Maserati SUV next year

Italian luxury carmaker Maserati is planning to join the high-end SUV segment by next spring with the Levante, writes Brian Byrne.

Already previewed by the Kubang concept, the new car will target the Porsche Cayenne, which has been ... MORE

Maserati Alfiera awarded '2014 Concept Car of the Year'

The Maserati Alfieri Concept was announced as '2014 Concept Car of the Year' at the prestigious Car Design Night in Geneva, organised by Car Design News and attended by the industry's leading automotive designers, by Trish Whelan.

The Alfieri Concept was first unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2014; a striking 2+2 concept celebrating the brand's centenary, with the name Alfieri commemorating the most prominent of the founding Maserati brothers. The concept car was designed at the Centro tile in Turin.

The judging panel is made up of a global cross-section of professional designers from carmakers, educational establishments and suppliers from major players including Daimler, Jaguar, Volvo, General Motors, Hyundai, Lear, Coventry University and Renault Group.

Maserati centenary celebrations at Goodwood

Maserati is continuing its year-long centennial celebrations at the Goodwood Revival which takes place from this Friday to Sunday, 12-14 September, writes Trish Whelan. Many Irish fans will be attending the festival.

As well as marking 100 years at the pinnacle of automotive engineering, Maserati are also honouring the 60th anniversary of the legendary 250F Formula One racing car by releasing some rate film footage of the car in action. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFCfrmKQ1Kg&feature=youtu.be).

The luxury Italian brand, founded by the Masterati brothers in 1914 in Bologna, will be showcasing some of its rarest and most beautiful models from its rich sportscar heritage at Goodwood. The 1961 3500 GT Vignale Spyder and the 1969 Ghibli Tipo AM115 will be in display in the Earls Court Motor Show, as well as the current high performance GranCabrio MC and the new Ghibli premium sports saloon. Original footage from the marque's motorsport hey days will also be displayed.

The legendary Maserati 250F will take centre stage in a recreation of the 1954 pit lane from the famous Italian race circuit - Monza - which played host to the iconic race car. The 250F is no stranger to Goodwood, having been victorious at the race circuit in the 1950s. Sir Stirling Moss once hailed the car as the most beautiful looking and user-friendly Formula One car ever built.

Note: We picture Sir Sterling Moss on the Red Carpet at Jaguar's spectacular XE launch in Earl's Court last Monday. He was one of 200 VIPs to grace the Red Carpet at the prestigious event.

Maserati showed off its Alfieri Concept

Maserati showcased its largest ever collection of cars at Goodwood Festival of Speed over the last weekend as part of the Italian brand's 100 year celebrations.

The Maserati Alfieri Concept headlined the festivities after it made its UK public debut alongside the GranCabrio MC Centennial Edition.

Also on show was the 1953 Maserati A6 GCS Berlinetta which was named 'best in show' by the judges. The Pininfarina-styled A6 is widely acknowledged as one of the most beautiful and desirable cars of all time.

Maserati Alfieri Concept rear

Maserati starts 100 year celebrations

Maserati Ghibli

With the month of December, Maserati officially enters the 100th year of its history, writes Trish Whelan. It does so in a period of unprecedented health and unparalleled growth. More than 23,000 orders to date worldwide are propelling Maserati into a new dimension.

Besides other events, the main Centenary activity will be the official Maserati gathering in Modena from 19-21 September next year when around 250 Maserati models will convene in Modena from all over the world.

Today, Maserati is amongst the fastest growing brands in America and a concrete reality in nearly 70 markets in the world starting with China, the brand's second largest market.

They have now introduced the Centennial Logo. Maserati's world famous Trident was inspired from the sculptures of Italy itself, so it seemed fitting to sculpt a new image to represent their first 100 years of passion in car-making.

Maserati was founded in Bologna, Italy on 1 December, 1914, with Alfieri Maserati and two of his brothers, Ettore and Ernesto being the nucleus of the company. They had an interest in mechanics and a love for speed. The first car was built in 1926, a race car named Tipo 26. In 1947, they built their first passenger car, the A6 Grand Tourer and in 1963, the first generation Quattroporte, giving the automotive market the world's first sports luxury saloon. New models now include the brand-new Quattroporte and Ghibli.

First Maserati plant

Maserati Ghibli gets a high five!

While it won't affect many Irish motorists who can't afford to buy a Maserati (us included!), we've learnt that the new Maserati Ghibli has been awarded a top five-star rating from Euro NCAP for safety, writes Trish Whelan.

