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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.

2024 Maserati GranCabrio previewed in official photos

The new 2024 Maserati GranTurismo made its official debut in September 2022, so it stands to reason that the GranCabrio is right around the corner. It's not ready for its big debut yet, but "official spy shots" released by the company give us a decent idea of what to expect. While the prototype is covered in camouflage, we can tell it looks a lot like the GranTurismo from the rocker panels to the belt line. That's not a bad thing: The second-generation coupe is characterized by an elegant, swoopy design that perfectly embodies the definition of a grand tourer. Above the belt line, the GranCabrio receives a power-operated cloth soft top. Photos of the interior haven't been released yet, though it's reasonable to assume the coupe and the convertible will look a lot alike from the driver's point of view. Maserati told Autoblog that the GranCabrio range will mirror the GranTurismo's, so buyers will have three variants called Modena, Trofeo, and Folgore to choose from. Power for the Modena will come from Maserati's excellent Nettuno engine, a 3.0-liter V6 that's twin-turbocharged to 490 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. This engine was developed in-house, and it's also found in the MC20 and the Grecale. Next up is the Trofeo, which will receive an evolution of the six rated at 550 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. The engine will spin the four wheels — that's a significant change, as the original GranCabrio was rear-wheel-drive — via an eight-speed automatic transmission. Alternatively, the electric Folgore model will use three motors rated at a combined 751 horsepower and 996 pound-feet of torque. That system is built around an 800-volt electrical system and linked to a 92.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. "We're going to let buyers decide [whether they prefer the V6 or the EV]; we can scale production up or down depending on demand. We don't want to influence our customers' choice," William Peffer, the head of Maserati's North American division, told Autoblog. Additional details about the 2024 Maserati GranCabrio will emerge in the weeks leading up to its launch, which is scheduled for early 2023.

Baby Jeep to join Renegade in FCA's plan for new Italian-built models

FCA is boosting its European production, introducing new models that will be built in currently under-utilized manufacturing facilities. Among the new models is a new small Jeep, smaller than the current Renegade, as Automotive News reports. FCA's Mike Manley mentioned the entry-level Jeep model earlier this year, also saying that the vehicle is targeted to European and possibly Latin American customers; in the summer, Autocar placed the launch date in 2022. The new "baby" Jeep would be made in the same factory in Pomigliano, Italy, as the small Fiat Panda, which is a top seller in Italy. The current generation Panda was introduced in 2011; if it gets a replacement in 2022, it could possibly share a platform with the Jeep model — or, the Jeep could be an eventual outright replacement for the Panda. One of Fiat's earlier core products, the Punto hatchback, was canned in August, and that production capacity will be used to make the Jeep Compass instead, at the Renegade-producing Melfi factory in southern Italy. The Compass has not previously been built in Europe. The Fiat model portfolio would be shrunk to just the 500 model family and the Panda — the 500 would also be FCA's key electric vehicle offered in Europe. It is not yet clear whether the electric 500 would be made in Turin, Italy, or in Poland; Turin might also get a Giardiniera-badged wagon version of the refreshed 500. As for the Alfa Romeo brand, it is set to gain an even bigger SUV model than the Stelvio, based on the Maserati Levante's platform. The Levante's sales have suffered recently in China, but Maserati does have light in the horizon: The Alfieri 2+2 grand tourer is still in the cards, with a launch expected for 2020 and both a convertible and an electrified version planned to follow. The Alfieri would be made in Modena, Italy, according to Automotive News' sources. None of these plans namedrop the storied Lancia brand, which has been shrunk to just the Ypsilon hatchback, based on the same platform as the current 500 and Panda. Despite that, the Ypsilon was again the second-bestselling car in Italy after the Panda in October. It is unlikely that FCA will be able to ignore this, but it is just as unlikely that any development money will be afforded to come up with a replacement for the Ypsilon, which is as similarly old as the Panda. Perhaps official announcements expected on Thursday will also clarify what will happen to Lancia.