Maserati will upgrade the production lines at its Modena factory later this year in preparation to start work on its Alfieri electrified supercar.
The Italian firm confirmed its commitment to production at Modena, where it has been based since 1939, following a meeting with local government officials and unions. The site will focus on making “special high-performance, high-technology sports cars”, and work will start on upgrading the facilities there this autumn.
Once the upgrade is complete, Maserati will start pre-series production of a “characteristically Maserati sports car” in the first half of next year. While the firm did not name the Alfieri, it confirmed that it was putting the long-awaited two-seater into production as part of its five-year business plan announced last June.
The Alfieri is based on a concept first shown in 2014. It will be offered in coupé and convertible forms and with a choice of three powertrains, all of which will be electrified. They will include an electric version, which will use a tri-motor, four-wheel-drive system with torque vectoring and 800V battery technology, and a plug-in hybrid.
Speaking last year, Maserati boss Tim Kuniskis said the Alfieri will “offer an unparalleled mix of performance and luxury”, with a 0-62mph time of around 2.0sec and a top speed of more than 186mph. It will also feature active aerodynamics.
Making pre-series production models of the Alfieri in the first half of next year would likely put the model on course to go on sale in mid-2021.
The Alfieri will replace the Granturismo and Grancabrio at the top of Maserati’s range, which the brand is aiming to completely renew by 2022. The plans unveiled last year include new versions of the Quattroporte, Ghibli and Levante, along with a new SUV that will sit below the Levante.
While Maserati laid out that plan just eight months ago, the firm notes that it is currently “under revision”.
Autocar recently revealed that parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is planning to refocus Maserati by separating it from the Alfa Romeo brand.
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Demise of performance figures....
0-60 in two seconds, just think about that, there your doing sixty in less time it takes to think about it, not going to be relevant anymore, is it?, so, the same will go for top speeds, once power outputs from Batteries go past 1000V what will there be left to prove?, plus, has anyone thought about the abilities of the drivers to control this much instant power/ torque?, I think there’s going to have to be a limit because of the power alone, yes, we still don’t have them on today’s Hyper Cars, doesn’t mean we can handle them,it just means most are only driven at 7/10ths, the fear factor, the self preservation thing, no, performance figures ar3 going to be meaningless, so, who cares if your can do 100mph in less than seven seconds, it won’t b3 the exception, it’ll be the norm.
Time running out
Whatever FCA 'top end' brands do do they need to do it quickly.
FCA: laid back about its brands ?
Don't worry too much about FCA. The Agnelli family has grown considerably richer through the good offices of the late Sergio Marchionne and, consequently, with that huge financial buffer (not to mention its vastly diverse financial interests... Excor, anyone ?) the family, I suggest, is pretty content for their 'premium brands' to hang on by their fingertips, with the exception of Ferrari which, of course, does very nicely.
If they were genuinely serious they'd be looking at a punt of 25+ Billion Euro over a 10 year period to develop and integrate the Fiat/Alfa/Maserati brands to rival VAG. They simply don't need nor want to wreck the family's fortunes when they can do "very nicely thanks" by playing adequate short-term 'keepy-uppy'. Billionaire family dynasties think very differently from us.
Hope the real car doesn't
Hope the real car doesn't have the proportions of the drawing. Otherwise it would be an EV that still thinks itself as a conventional ICE car.