Ghibli Ermenegildo Zegna Edition makes its mark in Paris.

A show-stealer on the Maserati stand, the Ghibli Ermenegildo Zegna Edition is the natural evolutionof an all-Italian partnership between the Trident emblem manufacturer and the Trivero-based Maison.

In the Centennial year for the brand, and after the success of the Quattroporte Zegna Limited Edition, released in only 100 units, Maserati and Ermenegildo Zegna chose Ghibli as the natural evolution of their partnership, presenting an absolutely unique concept car.

Maserati Ghibli S Q4, designed in collaboration with Ermenegildo Zegna, offers a new, exclusive product style interpretation; with its dynamic, contemporary look, it targets a luxury bracket of precious detail lovers and has been created with a renewed product range in mind for the future. The bodywork has a tri-coated paint finish in a new colour shade and the 20” wheels also come in a specially developed colour; the interior has been designed as the ultimate expression of style and exclusivity, with a contrasting colour scheme created by combining the finest leather and valuable Zegna yarns.

A substantial representation of the Maserati model range will also be on display at the stand, including the Quattroporte GTS, characterised by a new exterior and MY15 richer selection of standard equipment, and also available in a Diesel version. Two more Ghiblis will be present in their S Q4 and Diesel versions, alongside the Centennial Editions of the GranTurismo MC Stradale and GranCabrio MC.

If the traditional sports nature of Maserati is embodied by the GranTurismo and GranCabrio Centennial Editions, the future is unquestionably represented by the Maserati Alfieri Concept, recent winner of the “Design Award for Concept Cars & Prototypes” during the Villa d’Este Concours d'Elegance last May. Created for this year's Maserati Centennial, Alfieri explores the stylistic heritage of the brand and anticipates its future design trends.

Ghibli Ermenegildo Zegna Edition

The Maserati Ghibli S Q4 by Ermenegildo Zegna Concept, to be presented at the Paris Motor Show as a world preview, stands out from the rest of the current Ghibli range thanks to its special colour finishes, materials and trims; it is a tribute to the harmony of opposites, a stylistic synthesis between sophisticated design and technological dynamism.

Intended to be a first milestone towards the manufacturer's renewed, future product line-up, this special trim developed for the concept car enhances its character and aesthetic value, making it even more exclusive thanks to the materials designed in collaboration with Ermenegildo Zegna and adapted to the car's interior to create the ultimate contemporary look.

The exterior is characterised by a new, exclusive Azzurro Astro colour; the production technology is based on a triple layer of pigment, adding to the depth, shine and iridescence of the finish, enhanced by changing shades of blue at the brightest points, and toned down to ash grey in the darker areas. The aluminium pigments used for this special colour magnify the design lines and bring out the muscular profile of the bodywork; the car's sculpted outline is forcefully enhanced by the colour used, while the transparent top coat adds depth and a glossy shine.

Other immediately apparent exterior features are the 20” Urano wheels with their distinctive colour specially developed for this concept car; this finish, named Liquid Metal, emphasises the sports style, high technology and luxury positioning of the vehicle design.

As befits the sartorial excellence represented by the Maserati and Zegna partnership, the style focus is mostly on the interior. The shared experience with the Quattroporte Zegna Limited Edition helped Ermenegildo Zegna create a pure silk fabric, combining an essential and soft feel with an elegantly technical look, resulting in an extremely high visual impact.

Dynamism and a contemporary feel are the key words to read the dual-colour, dual-material composition of the passenger compartment - in leather tones and Zegna anthracite silk.

The natural colour leather of POLTRONA FRAU is matched with Ermenegildo Zegna's micro-chevron silk weave, in a pattern effectively characterising the interior. Silk, an inherently sophisticated material, is further embellished by the hand-stitched macro-chevron pattern and finished off by the seat piping. On the door panel, too, the matching salt and pepper silk jersey is enhanced by an alternating rib embroidery.

As for the seating, the extra fine grain, natural colour leather with contrasting, light grey stitching is matched to a central silk insert with a micro-chevron weave of vertical rolls on the central seat and backrest area, within which the central roll, with leather piping on the sides, features a special macro-chevron weave adding to its three-dimensional, soft feel and technical appearance.

On the door panels, the central span is covered with Zegna silk Jersey and embellished by a diagonal roll pattern, with ton-sur-ton ornamental stitching and alternating rib embroideries. The same fabric is used to cover the car's roof lining, top pillars and sunshades, carrying “Ermenegildo Zegna Exclusively for Maserati” brand labels on the inside. The sophisticated, luxury finish of the car interior is also expressed by the headrests, featuring an embroidered Trident emblem and contrasting stitching.

