Tuesday 4th March 2014

Maserati Alfieri: Geneva 2014

Chopped down MC Stradale chassis underpins concept Maserati hopes will spawn a new compact coupe

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A smaller, punchier Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale in the mould of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage or Jaguar F-Type. That sounds like fun, doesn't it? Maserati agrees, which is why it's showing this Alfieri concept at Geneva with "proportions that might well be archetypal for a future true sport [sic] car."

Like a GranTurismo but smaller and harder

Those proportions are currently based on a chopped down GranTurismo chassis with a whacking 240mm taken out of the wheelbase to bring it down to 2,700mm. That's a little longer than the 2,595mm of the related Alfa Romeo 8C, this also using the same basic set-up of a cross-plane 4.7-litre version of Ferrari's V8, a transaxle mounted six-speed automated manual and torque tube to link the two.

In the Alfieri, named after the "most prominent of the Maserati brothers", it has 460hp and 383lb ft of torque but we're still really in the realms of fantasy here and were it to make production you'd likely expect a more up to date powertrain. Luckily Maserati has just that in the latest generation of modular twin-turbo V6 and V8 engines from the Ghibli and new Quattroporte, built by Ferrari and in the latter form able to deliver well over 500hp. Which would be adequate. We're guessing they're not considering the diesel.

For now though we have a styling exercise and a very nice one at that. Maserati says "the Alfieri is obviously much more than a futuristic interpretation of the A6 GCS-53; Maserati has a diversified design history that encourages designers to look forward rather than back" before then going on in some considerable detail about what a beautiful and influential car the A6 GCS-53 was. There are worse inspirations on which to base your new coupe, it has to be said, but the most interesting thing will be to see whether the newly assertive Maserati will be going after the F-Type, V8 Vantage and 911 sub-£100K price bracket or mixing it with a more expensive crowd. Given Fiat's volume aspirations for the brand we'd expect the former, to which we say bravissimo.

 

 

[stats007]

That's beautiful - could well be my perfect car if it gets a V8. I've toyed with the idea of buying a GranTurismo but they're a bit heavy and the engine lacks torque.

[bubney72]

Wow what a stunner!

[mrclav]

Ooof.

[g3org3y]

LIKE

[Quickmoose]

spot on, great 'face', well proportioned, clearly a Maser. Gorgeous...Build it.

[TaylotS2K]

B
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A
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[Amirhussain]

[kambites]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm sure those headlights are too low down for type approval. They'll have to raise the snout if they want to build it.

Lovely looking thing as it is, though - properly muscular looking without being vulgar or fussy.

[Quickmoose]

They sketched, they calculated....they bent metal.....?

ok....good....

[Ozone]

Quickmoose said:

They sketched, they calculated....they bent metal.....?

ok....good....

That's what I was thinking. Not shaped or honed or formed..... bent.

[daveco]

In common parlance, that is 'amazeballs'

[Liquid Knight]

Damn!

I don't car if she ends up being a flappy paddled hybrid. I want one!

[Ali_T]

Love it. Silly name though, How about reviving the Kyalami badge, or Sebring, seeing as they wasted the Ghibli one on a diesel saloon.

[bencollins]

Nice classic proportions, what's the story with the blue shoelaces on the rims?
Ahah spokes to pre stress the aluminium, good maybe if they are forged.

Edited by bencollins on Tuesday 4th March 16:11

[Dave Hedgehog]

[deltashad]

Thats a stunning looking sportscar

[BlueEyedBoy]

Get rid of the blue spokes on the wheels, and with the right engine, that could be something very special!

[LotusEspritTurbo]

Sublime.

[crostonian]

Beautiful, where do I sign!

[soad]

Ciao bella.