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Jay Kay's 1955 Maserati A6G/54 on the docket for Pebble Beach

Gooding & Company has revealed the highlights of its consignments for its Pebble Beach auction during the action-packed Monterey weekend. At the top of the list is the classic 1955 Maserati A6G/54 Frua Berlinetta currently owned by Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay. This Maserati, the show car from the 1955 Paris Auto Salon, features Frau coachwork, won Best in Show at the Salon Privé, and is expected to fetch between $1.5 and 2 million.
No less prestigious is the 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Stelvio convertible that belonged to Prince Louis Napoleon of France, grandson of Emperor Napoleon I and noted Bugatti collector of the time. Supercharged from the factory, the stunning two-tone droptop is projected to sell for $1.3 to 1.6 million.
Finally, an original 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra is on the docket, with pre-sale estimates at $750,000 - $950,000. See below for the full press release and watch this space as the classic car world gears up for Pebble Beach.

Maserati orders explode, 22,500 through September

Last year when Maserati revealed a plan to sell 50,000 units globally by 2015, it seemed like a pretty steep goal for an automaker that had sold just 6,300 units for the entire year. It turns out that goal may be a little on the conservative side. Through September, Automotive News Europe says the Italian automaker has already racked up 22,500 orders mainly on the backs of the redesigned Quattroporte and the all-new Ghibli, and there are still more new products in the pipeline.
Back in August, we heard that demand in China was playing a strong role in Maserati's big numbers in 2013, and this doesn't even include the upcoming Levante SUV, which Maserati CEO Harald Wester expects to add as many as 25,000 units to the mix when it goes on sale in 2015. According to the ANE report, the Quattroporte is still the most popular model with almost 10,000 orders so far this year, while the smaller and more affordable Ghibli is performing quite well with almost 8,000 orders; the aging, but soon-to-be-replaced, GranTurismo models have about 5,000 orders.

Electric Maserati GranTurismo Folgore will have over 1,200 horsepower

Maserati is in the midst of a renaissance. It released the MC20 in 2020, it's preparing to unveil the Grecale, and it confirmed that its first electric model will be an evolution of the next-generation GranTurismo with over 1,200 horsepower from three individual motors. Speaking during a press conference, company boss Davide Grosso shared official details about the second-generation coupe due out in 2023. The electric model called Folgore in Maserati-speak will offer "way over 1,200 horsepower" from three electric motors linked to what the carmaker calls a "bone" battery pack. We're guessing that means the unit will feature internal structure similar to bone, or be centrally mounted along the transmission tunnel, and not that it will be made with actual bones. Regardless, an 800-volt charging system and Formula E-sourced technology will be on board as well. Maserati also published additional images of the second-generation GranTurismo. It's still covered in camouflage, but we can tell that the front end borrows a handful of styling cues from the MC20 while the overall proportions haven't significantly changed. It's still a big coupe with sporty lines characterized by a long hood and a short decklid. The GranCabrio convertible is scheduled to make a comeback as well. The electric Folgore model will be positioned at the top of the line-up, but it won't be the only version available at launch. Maserati revealed that at least one V6-powered variant will be offered as well, a comment which hints (but doesn't confirm) that there will be no V8. "The market for a gasoline-powered version is still there. It's absolutely still there. What we want to do with Folgore is to give customers a choice: V6, or electric? In five or 10 years we likely wouldn't have developed it, but customers still enjoy these cars today," said Francesco Tonon, the firm's global head of product planning, during a conference call. He stopped short of providing details about the V6, though it's not terribly far-fetched to assume that it will be at least related to the excellent twin-turbocharged Nettuno unit that powers the MC20. Numerous other electric cars will join the Maserati line-up in the coming years, and the firm's full range will run on batteries by 2030. EV variants of the Grecale and the next-generation GranCabrio are scheduled to make their debut in 2023, and they'll be joined by an electric version of the MC20 in 2025.