Just the Facts: - Maserati is expected to reveal a successor to the Quattroporte later this year.
- The Italian sports-car maker also is working on a smaller sedan aimed at premium German competitors, as well as a luxury crossover.
- The midrange sedan, code-named M157, likely won't be launched before 2014.
MODENA, Italy — Maserati is expected to reveal a successor to the Quattroporte later this year and is working on a smaller sedan aimed at premium German competitors, as well as a luxury crossover.
The two additional models and the redesigned Quattroporte sedan eventually could lift Maserati's annual sales to around 20,000 units, according to insiders. Last year, the company sold 5,675 cars amid the recession and remained profitable. Although it hit a record of nearly 8,600 units in 2008, Maserati's goal of 20,000 sales a year is clearly an ambitious target.
Maserati's replacement for the Quattroporte, code-named M156, is likely to be unveiled at this fall's 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show. The car has been designed in-house, and draws from the design language of the current GranTurismo coupe and convertible. It will retain an improved (and less thirsty) version of the existing 4.7-liter V8, but it's thought that other engines may be added to the lineup.
Maserati intends to nudge the next-generation Quattroporte ever so slightly upmarket and reposition it against the Aston Martin Rapide and the Porsche Panamera. A smaller sedan, code-named M157 and pitched at the high end of the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class models, is also under development, although it will not be launched until closer to 2014. Price target for this new "entry-level" Maserati is around $75,000.
In 2012-'13, the company also plans to offer a luxury utility vehicle, an idea it has explored in the past with the well-received Kubang concept. The premium SUV is likely to share architecture with both Jeep and Alfa Romeo models, although it will have its own distinctive style, more potent engines — including at least one shared with Ferrari — and a very posh interior.