Inside the car, the signature dynamism of this concept model is reflected in the precious decorative inserts in glossy carbon fibre, applied to the massive central tunnel and door panels; thanks to the elaborate twill weave and thickness of the transparent layer, this material will enhance the perception of the dynamic, technical, superior quality nature of the passenger compartment.

This car has other exclusive features including the black mat covers with leather insert and the embroidered Ghibli name, finished off by a natural colour leather edge and fixed to the car floor with buttons machined from billet aluminium; the door sill plates are also specially designed, precious elements: machined from billet aluminium and satin-finished, they have a glossy carbon fibre insert and carry the Maserati logo. An exclusive Ermenegildo Zegna Edition plate is applied to the external central pillar and tunnel between the front seats.

The car is powered by the high-performance 410 HP V6 Twin-Turbo engine, with “Q4” four wheel drive, ensuring 0 to 100 km/h acceleration in just 4.8 seconds also thanks to a maximum torque of 550 Nm, and able to reach a top speed of 284 km/h.

Quattroporte GTS and MY15

Production of the MY15 new range started in June 2014. In addition to introducing a number of new features, extensive redesigning has been carried out on the highest-specification Quattroporte version, the GTS, powered by the muscular 530 HP, V8 Twin-Turbo rear wheel drive engine.

The introduced changes aimed at making the most luxurious standard Quattroporte in the range more immediately recognisable, while considerably expanding the standard equipment.

From an aesthetic point of view, the vehicle exterior was upgraded by adding a rear GTS badge and slightly tweaking the colour scheme; the front spoiler, side sills and rear bumper bottom strip are now colour-matched with the car body, while the front grille has a gloss black coloured frame. The front trident emblem in the middle of the grille, as well as the iconic “Saetta” logo on the rear pillar, introduce the red striping typical of higher-performance versions. Aesthetic changes were also introduced in the standard wheels, still 20” in size but forged to ensure a significant weight reduction; the wheels come in a technical design and anthracite grey colour, with external diamond smoothing treatment and matt finish with colour-matched hub covers and a red trident emblem - only available for this version. The slimline spokes allow a good view of the red, anodised finish brake callipers, indicative of the vehicle's high performance and only available for the GTS version.

The car's interior was upgraded with extended fine grain leather upholstery and Black Piano lacquered trim, both offered as standard features. More interior details are a compact GTS badge added to the inside of the dashboard central clock with red pointers, and the floor mat on the driver's side with a leather insert and embroidered GTS logo.

Starting from the Brand's MY15, the Optional selection has been expanded also for the rest of the Quattroporte range, with new features to choose from including three new paint finishes, two of which are new grey shades (metallic Grigio and metallescent Grigio Maratea) and Bianco Alpi, characterised by a new, triple coat technology.

Two new wheels: a 19” one in anthracite, diamond-smoothed with matt transparent finish, and a 20” wheel in the same design as the GTS, with forged construction and Silver finish.

A wider selection of interior trims is also available, with new contrasting stitching combinations and two new colours: red, matched with black for a dual colour scheme, and a Tortora option for an elegant, plain coloured interior. Piano Black lacquered inserts are now available for the V6 petrol and Diesel versions, too, also as steering wheel inserts; for the steering wheel, the Ebony wood essence option with lacquer finish is now also available. Finally, the overhead console with integrated, three-channel Home Link system is now available for Europe, too.

GranTurismo MC Stradale and GranCabrio MC

CENTENNIAL EDITION

After their presentation at the New Yorkand Beijing shows, these models are launched in Europe at the Paris Motor Show as tributes to the first 100 years of Maserati history, in line with the sporting spirit that has traditionally identified the Modena brand.

Both models are available in three newtri-coated colour combinations, in addition to the four colour schemes already available for theMC Stradale. The wheel range, includes as many as four different versions for two available designs, MC and Trofeo.

The hub covers are also specially designed to integrate the Centennial medallion logo, availablein two finishes: Matt Smoke grey and Charcoal grey according to wheel style and colour.

The Centennial Special Editions come with a wide range of interiors. Each of the seven exterior finishes is matched to a specific interior finish.

The leather upholstered seats boast a particularly aggressive look with a contrasting decorative insert based on the three colours (red, white and blue) of the seat profiles. The same motif also extends to the headrests and surrounds the embroidered Trident logo.

