Just the Facts from Insideline:

• Small Maserati sedan will debut next fall.
• Maserati expects it to compete with the BMW M5, the Jaguar XFR and the Mercedes E-Class AMG.
• Maserati has not yet determined where the new model line will be built.

LONDON — Maserati's baby four-door sedan will debut in the fall of 2011, pitched as a competitor to the BMW M5, the Jaguar XFR and the Mercedes E-Class AMG. The car will be designed in-house by Fiat Centro Stile under the leadership of Fiat chief Lorenzo Ramaciotti, although Maserati insiders say that this does not signal the end of Maserati's relationship with the Pininfarina design house, which styled the Quattroporte.

Maserati is still determining where it will build this third model line — there's not enough capacity at the company's Modena factory — but coachbuilder Bertone's Turin factory is a front-runner.

Source [Insideline]

 

They can make this pretty much eat its competiton if they make it sound like a Granturismo S but with 100hp more power at least.

 

Honestly I think it's a bit ridiculous. The Quattroporte is already small, I see it as already being the same size as a 5 series but with a 760 price tag and slow. I think a smaller one would be the size of a c-class. Maybe I'm mistaken, but that's what it looks like to me. If I were them, I would focus on making one comparable in performance to an M5 or E63. Just my .02

 

+1


The Quattroporte is a horrible seller, as is MOST of the Maserati line-up. I think its time they reevaluate who they are and where they can be MOST competitive. They already laid off what, 600 workers?


Dear Maserati;

Get a clue.

 

Do an M3 competitor, $5k more, same power, maybe a few more horses, more luxurious interior, better sound. WIN.

 

Will certainly be interesting what this car will look like when it hits the road and how much it will cost...

 

The back seat in a QP is not very big to start. How much smaller can they go?

Also, they need to break-up with the Ferrari team that is holding them down (not that they ever will). If they were completely independent of Ferrari, I bet we could see some really nice cars coming from them.

 

The problem is they should have been using v12s in the "gt" cars since the beginning of the "GT" series...as the 450 hp unit would be PERFECT as an rs5/m3 competitor in a slightly smaller sports coupe...

 

looking forward to this

 

Really looking forward to it but we will have to wait a WHOLE year for it? Shit...