GT built for the luxury market
Maserati is to create a direct rival for the Porsche 911, having ruled out creating an SUV, it has been reported.
The Italian firm is said to be enjoying bumper profits and wants to increase production by expanding the current line-up.
Maserati CEO Roberto Ronchi has told reporters that to reach the company’s desired sales and profit growth it will need a new model, adding: ‘We want to make a decision on the new model in the first quarter of this year.
‘The market launch for the car will take place 18 to 36 months later. An SUV model has been ruled out because the segment is declining and is already too crowded.
‘We want to target Porsche with a sports car priced around €80,000 to €90,000.’
Sources suggest that the new sports car will receive a revised version of Maserati’s 4.2 litre V8, detuned to around 350bhp.
The car is expected to get a semi-automatic gearbox with paddle shifters.
The new car will likely be far more performance focused, whereas the latest GranTurismo is more comfort biased.