The special triple coat paint finishes include Rosso Magma and Blu Inchiostro, two colours that emphasise the sports nature of the most extreme MC versions of the GranTurismo and GranCabrio. These two shades are a modern interpretation of the Maserati shield colours and also represent the traditional colours of Bologna, the town where the company was founded in 1914.

The combination of interior colours also reflects the three-tone finish of the body and wheels. The black leather of the seats and dashboard is strikingly offset by the red, white and blue of the full-length seat profiles and stitching, colour-matched with the laser engraved details on the wheels. The same colour combination appears on the leather covered steering wheel. The sporty look of the interior is enhanced by carbon fibre inserts on the dashboard, seat surrounds and by a kick plate on which the celebratory Centennial logo takes pride of place. The same interior colour scheme is also available for the Grigio Pietra exterior finish.

The interior colour scheme associated with the triple coated Blu Inchiostro body finish contrasts white leather seats and dashboard with Santorini blue inserts and stitching.

The GranTurismo MC Stradale  Centennial Edition is powered by the 460 HP, 4.7 litre naturally aspirated V8 engine that first appeared in the GranTurismo Sport.  Combined with a robotised, 6-speed MC Race Shift transmission, it guarantees superb performance and a top speed of 303 km/h. The vehicle safety is guaranteed by Brembo carbon-ceramic disc brakes. In keeping with Maserati's philosophy, the new GranTurismo MC Stradale also capitalises on the progress made by the previous model in terms of reduced fuel consumption and emissions.

The Centennial Editions of the GranTurismo MC Stradale and GranCabrio MC, on the market starting from July, complete the current Maserati range with deeply characterised, celebratory models.

ALFIERI CONCEPT

This concept version has a sportier nature than the current GranTurismo model, affirming Maserati's racing DNA.  A sleek, Italian style 2+2, today's Alfieri is at the concept stage, but all set to be turned into reality: it was created, designed and built with this goal in mind.

Shape and style are the key elements of this design: a long, low nose, a front grille split vertically into two concave sections, futuristic headlights and tail lights, the latter shaped to harmoniously follow the rear shoulder of the car and complement the air ducts underneath, creating an impressive, racing style rear view.

The concept car has been designed to include all the Maserati iconic signature features: restyled triple air ducts on the wheel arches, the Trident emblem in a central position on the front grille, the “Saetta” logo on the rear pillar, and forged wheels whose spoke design gives a nod to the Trident profile. The designers' brief was simplicity and minimalism to create the comfortably sized 2+2 seat passenger compartment, emphasising the racing nature of the brand.

Poltrona Frau aniline leather has been generously used for the interior, matched with copper, aluminium and other materials reminiscent of oxidised steel, commonly used in the racing cars of the Fifties. Equally vintage racing-inspired is the wraparound design of the seats, offset by their futuristic look and modern structure.

The Maserati Centennial

2014 is the year of Maserati's 100^th Anniversary. Exactly one century ago, Alfieri, Ettore and Ernesto Maserati opened their first workshop in Bologna, on 1^st December 1914.

The celebrations began on 2^nd December 2013, to mark the day on which the company entered its hundredth year of activity. The Anniversary is being celebrated enthusiastically, and in style, all over the world, by creating events reserved for customers and brand lovers, and by involving the dealers and organising special celebrations at the most prestigious motoring gatherings, such as the Villa d’Este Concours d'Elegance, the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the international automotive event held in Pebble Beach, California.

The main event was September's Official Maserati Centennial Gathering, with over 200 Maseratis, mostly vintage models from all over the world, for a total of about 500 participants, setting off from Modena. The participants travelled from the home town of the Maserati headquarters to Turin, where the Quattroporte and Ghibli are built in the high-tech Avvocato Giovanni Agnelli plant in Grugliasco, after a prologue in Bologna, where Maserati was founded in 1914, and a stop-over at the San Martino del Lago circuit near Cremona, where the crews took part in regularity competitions; the Gathering participants visited some of the most representative places in the history of the Trident brand, drove their cars on the winding Italian roads that are the natural setting of Maseratis, breathed in one-hundred year old history, and tasted the all-Italian flavour of Maserati tradition and exclusivity.

The 3-days' event ended on Saturday, 20^th September, in Piazza San Carlo in Turin, with the Concours d’Elegance Awards ceremony. The most coveted Best of Show award went to the Maserati Mexico 4200 Frua Prototype, while the most acclaimed model at the event was the Panini collection Maserati A6 GCS/53, which received a special award and ranked third in its class in the regularity competition; Verde/Raguzzoni was the winning team in the regularity race, at the wheel of a 2004 Maserati Spyder Cambiocorsa.

