2018 Maserati Gran Turismo Sport Convertible 2d on 2040-cars

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Fiat set to invest $12B on new models, stop Euro losses in 3 years

Naturally, you'd expect a massive automaker like Fiat to have an in-depth plan to exit the current European-market doldrums, and you'd expect that plan to include plenty of new vehicles to attract those precious buyers that still remain despite the financial downturn. And you'd be right, though Fiat does seem to have a few unexpected twists up its corporate sleeve.
Perhaps the biggest shocker is a report that Fiat will completely drop the Punto, a car with mass-market appeal aimed at small-car buyers cross-shopping the popular Volkswagen Polo. Its replacement will be a five-door Fiat 500 aimed at upmarket buyers (sounds awfully similar to the 500L) that will be built in Poland. Lower-end customers will reportedly be served by variants of the Fiat Panda.
Borrowing a page from the BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen playbook, reports Automotive News, Fiat is said to have plans to reignite production at its Italian factories by retooling them to build high-end vehicles from Maserati and Alfa Romeo. These will be marketed as premium products, built by skilled Italian workers (who are paid wages that are 75-percent higher than those building Fiats in Poland), and will be sold around the world.

Maserati MC20 GT2 returns the Trident to GT racing in 2023

Seems we got ahead of Maserati, but now we're on the same page with the Italian carmaker. We wrote about the Maserati Project24 earlier this week, a limited-edition track car not built to race a specific series, instead chasing Maserati's own performance targets. We wondered whether the Project24 was a pivot from the rumored GT3 program planned for the MC20 years ago. Turns out the Project24 is an offshoot of the GT2 program for the MC20, the Italians in Modena announcing they've developed an MC20 GT2 to compete in the Fanatec GT2 European Series Championship next year. The base tech specs listed so far for the MC20 GT2 are the same as the Project24. The twin-turbo Nettuno V6 shifts through a six-speed sequential auto with paddle shifters, sending power to the rear wheels through a mechanical limited slip differential. Brembo CCMR racing brakes hang off a double wishbone suspension with anti-roll bars front and rear and adjustable dampers, just behind custom, forged 18-spoke center lock wheels on racing slicks that can be changed easily thanks to on-board air jacks. A single seat in the cabin is accessorized with an adjustable, multifunction carbon fiber steering wheel, an adjustable pedal box, and air conditioning. Safety features include an FIA fuel tank, rain light, roll cage, six-point harness, and fire extinguisher.  The differences that we know of include output, curb weight, and the aero package. Series organizer SRO says GT2 is "formulated to bring gentlemen drivers back to the front of the stage ... whilst being fast and spectacular enough to secure the values of SRO-promoted championships, should the current GT3 category become too expensive for too many of our teams and drivers." GT2 regulations cap output at around 630 hp, just nine more than the standard MC20 throws down — and 110 hp less than the Project24. The series' Balance of Performance rules will ultimately determine race weight and output. The regulations also draw limits around aero devices that Maserati Stile didn't need to heed on the Project24. The aero bit is especially important here because GT2 cars are more powerful than GT3 entries but designed to be less reliant on aerodynamics than GT3 cars, making GT2 versions easier for amateurs to drive at the limit.  This is Maserati's first dip back into GT racing above the GT4 class since the MC12 GT1 that snagged close to 100 wins between 2004 and 2010. The race division will sell cars to individuals and race teams.

Maserati MC20 supercar will debut in May then hit the race track

In the mid-2000s, Maserati was at the top of its game and at the top of performance car mountain with the Ferrari Enzo-based MC12. Today, Maserati isn't even in the foothills, let alone at the summit. The company is hoping to regain its credibility and status this year when it releases a new "super sports car" that we now know will be named MC20. We first caught a glimpse of the MC20, which is the spiritual successor to the MC12, in late 2019 via four murky photos of a camouflaged test mule. Judging by those photos, it seems the car will not look like any previous concept or model we've seen, which should help establish Maserati's insistence that 2020 marks the start of a new era for the company. However, test mules often have bodies and shapes that do not represent what the eventual production car will look like (the mid-engine Corvette started as this crazy Holden ute). Although it's alphanumeric, the name MC20 has some depth to it. MC stands for Maserati Corse, and 20 indicates the year 2020. But the MC12 wasn't released in 2012, so what's up? Maserati did this as a nod to its first race car, the Tipo 26, which was produced in 1926. Again, new era, back to its roots, etc.  The MC20 will have an all-new powertrain that has been developed and built by and for Maserati. It is unclear what type of powertrain the vehicle will launch with, but Maserati has confirmed the car will eventually be available as an "electrified version," just like every other Trident from here on out. A Ghibli PHEV is expected to kick things off when it arrives this spring, and we've already heard the sound Maserati's electric vehicles will make. As the MC indicates, Maserati plans to return to racing with the MC20, just as it did with the MC12. Following development in the Innovation Lab we recently featured, the MC20 will be built at the Viale Ciro Menotti plant in Modena, Italy.  The MC20 will debut at the end of May in Modena. More details to come. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.