Posted on Thursday 1 May 2008
Updated with official images.
Recently we featured a stunning Maserati Quattroporte wagon concept by Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, an Italian coachbuilder that gained some fame in its hey day. It seems as though Carrozzeria is staging a comeback at this years ‘Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este’ with the introduction of yet another stunning concept, this time a small, sporty coupe inspired by Pininfarina’s A6 GCS Berlinetta. Dubbed the A8 GCS Berlinetta, the offering from Carozzeria represents a mixture of modern technology and classic styling cues that come together in perfect harmony.
The A8 GCS Berlinetta weighs just 1.200kg, in line with Carrozzeria’s name, which literally means Touring Superlight. With its traditional gaping Maserati grill, reminiscent of the Maser racers of the 50’s, as well as the new Gran Turismo’s aggressive and angular headlights, the A8 GCS Berlinetta shows off a modern interpretation of the classic sports car, from its nostalgic wire-wheels to its focus on light weight.
While it may have classic style to spare, under the hood is a modern V8 connected to the rear-wheels through a rear-mounted gearbox, and while power figures are hard to come by we have a feeling you’d want to drive this as slowly through town as possible.
In terms of production possibilities, Carrozzeria faces a difficult task in complying with safety requirements. Nevertheless, Carozzeria hopes to show a production version at 2009’s Geneva Motor Show, but it’s still likely to be in very limited numbers.
Maserati representatives have previously hinted that they needed a third model to remain profitable, and a compact coupe such as this could be just what the doctor ordered. In fact, Maserati has acknowledged that there is a large gap between the Alfa Romeo Brera and Maserati Gran Turismo, a gap that could possibly be filled by a production version of the A8 GCS Berlinetta - keep your fingers crossed.
Massas third model could be a 4×4? ala porsche cayenne territory…except more beautiful…who owns masser these days? wjhat could they whack new body panels and rebadge?
now THAT is what I’m talking about. finally something that deserves the maserati name. too bad its a tuner concept.
but this thing is pure early 60’s europe. i love it.
Absolutely stunning, but i’m not too sure about the retro influence, we do live in 21st century now you know?
lovely, now lets see the chinese copie it and sell it in Italy.
8 out of 10
Pontiac Solstice anyone?
jz damn design,less something….
headlights remind me of a bald eagle, hehe, also an old anime series, it escapes my mind what it was called but the new pics make the car look better than the first pics that leaked onto the web
I want one!!!
Maser aint got the guts to try to sell it. They should have this 2 seater model selling alongside the Gran Turismo 2+2 coupe.—Put the 4.7 450 motor from the Alfa 8C coupe in it and call it a day!
That grille and those wheels are something special, I think they work great with the vehicle.
am i crazy in that im seeing a jag in their ??