2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse 2dr Spyder Auto Gs Sport Air Conditioning Power Windows on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Maserati special editions celebrate the end of the V8 at Goodwood

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is ready to cheer anything with pretensions to velocity, equally respectful to new hooligans trying to seize the day and veterans that have had theirs. Maserati's brought both to the 'sceptered isle, sometimes demonstrated in the same body. The house of the trident will start shutting down V8 production next year, bringing an end to 64 years of eight-cylinder Maseratis going back to the 5000 GT of 1959. The Ghibli 334 Ultima and Levante V8 Ultima special editions commemorate the sunset, both powered by the departing twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 making 572 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque. The sedan gets the "334" designation of its top speed in kilometers per hour, known as 206.3 mph in non-metric lands. That's three miles per hour more than the Ghibli Trofeo's top speed as shown on Maserati's retail U.S. site. Performance and aero updates include a new carbon fiber spoiler, special tires made from a new compound, and 21-inch Orione wheels. The sprint to 62 miles per hour drops from 4.3 seconds to 3.9. The automaker calls this car the "current fastest internal combustion engine sedan in the world," and it's going to climb the Goodwood hill. Each special edition gets 103 examples. Maserati hasn't discussed regional allotments nor how to make a reservation. The rest of the Italian showcase in Lord March's back yard revolves around the new. The GrandTurismo Trofeo with a Nettuno V6 will be there, the 542-hp V6 stepping further out of the shadow of the V8. The battery-electric GranTurismo Folgore takes a bow as well, as does the Grecale Folgore. Artsy types will want a look at the GranTurismo Prisma, a one-off based on the Nettuno-powered GranTurismo Trofeo. Revealed a few months ago, this tips a cap to 75 years of the automaker. Artists hand-painted the body with 14 colors that nod to classic Maserati hues, then hand-painted the names of classic models like the Indy, Mistral, and Amaranto, applying more than 8,500 individual characters. Finally, a GranTurismo Folgore and an MC20 Cielo will join the Ghilbli 334 Ultima making a run up the hill. The MC20 Cielo is returning for a second run after a debut jaunt last year.

2014 Maserati Ghibli Diesel

It used to be easier to make sense of the auto industry. There were mainstream manufacturers, and there were niche sports car manufacturers. That was before Porsche starting selling more crossovers than it does sports cars, Lamborghini began preparing to go down the same road, and Ferrari introduced an all-wheel-drive hatchback. But long before the arrival of the Cayenne, the unveiling of the Urus and the advent of the FF, the storied marque that is Maserati was already bolstering its sports car offerings with four-door sedans.
In fact, it's now been half a century and six generations since the launch of the original Quattroporte. So the idea of a four-door Maserati shouldn't come as any surprise by now, but the vehicle you see here has the Modenese automaker breaking new ground in another way entirely. And it's not the size, either: although the new Ghibli is smaller than the current QP, it's roughly the same size as the aforementioned original - not to mention the Dodge Charger, a corporate stablemate which similarly revived a coupe nameplate for a four-door sedan. No, what makes this Ghibli 'special' is what resides under the hood, because the model you're looking at packs the very first diesel Maserati has ever offered in its hundred-year history.
Sacrilege, you say? Maybe, but as so-called performance brands have turned their attention to four-door sedans and crossovers, they've also begun to embrace diesel propulsion. In Europe these days, even Porsche, Jaguar, the BMW M division and Audi Quattro GmbH are burning the midnight oil. So while it may be new territory for Maserati, the Ghibli is far from the first high-end, performance-oriented diesel on the Old World's market. It's also a vital addition to the brand's portfolio, particularly in Europe where the advantageous price of diesel fuel over gasoline (and the smaller volumes of fuel a diesel engine typically consumes) makes offering a model so equipped vital to the Trident marque's ambitious growth plans. The question, then, is whether it delivers.

2014 Quattroporte kicks off 50th anniversary for Maserati with new V6, AWD

It's not that often that we get to talk about a new Maserati model, but that's all about to change. The Italian automaker is using the 2014 Quattroporte to begin a lineup expansion that will soon grow to no fewer than five models. Entering its sixth generation, the Quattroporte has been completely redesigned, and is also adding a new V6 engine and all-wheel drive.
Pictures of the car were released last year and we've even had the chance to drive the car in France already, but we finally got to see both the 410-horsepower V6 and 530-hp V8 versions of the car at its debut at the Detroit Auto Show. The new Quattroporte is 100-percent Maserati with its svelte-ye-aggressive styling, but it adds more of a mainstream look to better compete with the growing number of high-end luxury sedans. Not all of the Autoblog staff consider it an improvement, but it doesn't stray too far from the Italian styling of the last model.
The interior has also been brought up to date with modern infotainment technology and improved luxury courtesy of a longer wheelbase bringing more space to rear-seat occupants. While the V8 we drove had a bench rear seat and oddly retro-modern wheels, the car on display had more conventional wheels and the two-passenger rear seat bucket seat layout.