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Maserati MCXtrema revealed as a track-only limited-production 'toy' at The Quail

The Maserati MCXtrema just had its sheet pulled off at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. It’s yet another race car variation of the MC20, following in the footsteps of the Maserati GT2. Unlike the GT2, though, the MCXtrema is not designed to be used in any official racing series. Instead, itÂ’s a race car built without boundaries for maximum performance. And of course, because itÂ’s a race car, itÂ’s not street-legal either.  What is it for then? Maserati claims the MCXtrema is meant for “purist collectors and for the loyal customers of the brand, who wish to add a new ‘toyÂ’ to their garage that can swallow up the curbs of the most exciting tracks during private tests.” Basically, just think of it as a millionaireÂ’s toy to take out on the occasional weekend track day. ItÂ’s just for fun, not for any serious competition use. Since itÂ’s not regulated by any specific racing series, Maserati pumped output all the way up to 730 horsepower from the twin-turbo Nettuno V6 engine. ThatÂ’s 109 horsepower more than the road car and the GT2. Maserati didnÂ’t go into detail about the aero and suspension package, but it sure does look as extreme as the name of the car makes it out to be. Only 62 MCXtremas will be built, and from what we can tell, theyÂ’re already spoken for. WeÂ’re not sure how much one will cost either, but youÂ’ll be able to see it in person at The Quail on the Monterey Peninsula today. Related video:

Autocar compares new Maserati Quattroporte to Jaguar XJ

Autocar's Steve Sutcliffe took the 2014 Maserati Quattroporte on a spin along snowy mountain roads to test it for a specific brief: as a limousine for the chauffeured class. It's sporting credentials are impressive: Twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8, 532 horsepower, 475 pound-feet of torque in casual circumstances that rises to 532 lb-ft in overboost, a 0-to-60 mile-per-hour sprint of 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 191 mph.
However, citing Maserati's desire to not just increase its sales to 50,000-per-annum by 2015, but to sell many more of its cars in China, Sutcliffe wanted to find out if the livery side of the Quattroporte could match its sport sedan side. So after taking the pilot's seat and trying out the sport settings, Sutcliffe hops in back to test out the CEO's seat.
Then he compares the Quattroporte against the long-wheelbase Jaguar XJ with its supercharged V8, a sedan that's 15,000 pounds less expensive than the Maserati. It doesn't take long for him to find that one of them is a clear winner when it comes to transporting VIPs. To find out which one, enjoy the video below.

Maserati announces the official end of its V8s

We all knew this was coming. Maserati announced it was going all-electric by 2030, so the end was definitely in sight for the V8. But now it's crystal clear. Maserati will end production of its V8s at the end of this year. The company says that there will still be some V8-powered models on sale into 2024. We're assuming that's based on inventory that may not have yet sold or been delivered by the end of 2023. Maserati will have a little something, though, to celebrate its road-going V8 history, which dates back to 1959 and its 5000 GT coupe. It will launch two special editions, the Ghibli 334 Ultima and the Levante V8 Ultima. These will be revealed in July at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Those models will join the existing Trofeo versions of the Levante, Ghibli and Quattroporte that are on sale now, all with V8s. Maserati didn't say anything about upgrades to the V8 itself. So presumably, it will remain the familiar twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 making 572 horsepower that is available in other trims now. Any additional changes to the special edition cars will probably be colors, trimmings and maybe handling tweaks. Even if Maserati wasn't going all-electric, the V8's days were probably numbered. The new top-dog engine is the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 used in the Grecale Trofeo and the MC20 supercar. In the MC20, it makes 620 horsepower; more than the V8. But of course, even that new V6's days are numbered. All of Maserati is going electric, and while the internal combustion models aren't being phased out just yet, every model has electric versions on the way under the Folgore name. That includes the mainstream models such as the new Grecale SUV as well as the sports cars including the new GranTurismo and the MC20. Those electric models aren't far away, either. Maserati's goal is to have electric versions of all its models by the end of 2025, and hybridization isn't part of the plan. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.