Monday 28th March 2011
All-New Maserati Quattroporte Set For Frankfurt
New saloon will be first part of ambitious product plan - and a push to building 20,000 cars per year
Quattroporte not long for this world
Maserati is due to unveil the replacement for the ageing beauty that is the Quattroporte saloon at the Frankfurt motor show this autumn, at least according to rumours swirling round the webosphere at the moment.
The new car, which is codenamed M156, will use an updated version of the current 4.7-litre V8 - massaged almost inevitably for better fuel economy and emissions figures - while the styling is expected to be influenced by the look of the GranTurismo.
But an all-new Quattroporte isn't the only new Maserati on the way. The company has bold ambitions to push sales to 20,000 units a year (last year it managed 5675 cars, while its record year was 2008, with just under 8600 cars built) and to help it achieve this it plans to add a smaller saloon to the range in 2014.
This car - known in Maserati-speak for now as the M157 - will eventually take on the higher echelons of the BMW 5-series and Mercedes E-class market segments, while the new Quattroporte will be pushed a little further upmarket than the current model.
The final prong of Maserati's new-model initiative will be the Luxury SUV idea that the company has toyed with for so long (the Maserati Kubang concept - pictured, right - was doing the rounds way back in 2003). This has finally come to fruition thanks to parent company Fiat's tie-in with the Chrysler Group - the new SUV is expected to share its platform architecture with Jeep models.
All of which is excitingly ambitious, but it does leave us with one burning question unanswered: if the Quattroporte name means simply 'four-door', what will Maserati call the smaller saloon?
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louismchuge
Original Poster
1,516 posts
53 months
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Quattroporte Leggermente più piccoli
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chazwozza
270 posts
55 months
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That SUV looks horrific. Perfect for footballers wives. Is the Jeep platform any good? Surely it would need massive modification to make it suitable for being the underpinnings of a Maser? 
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Luca Brasi
762 posts
43 months
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Please don't do an SUV Maserati.
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Dagnut
2,972 posts
62 months
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chazwozza said: That SUV looks horrific. Perfect for footballers wives. Is the Jeep platform any good? Surely it would need massive modification to make it suitable for being the underpinnings of a Maser? Does it matter if it's any good?
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cookie1600
422 posts
30 months
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if the Quattroporte name means simply 'four-door', what will Maserati call the smaller saloon?
Cat flap?
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Riggers
1,841 posts
47 months
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louismchuge said: Quattroporte Leggermente più piccoli  ...ma non troppo... (not sure if that's right)
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crostonian
1,189 posts
41 months
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Quattroportini means four little doors
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nouze
853 posts
46 months
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articlenting said: Maserati is due to unveil the replacement for the ageing beauty that is the Quattroporte saloon Ageing? They could keep producing current model for another 20 years and it would still be one of the sexiest designs. Everytime I see one it makes me 
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Cheeky Jim
1,150 posts
149 months
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Hopefully the existing one will drop further in price on the 2nd hand market and then I might just one day afford it!! 
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djmgreen
14 posts
57 months
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RJDM3
1,415 posts
74 months
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Quattroporte...Sexy??? Did you put them two words into the same sentence?
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Riggers
1,841 posts
47 months
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nouze said: Ageing? They could keep producing current model for another 20 years and it would still be one of the sexiest designs. Everytime I see one it makes me I agree entirely. Just because it's ageing doesn't mean it's not beautiful...
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PascalBuyens
2,558 posts
151 months
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Luca Brasi said: Please don't do an SUV Maserati. +1. They shouldn't make the same mistake as De Tomaso is doing (bringout an SUV that looks like a beaten up S40)...
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marcosgt
6,200 posts
45 months
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Can't say I feel the Quattroporte's a well proportioned car, unlike the Gran Turismo. It's a good idea and an interesting alternative to an XJ or an S-Klasse (Which shows zero imagination, especially in silver...  ). Will be interesting (if nothing else for a Pauper like me) to see if the replacement can be a real beauty. M.
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louismchuge
Original Poster
1,516 posts
53 months
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RJDM3 said: Quattroporte...Sexy??? Did you put them two words into the same sentence? 
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Riggers
1,841 posts
47 months
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louismchuge said: RJDM3 said: Quattroporte...Sexy??? Did you put them two words into the same sentence?  for RJDM3, I reckon...
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chazwozza
270 posts
55 months
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Dagnut said: chazwozza said: That SUV looks horrific. Perfect for footballers wives. Is the Jeep platform any good? Surely it would need massive modification to make it suitable for being the underpinnings of a Maser? Does it matter if it's any good? I'm guessing you're pointing towards the fact that they will never be driven off-road...if so you have a fair point, but also I would have thought a Maser SUV would have to be slighlty sporty to drive and can't imagine something based on a jeep would be as such...
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Lightningman
1,079 posts
51 months
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cookie1600 said: if the Quattroporte name means simply 'four-door', what will Maserati call the smaller saloon?
Cat flap?  As for the "Kubang", WTF!
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Pork
7,838 posts
103 months
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The current QP is stunning. It doesnt look like its a 7 year old design, which is essentially is (or more?).
The only plus side of bringing in a newer version is that the current car will drop in value. Throw in the mix the sound that V8 makes, particularly in GT S mode, and you've got a sublime 4-door IMO.
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RJDM3
1,415 posts
74 months
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Riggers said: for RJDM3, I reckon...  inside of the car is beautiful, but that front end i cannot forgive
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