2011 Maserati Quattroporte GT S Awards Edition
Rumors are swirling that Maserati will expand its range from its current lineup of only two vehicles. Inside Line reports that in addition to the Gran Turismo and Quattroporte, the Italian luxury car maker hopes to introduce a smaller sport sedan and even a crossover in the future.
Maserati is already expected to unveil a new Quattroporte sedan at this year's Frankfurt auto show. It will likely retain the current V-8 engine, but others may be added to the range as well. Inside Line expects the Quattroporte to be moved upmarket as well, to better compete with sedans such as the Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera, two fairly obvious targets for the only luxury sedan on the market with some Italian mystique.
About a year or so later -- the 2012-2013 model year -- Maserati will introduce a luxury crossover vehicle. The idea of a Maserati crossover isn't new. The Kubang crossover concept the company showed way back in 2003 at the Detroit auto show looked almost production ready. Of course, that was nearly 10 years ago, and you can expect the styling to change. Considering that Maserati is part of the Fiat family, as is Chrysler, you could probably assume that the new crossover will share some of its underpinnings with some of its newfound corporate siblings. Maserati Kubang by Jeep? Maybe.
2003 Maserati Kubang concept, Detroit Auto Show
About a year after the crossover debuts, a smaller sedan will hit the streets, targeting German luxury sedans. However, you can rest assured that this doesn't mean a return to the dreaded mid-80's Biturbo. The M156, as it's code-named, would instead be aimed at the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5 Series, costing somewhere around $75,000.
The goal, according to Inside Line, is to expand Maserati's current 5,800 annual unit sales to about 20,000. That's not a lot of cars, but for Maserati it's a 340 percent jump, which is pretty ambitious by anybody's estimation.
Source: Inside Line