The heart of the celebrations was Modena, the town where Maserati moved to in 1939 and where it still has its headquarters today. Also in Modena, the Enzo Ferrari Museum will host, until January 2015, a Maserati exhibition specially dedicated to the Centennial: “MASERATI 100 – A Century of Pure Italian Luxury Sports Cars”.

MOTOR SPORTS

On the weekend of 11-12 October, the Shanghai circuit will host the penultimate race of the 2014 Maserati Trofeo World Series before the season finale at Abu Dhabi next December, when all the titles will be awarded. This season had opened with the series tests at Vallelunga, followed by the opening race at Spa, in Belgium, and by the Hungaroring and Silverstone rounds - with the VIR race in the USA to open the overseas part of the championship. A hard-fought series, which saw numerous contestants battle each other with an average 20-plus team entries at every round, confirming the appeal of the brand celebrating its Centennial this year, and of a very successful championship with a calendar including world-famous circuits.

Meanwhile, guide-lines are being defined for the next edition, the sixth overall, confirming that in 2015, too, the series reserved for GranTurismo MC Trofeo race cars will have six rounds in its calendar, between Europe, America and Asia. Among the new features will be a revised race schedule, to be officially announced in the course of the next few months, that will however have no effect on the total driving time, which is one of the highest amounts out of all such international series.

During the last round in the US of the Maserati Trofeo World Series (#MaseratiTrofeo), a new digital media project made its debut: the #SensingSpeed. An innovative custom-tracking technology able to collect a set of real-time parameters: position on track, speed, the audio level of the unique Maserati sound inside the car and the driver's heart rate to live the #MaseratiTrofeo experience from a completely new angle. The combination of all the parameters also provides the “Adrenaline Index” for each driver involved.

The #SensingSpeed project is in continuous development and it will be featured also on the Shanghai and Abu Dhabi #MaseratiTrofeo Rounds. Website link for all details: http://sensingspeed.maseraticorse.com

DRIVING COURSES

The 2014 Master Maserati programme offers a complete range of top-level, highly exclusive driving experiences, characterised by the unmistakeably Italian style and elegance typical of all Maserati activities.

At the Varano De' Melegari racing track, near Parma, in Italy, a fleet of fifteen cars, all part of the current Maserati production range and coordinated by the former Formula 1 driver Andrea de Adamich, each equipped with an audio-video recording system, will be made available to course participants to learn various driving techniques and emergency manoeuvres.

The driving experiences include the classic “Master GT” one or two days' course, the more recently designed "Master High Performance" course for more experienced drivers, and the "Master Italian Lifestyle Experience", encompassing all the most iconic, captivating elements of Italian lifestyle: luxury, art, fashion, and most significantly, racing performance.

In preparation of the 2015 Maserati Trofeo, the “Trofeo Racing Academy” will also be reintroduced. This project is the highest expression of Maserati Driving Courses. It is a professional racing training program which may lead to competing in one or more 2015 Trofeo World Series races, or just ensure fun-filled but safe track days, thanks to the participants' improved on-track performance and competitiveness.

Participation is reserved for experienced drivers with high-performance road vehicle driving skills - with or without previous track experience. The programme includes 2 training days, with both theoretical sessions and practical sessions. At the end of the Trofeo Racing Academy, participants may take a 2,000 cc racing car driving test, required by the Italian National Federation (CSAI) to be able to compete in the Maserati Trofeo.

Maserati's 2014: A YEAR OF COMMERCIAL SUCCESSES

Eight months of unstoppable commercial success for Maserati, with the vast majority of the markets in which the Trident manufacturer is active, recording considerable sale increases over the previous year.

In North America, 8,151 units were delivered to customers for a +312% total increase, while in China, where the total sales were 5,488 cars, the increase over the same period of 2013 was close to +650%.

The increasing growth trend has also continued through all the main European markets; the figure reached is 4,183 total deliveries to customers since the beginning of 2014, with an average increase of almost +400% compared to the results obtained in the first eight months of last year.

One of the main factors behind this achievement is the consolidation of Italy's role as the top European market. New registrations in the first eight months of 2014 are up to as many as 898 cars, +600% compared to the same period of 2013.

In the other world markets where Maserati is active, 3,050 units were delivered, with a +216% increase over the same period of 2013.