. Only one Grecale Trofeo will be available in the United States as part of the promotion (did they think that's all they could sell?). Like other Trofeos, it uses the 530-horsepower V6 Nettuno engine from the MC20 and features the classic Barbie pink exterior colors. Logos and other graphics accent the loud exterior color. Inside, the black interior features full leather upholstery and leather covering the dash, doors, and other components. The seats feature pink “B” stitching. Maserati and Neiman Marcus estimate the value of the SUV at $330,000. Ten percent of the sales will go to the Barbie Dream Gap Project, so this is more than a vanity project for Maserati and the department store chain. We donÂ’t know much about the other cars that will make appearances in Margo RobbieÂ’s upcoming Barbie remix, but the movieÂ’s teaser poster shows her driving a C1 Corvette with what appears to be a charging port door. An electrified first-generation Corvette would make waves, but even something as unique as that will have a hard time competing with the Grecale for attention. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Zagato to reveal new Maserati-powered Mostro at Villa d'Este

Zagato has a record of collaborating with some of Europe's finest automakers, but it's the storied past it shares with Maserati that the coachbuilder will be celebrating at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este this summer. And that's where Zagato will reveal the Mostro, previewed here. The coachbuilt custom pays tribute to the 1957 Maserati 450 S – known as "il Mostro" for its monstrous power. The Zagato-bodied coupe (one of its last designs not to use the Kamm tail) was commissioned and raced by Stirling Moss at Le Mans, and supposedly remained the most powerful front-engined racecar in the world into the 1990s. This modern tribute is built around a carbon monocoque, with a dry-sump Maserati V8 mounted up front but between the axles for optimal weight distribution, driving a six-speed semi-automatic rear transaxle. The design comes from the same studio that gave us such recent creations as the Alfa Romeo TZ3 and Perana Z-One, and shares some similar design traits, but with quasi-pontoon front fenders capping the long nose and swept-back greenhouse. In correspondence with Autoblog, Zagato confirms that the Mostro is designed for the track, but will be "ready for street homologation." The carrozzeria will build five examples before Maserati's current centenary year is over. Each has already been spoken for, though none are headed to customers in the US. Coachbuilders seldom reveal pricing for this type of project (particularly when they've all been pre-sold), but we're told that "none of Zagato's atelier cars exceed 1 million. As collectible cars, the value of a Zagato typically overcomes the purchasing price within a few years." We'll look forward to seeing the finished product in full once it's ready. In the meantime you can view it – along with a brief pictorial history of the relationship between Maserati and Zagato – in the slideshow above and the details in the trio of texts below. Related Video: Mostro powered by Maserati at the 2015 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este Cernobbio, May 2015. The Mostro powered by Maserati is the latest creation of Zagato's current Iconic decade, a new tradition for the atelier that began at the end of coachbuilder's Neoclassical period (2000-2010) to celebrate the most iconic models of automotive history. Marking the delivery of the first customer car, Zagato will present the new Mostro as a world premiere at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este.

Sergio rethinks FCA-GM merger idea, dismisses critics

After many public overtures, Fiat Chrysler Automotive CEO Sergio Marchionne has claimed his company won't be making a hostile takeover bid for General Motors. This is despite widespread speculation that FCA's desire to merge was motivated by its allegedly dire situation. As one unnamed GM exec who spoke to Automotive News earlier this year put it, "Why should [GM] bail out FCA?" "We are not choking. We are in relatively decent shape," Marchionne told journalists attending an FCA shareholder meeting in Amsterdam, AN reports. "We have been publicly rebuffed, we have been rejected and you cannot force these things. I don't want to. At the moment, we have no intention to do anything hostile." Instead of focusing on merging with GM, or any other partners for that matter, FCA will refocus on implementing its ambitious five-year investment plan, which would see it dump $52 billion into its various brands, with a particular focus on Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Jeep. So far the attempt has largely been unsuccessful, especially as it relates to the Italian brands. Earlier this week, additional reports emerged that claimed Alfa was pushing back the Giulia and an unnamed CUV while reassigning resources to updated versions of the Giulietta and MiTo hatchbacks. This is not the first time we've heard about trouble for the Giulia, of course. For Masearti, though, it was the first we'd heard of delays for Alfieri sports car, which allegedly won't appear in 2016, as promised. We can expect a proper breakdown of FCA's adjusted plans when Marchionne and Company reveal an updated product slate next month. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Paul Sancya / AP Alfa Romeo Chrysler Fiat GM Jeep Maserati Sergio Marchionne FCA