2008 Maserati Quattroporte on 2040-cars

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Camal Studio pays tribute to the Maserati GranTurismo

Although the Maserati GranTurismo may have looked pretty hot when it hit the scene in 2007, eight years on, it's starting to show its age. Maserati is focusing its attention on the new Quattroporte, Ghibli and upcoming Levante utility vehicle, but Camal Studio is evidently keen to pick up what Maserati has let fall by the wayside.
The design house, as you may recall, was founded by former Pininfarina designers - the same firm that penned the GranTurimso (among other Maseratis) in the first place. Camal calls its redesign the Tributo (a name which should require no translation) and it draws its inspiration from Maserati GTs past like the original Ghibli, Bora and Khamsin. The resulting design comes across as clean enough, but to our eyes somewhat unremarkable. And if you're going to go to the trouble of coachbuilding a Maserati, you might as well go for a bit more visual impact. But that's judging solely from the renderings, and that's just our opinion - the financially well-endowed customers Camal is going after may feel otherwise once they see it in the flesh.

Fiat Chrysler's next-generation Uconnect is faster, built on Android

If you're a regular reader of Autoblog, you know that for a long time we've liked Fiat Chrysler's Uconnect infotainment system for its bright, clear, responsive touchscreen interface. Now, according to the company, it will be better than ever with Uconnect 5, the latest iteration of the system. It has upgraded hardware and a revamped graphic user interface (the stuff on the screen). Looking at sample screens shown above, there are characteristics shared with the old system, such as the time, status and shortcuts at the top and the menu icons at the bottom. In the middle, the major change is the addition of home screens that can be customized with favorite menus and readouts that are always available. Each of these home screens can have up to four functions and you can have five pages to flip through. The graphics themselves feature more legible fonts and updated icons. Each car brand will get its own set of icons, colors and textures to help create unique experiences. And while each Fiat Chrysler product will be able to have Uconnect, including Alfa Romeo that has until now lacked Uconnect, each brand has the ability to make small tweaks including the screen orientation. The system will support displays in landscape, portrait or square, so different brands may choose different shapes. Powering Uconnect 5 is a processor Fiat Chrysler says is six times more powerful than what's in current systems. It features 6 gigabytes of RAM and 64 gigabytes of internal storage. The processor also supports screens as large as 12.3 inches with as many as 15 million pixels, or nearly twice that of a 4K resolution TV. The system can display information on up to four screens, too. Uconnect 5's firmware is built on Google's Android operating system, joining a few other automakers in using Android as a base for their infotainment systems. Uconnect 5 brings with it a number of new features. It brings full Alexa integration, so you can use it just like you do at home, provided you have a data plan for the car. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto continue to be standard, but now they can be used wirelessly. You can also now connect two phones via Bluetooth wirelessly so you can access content from both. Navigation gets real time information and updates from TomTom. Users can create five profiles with unique climate, radio and instrument settings, plus one for a valet.

Maserati Ghibli Trofeo, Quattroporte Trofeo revealed with Ferrari V8; Levante Trofeo updated

Maserati just revealed a new Trofeo line of vehicles. They include the Ghibli Trofeo, Quattroporte Trofeo and an updated Levante Trofeo. We’re most excited about the new Ghibli Trofeo, which drops a V8 into the smaller Ghibli for the first time. Just like the Levante Trofeo, itÂ’s using the Ferrari 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 that makes a whopping 580 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque. This is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, and power is routed exclusively to the rear wheels. Yeah Â… itÂ’s bound to be a bit hair-raising. Maserati says the 0-62 mph run is completed in 4.3 seconds, and it has a top speed of 202 mph. Updates to the exterior include new 21-inch wheels, carbon aero trim, black grille, rear extractor, more air outlets on the hood, redesigned taillights and the trident Trofeo badge sitting aft of the rear window. A new Trofeo script badge sits above red-accented trim on the fender for all three models now, too. Next up is the Quattroporte Trofeo. This one amounts to more of an incremental update, as Maserati already sells the Quattroporte in GTS trim. The V8 engine makes 530 horsepower in that lesser trim, but Maserati pumps it up to the full 580 horses for the Trofeo. Power is sent to the rear wheels only in this model. Since itÂ’s a larger and heavier sedan than the Ghibli, 62 mph comes two tenths of a second slower at 4.5 seconds. Top speed is identical to the Ghibli at 202 mph, though. Last up is the Levante Trofeo, which makes do with the same exact engine as before. Interestingly enough, the Levante is quicker to 62 mph than the sedans, hitting the mark in just 4.1 seconds. However, Maserati has dressed up the exterior and interior a bit more. The three share interior design details, including Pieno Fiore leather, trident-embossed headrests, carbon trim and Trofeo-specific digital graphics.  The Ghibli and Quattroporte gain larger 10.1-inch touchscreens with better resolution. Maserati retained the 8.4-inch screen on the Levante, but updated it with better graphics and a higher resolution. Both timing and pricing remain question marks for the new Trofeo models. Related video: