Italian carmaker Fiat is investing €1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) in luxury brand Maserati, hoping to surpass German rivals BMW and Porsche. Fiat, which controls the U.S. carmaker Chrysler, will invest in three new Maserati models to aid in boosting sales to 50,000 cars in 2015 – a massive increase from the 6,159 last year. The new Quattroporte is the first of several Maserati models that will be produced in the period of 2011-2014, including a smaller sedan and SUV.
2013 Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati’s ambition is to sell at least 13,000 of its new four-door Quattroporte sedans in 2013, that is big bite compared with a total of about 4,700 cars Maserati sold in the first three quarters of 2012.
The Quattroporte sedan, the sixth-generation of the four-door Maserati model, will debut at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, USA in the middle of January, and will go on sale first in Europe later that month, priced between €100,000 and €150,000 ($130,830 – $196,250). The car is built at a new Turin factory refurbished by Fiat at a cost of around €1 billion.
After the Quattroporte, Maserati will launch the smaller Ghibli later next year and the SUV Levante by the end of 2014. Investments through the end of this year total €787 million.
To help reduce development costs on the new Maserati models, some will be sharing technology from Chrysler. The smaller sedan, called the Ghibli, will share components from the Chrysler 300.
The front grill, three side vents and the triangular C pillar are retained from its predecessor, while a new muscular hood, and car length belt line are all new for 2013
Inside, the design of the Quattroporte aims at essentially, stressing the simplicity of lines and the full functionality of the on-board instrumentation
The high-tech twin turbo engines will ensure a smooth ride while making it a more fuel-efficient vehicle
