You may have seen some of these before. Rich guys like to show off you know. Regardless, these ultimate garages still stir the soul in a way only serious car enthusiasts can truly appreciate. There's a 25 page string on Luxury4play.com if you want to see more.
We were going to title this post "2009 Frankfurt Auto Show: Maserati GranCabrio and the Lady in the Flouncy Nightie." But that wouldn't fit in the headline.
Now we're all for a woman getting her job done. But come on, can we see the car a little bit? It's a nice-looking thing, this GranCabrio, a soft-top version of the four-seat GranTurismo. The long-wheelbase four-seater brings a level of grace to the segment that seems to have gone missing. Even the Mercedes-Benz SL, once a paragon of restrained elegance, has gone all hard-edged.
This little number hits U.S. dealers just in time for the top-down season beginning next spring. But let's not take this restraint thing too far. The car will be powered by a 433-hp 4.7-liter V8.
Maybe Ms. Flouncy Nightie would like to get in the car. Just an idea.
This long list of events is your chance to throw away your inhibitions and lay down some rubber. Some of the track days make you bring your own vehicle, while others provide you with a machine to pilot. Either way, find the right event and brush up on your driving skills by booking some track time at the links below.
Continue reading Hit Up the Track With These Events.
Finally, all that hideous camouflage that has been covering up the 2010 Maserati GranCabrio prototypes has been peeled back and the car underneath was worth the wait.
Set for a worldwide debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show, the new four-seat GranCabrio gets a cloth soft top and a 433-horsepower V8 engine. That's about as much detail as Maserati let loose, so expect a full run down from Frankfurt in a few weeks.
Yes, you read that right. This unloved Biturbo was recently traded in on a Subaru as part of the Cash for Clunkers program. With less than 19,000 miles on the clock, it was quite the fresh Maserati, although according to its owner no one seemed to care as he was unable to unload it on the open market.
CNN: Maserati Clunker To Be Crushed
If you have never driven on a race track, you should. If your skills are weak, track time will make them better. And if you think you're an undiscovered Tony Stewart, well then, get out there and prove it. The list that follows after the jump gives some ideas where you might try your luck both on the road and in the dirt.
Continue reading Looking for Track Time? Find It Here.
When Mark McNabb announced he was leaving GM last week, most assumed he was merely jumping off a sinking ship. No big surprise there really as he had only been at GM for a year or so. Before that he was at Nissan, a job he returned to after a short stint at Mercedes-Benz, so yeah, the guy gets around.
Now he's the new President and CEO of Maserati North America, Inc. With only a handful of models, McNabb's job should be fairly easy after coming from two full-line manufacturers. Then again, selling high-dollar exotics during one of the worst economic recessions in U.S. history could present a few challenges.
First Drive: 2009 Maserati Quattroporte GT-S
Ferrari announced this week that the last production Ferrari F430 would be part of the lots at all-Ferrari RM auction this Saturday. The proceeds will benefit Italy's Abruzzo region, east of Rome, which was heavily damaged by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake on April 6.
The two-tone livery on this F430 is meant to recall the traditional colors of L'Aquila, Italy, the medieval town at the epicenter of the quake. Ferrari will invite the eventual owner to Maranello to finalize specifications on the F430, though the transmission is already decided: It's the automated F1 gearbox.
The F430 auction follows a week-long apparel auction at Ferrari's online store during which time you could bid on racing suits autographed by Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen.
View all lots in the RM Auction on May 17 ... it's all Ferraris, including a '91 F40, plus two Maseratis.
U.S. Attorneys have charged the owners of a New York Bentley and Aston Martin dealership with corporate espionage after discovering they had tapped into the email network of a rival Ferrari and Maserati dealership.
According to Bloomberg, Giacomo Ciaccia and Leka Vuksanaj, the co-owners of Universal Autosports LLC,were former employees of the Ferrari dealership. A third man, Michael Lussos, listed as the Creative Director of Universal Autosports, helped to set up the email system for the Ferrari dealership.
Investigators discovered that the Ferrari dealership's email were being forwarded to an outside account. In some instances, Universal Auto sport attempted to use the information to thwart potential sales by contacting customers directly. The three men each face up to five years in jail and a fine of $250,000.
Bloomberg: Aston Martin Dealer Is Charged With Spying on Rival
Why muck up your GranTurismo daily driver when you can have a dedicated track car like the GranTurismo MC? Designed to compete in the GT4 European Cup class, the GranTurismo MC uses the same 4.7-liter V8 as the production GranTurismo S. Revised engine mapping bumps output to 450-horsepower while the chassis has been stiffened and race-grade brakes installed. A full roll cage and racing slicks are also part of the package.
And the cost? A mere 135,000 Euros. Just call Maserati Corse and they'll arrange pickup of the money. We're sure you'll get a car eventually.
In the coming days you will be hearing much -- possibly too much -- about the Fiat Group's lineup of cars. The alliance between Chrysler and Fiat Group should open the American market to a flood of new small cars, both branded as Chryslers and Dodges but also, one would hope, Fiats, Alfa-Romeos and a couple of others.
We'll spare you the dissertation on the global implications of the Punto -- at least for now. No, now is the time where we provide our wish list of Fiat Group products. What follows is based on no particular market reality nor any other form of reality, other than the one projected from our heads.
First a note: The Fiat Group includes Ferrari and Maserati in its holdings. Those brands already have a presence in the American market. You can safely assume the cars from those two rate high on our wish list under any circumstances.
Join us, will you, after the jump for a few more we'd like to see on our highways.
Continue reading The Fiat Group Wish List.
#DAS09 I don't know if it says more about me or about modern cars, but it seems every auto show, I get drawn in by the old racecars various manufacturers trot out for their booths.
And so it goes with Maserati at this year's Detroit show. There, behind the shiny new Quattroportes and GranTurismos is the 1939 and '40 Indianapolis 500-winning #1 Boyle Special car that was piloted by Wilbur Shaw.
The small-displacement supercharged V8 car is cool enough from the outside. But take a look inside the cockpit and you get a sense of ol' Wilbur's dedication. The exposed driveshaft runs directly between the driver's legs, as does the steering column and a fair amount of air apparently, because there is no floorboard under the driver's thighs. That provided just enough room for Wilbur's outsized equipment. -- Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit
So Detroit is hurting and the Asian automakers are pulling out of Detroit. So what's left?
Plenty of room for the Europeans apparently. There will be no less than ten world debuts from the other side of the pond at this year's show, a sign that although our market is down, it's can still make or break a new product for most manufacturers. Here's a rundown of what the German et al. will have on display next week.
Continue reading 2009 Detroit Auto Show Preview: The European Contingent .
Continue reading 2008 Maserati GranTurismo S: 2008 Geneva Auto Show.
Maserati may not be a high-volume automaker today, but who knows what the future holds. As announced during the L.A. Auto Show, Quattroporte numbers are up 49 percent this year, and all 2007s are officially sold out. The company is already taking orders for 2008, so if you want your bespoke Italian exotic break out those order guides and fire up your checkbook...
Continue reading 2007 LA Auto Show: Maserati Sales Up and Sold Out.
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