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0-to-62 in 2 seconds: Maserati Alfieri electrics will take on Tesla with Ferrari's help

Maserati's long-delayed flagship, the Alfieri sports car, will go electric, offering hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full-electric versions, parent company FCA said today its five-year plan. The Italian brand also outlined plans to launch a midsize SUV, all-new versions of the Quattroporte and Levante, and said it intends to electrify its entire fleet by 2022. Tim Kuniskis, head of the Maserati brand, said in a presentation in Italy that Ferrari will supply all future powertrains across every configuration, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles. The brand also announced that it will market full-electric vehicles under the Maserati Blue name. The goal for Maserati Blue is to offer battery-electric versions of four cars: the Alfieri, a convertible version called the Alfieri Cabrio, the Quattroporte and the Levante. All will feature three motors with e-all-wheel-drive, torque vectoring, 800-volt battery technology, long driving ranges and quick charging. They'll also be based on a lightweight modular aluminum platform. If the Alfieri sounds familiar, it should: It first debuted as a 2+2 sports coupe concept at the Geneva Motor Show all the way back in 2014. Back then, it was likely to use Maserati's turbocharged V6 and V8 engines and be rear-wheel drive only. But the concept has hit a series of delays on the way to production. Plans for the new version call for a new modular aluminum space frame to minimize weight gain — Kuniskis says it weighs only about 385 pounds more than the conventional combustion-engine version — and it will offer all-wheel-drive with full active torque vectoring. Top speed will be more than 186 mph, and it'll go from 0 to 62 mph in around 2 seconds. There's no name yet for the forthcoming midsize utility vehicle, which Maserati says will be offered in hybrid and PHEV configurations. It promises a best-in-class lightweight platform and power-to-weight ratio and 50/50 weight distribution. A high-performance Trofeo model will also be offered. New versions of the Quattroporte luxury sedan and Levante crossover will also be based on a new lightweight, modular platform and will include Level 2 autonomous-driving capabilities, with Level 3 available by late 2021 or early 2022, Kuniskis said. Both vehicles will get a Q4 all-wheel-drive system and come with a choice of three powertrains, including hybrid and PHEV.

Maserati MC20 supercar will debut in May then hit the race track

In the mid-2000s, Maserati was at the top of its game and at the top of performance car mountain with the Ferrari Enzo-based MC12. Today, Maserati isn't even in the foothills, let alone at the summit. The company is hoping to regain its credibility and status this year when it releases a new "super sports car" that we now know will be named MC20. We first caught a glimpse of the MC20, which is the spiritual successor to the MC12, in late 2019 via four murky photos of a camouflaged test mule. Judging by those photos, it seems the car will not look like any previous concept or model we've seen, which should help establish Maserati's insistence that 2020 marks the start of a new era for the company. However, test mules often have bodies and shapes that do not represent what the eventual production car will look like (the mid-engine Corvette started as this crazy Holden ute). Although it's alphanumeric, the name MC20 has some depth to it. MC stands for Maserati Corse, and 20 indicates the year 2020. But the MC12 wasn't released in 2012, so what's up? Maserati did this as a nod to its first race car, the Tipo 26, which was produced in 1926. Again, new era, back to its roots, etc.  The MC20 will have an all-new powertrain that has been developed and built by and for Maserati. It is unclear what type of powertrain the vehicle will launch with, but Maserati has confirmed the car will eventually be available as an "electrified version," just like every other Trident from here on out. A Ghibli PHEV is expected to kick things off when it arrives this spring, and we've already heard the sound Maserati's electric vehicles will make. As the MC indicates, Maserati plans to return to racing with the MC20, just as it did with the MC12. Following development in the Innovation Lab we recently featured, the MC20 will be built at the Viale Ciro Menotti plant in Modena, Italy.  The MC20 will debut at the end of May in Modena. More details to come. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

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.