The Ghibli has numerous on-board safety systems and scored 95 percent for adult protection. It shares many of its design features of its big sister and brand flagship, the Quattroporte. Thousands of hours of computer simulation went into ensuring the car's structure conforms to the highest standards for safety, and more than 100 crash tests covered all possible types of collision.

If you want one, you'll have to go north to Charles Hurst Ltd in Belfast to buy it as there is no Maserati dealership in the Republic.

Charles Hurst's new Maserati showrooms which opened in September

Charles Hurst Group opens new Maserati showroom

Charles Hurst Group have recently opened the doors to its new state-of-the-art showroom, designed and built to showcase the Maserati brand's latest Corporate Identity.

The dealer group has been the only Maserati dealership on the island of Ireland for over ten years.

On display for the opening event last week were the latest additions to the range - the all new Maserati Quattroporte and the new E segment Ghibli saloon.

To add a hint of the marque's racing history was the Maserati Tipo 420 M 58 'Eldorado', on loan from the Panini Museum Collection and raced by Sir Stirling Moss in the 1958 Monza 500.

The Maserati showroom sits alongside the recently opened new Ferrari showroom at Charles Hurst Belfast.

Maserati unveils new Ghibli

Maserati has released the first official images of its upcoming four-door sports executive saloon in advance of its debut at the Shanghai Motor Show later this month.

It is Maserati's first saloon in this segment.

The Ghibli is set to break new ground for Maserati. It will have a sportier character compared to the larger Quattroporte, launched at the start of this year. It will be available with two turbocharged 3.0 V6 engines, an eight-speed automatic transmission and both rear-wheel drive and the new 'Q4' all-wheel drive system.

The Ghibli will also be the first Maserati production car in history to be powered by a diesel engine with a 3.0 V6 turbo-diesel. The car will play a significant role in Maserati's growth plan to sell 50,000 cars per year.

Maserati to debut MC Stradale

The new Maserati MC Stradale will be the star on the Maserati stand in Geneva next week, alongside the new Quattroporte versions.

The new GranTurismo MC Stradale, combines the optimum expression of sportiness with the luxury of a coupe.

Just like the previous two-seater version, the new-four seater GranTurismo MC Stradale takes its inspiration from the racing version. Its cabin has four comfortable seats and an interior design featuring new materials and style.

It also features the 4.7, 460hp aspirated V8 engine which made its debut in the GranTurismo Sport and which is now fitted to the entire 4.7 litre GranTurismo range. Combined with an MC Race Shift 6-speed robotised manual gearbox, this engine ensures outstanding performance, with a top speed of 188mph.

More powerful new Maserati Quattroporte

Yes, we'd all like one for Christmas, but no prices have been forthcoming yet on this one, and we we wonder could we afford to run it ... for long!

The flagship of the Maserati range, the Quattroporte, is bigger, lighter, more luxurious and more practical than the car it replaces. With a 307km/h (191mph) top speed, it's also as fast as most two-door supercars.

The sixth-generation Quattroporte delivers a leap forward in regard to high-technology, while remaining faithful to Maserati's long history in luxury sports saloons.

It's powered by a 3.8 V8 and a 3.0 V6, both of which are all new, twin turbo charged and assembled by Ferrari at Maranello. The 3.8 reaches 199km/h in just 4.7 seconds, a new performance benchmark, and achieves a 307km/h (191 mph) top speed. It's 20km/h faster than the Quattroporte Sport GT S and has up to 200Nm more torque. Both come with an 8-speed automatic transmission. Fuel consumption and emissions are down by 20 percent over the previous model.

No prices available yet. So we'll just dream on ...

Mazerati Grancabrio Sport goes on sale

Maserati has confirmed pricing for its new GranCabrio Sport at £102,615 on the road.

The first right-hand drive cars will reach clients in October this year.

This Pininfarina designed four-seater convertible was officially unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show last March.

The Sport uses a more powerful and fuel-efficient version of Maserati's all-alloy 4.7 litre V8, produces 450hp and has a whopping maximum torque of 510Nm.

Its ZF six-speed automatic transmission includes the super-fast MC Auto Shift software. It allows the GranCabrio Sport to reach a top speed of 285km/h (177 mph) and the 0-100km/h (0-62mph) sprint is now reduced to 5.2 seconds.

A new body colour has been introduced: RossoTrionfale, a rich metallic red inspired by the Italian national colour used on 1950s racing Maseratis.