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Maserati's electric Alfieri two-seater coming in 2020

Maserati recently said it would sell its first electric car by 2020, and now we know exactly what it will look like. The company told Just Auto that it would build an EV version of its Alfieri, a two-seat concept car that it first unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2014. The Alfieri (above), which will also be produced with a V6 engine, "is being designed as a competitor to the 911 but it will be a larger car," said European GM Peter Denton. "More the size of a Jaguar F-Type." The gasoline version will go on sale in 2019, Maserati says, well past its original 2016 launch date. It was originally supposed to be a V8, but the company decided to go with a smaller engine to meet environmental requirements. There are no details yet on the performance or price of the EV model, but we'd expect it to have outstanding performance (and hopefully decent endurance), given its Italian pedigree. Maserati's parent Fiat is a reluctant player in the EV industry. CEO Sergio Marchionne recently told Car Magazine that "I don't know how to make [Tesla's] economic model work," but added that there's nothing Elon Musk's company can do that Fiat or Maserati can't. However, the car is set to arrive in 2020 and things can change a lot. Who would have thought just three years ago that Tesla would get nearly 400,000 pre-orders for an EV, for instance, or that Volkswagen would switch from a diesel-heavy lineup to an electrified future? Related Video: This article by Steve Dent originally ran on Engadget, the definitive guide to this connected life. Featured Gallery Maserati Alfieri Concept at 2014 LA Auto Show View 21 Photos News Source: Just Auto Green Maserati Coupe Electric Luxury Performance maserati alfieri

Maserati reorganizes, tries to sharpen the trident

When's the last time we posted on a run of comprehensive success at Alfa Romeo or Maserati? True, Maserati nearly tripled its U.S. sales from 4,768 in 2013 to 12,942 in 2014. However, the brand's been stuck around that number ever since, selling 13,711 units in 2017. Worse, those figures highlight how far Maserati has fallen behind its own goals. In the last five-year plan, the brand targeted 75,000 global sales this year — then downgraded the target to 50,000 in June this year. At 26,400 units through the first nine months of 2018, short of Poseidon surfacing to work some deus ex machina, even that reduced goal won't be met. New Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley is working to give Maserati the leaders and support it needs to point the trident in the right direction. On an analyst call at the end of October, Manley said, "With hindsight, when we put Maserati and Alfa together, it did two things. Firstly, it reduced the focus on Maserati the brand. Secondly, Maserati was treated for a period of time almost as if it were a mass market brand, which it isn't and shouldn't be treated that way." In October 2016, FCA named Reid Bigland to head Alfa Romeo and Maserati; this was back when Alfa Romeo dreamed of selling 400,000 cars annually by 2018. When Manley named his new executive teams last month, after assuming the CEO post following Sergio Marchionne's death in July, Manley separated Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Tim Kuniskis, who had taken over from Bigland, now heads Alfa Romeo and Jeep. Manley then restored Harald Wester to the head of Maserati. Wester ran Maserati from 2008 to 2016, after which he became FCA's chief technology officer, a role he maintains in the latest shuffle. Wester poached Jean-Philippe Leloup from Ferrari. LeLoup ran Ferrari's Central and Eastern European business operations; he now heads a concern called Maserati Commercial. Al Gardner, head of Maserati's North American dealer network since 2015, keeps that role and takes over as head of Maserati North America. Maserati has favorable brand value, but the leadership will confront almost every other problem a brand can have. Half the automaker's sales come from China, and the economic slowdown there is a serious drain on the numbers. In Europe, the WLTP emissions protocol, bloated inventories, and the need for incentives have dulled the edge. Sales worldwide are down 26 percent this year.

2013 Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale gets its groove, seats back

The Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale was exclusively a two-seater, but here in Geneva, the big Italian coupe gets its rear thrones back. We don't know if the addition of rear passenger space will help improve sales of this special trim of the aging GT, but it's at the very least an excuse for Maserati to shine a few lights on its gorgeous two-door.
Under that rakish carbon fiber bonnet is the same Ferrari-sourced 4.7-liter V8 we've loved for years now, tuned to 460 horsepower in this application and mated to Maserati's MC Race Shift six-speed automatic transmission. Other updates for the MC Stradale include new 20-inch alloy wheels and a smattering of new materials inside the cabin.
Yes, it feels like we write about some version of the GranTurismo every time we attend the Geneva Motor Show, but this car still tickles our fancy each and every time. Scroll down for the press blast and check out the four-seater for yourself in the high-resolution gallery.