GENEVA - Maserati shows new products.

The MC Stradale will be the star on the Maserati stand, alongside all the new Quattroporte versions as they make their European debut

From the moment the spotlight hits the new range - starting with the new Quattroporte, set to make its European debut at the Geneva Motorshow - Maserati reminds us of those luxury sports models which provided the basis for the brand's growth.

In line with this philosophy, Geneva will see the world debut of the new four seater GranTurismo MC Stradale, the optimum expression of sportiness combined with the luxury of a coupé made in Modena. Although the new Quattroporte is the first Maserati to be built at the new Avvocato Giovanni Agnelli plant in Grugliasco (Turin), the GranTurismo MC Stradale will be built at the historic factory in Viale Ciro Menotti in Modena.

Just like the previous two seater version, the new four seater GranTurismo MC Stradale takes its inspiration from the racing version which competes in the Maserati Trofeo Championship, offering the perfect combination of sportiness, luxury and elegance, comfort and style, functionality and dynamism that can now be enjoyed by four people. The new aesthetic exterior features, with their clear racing edge, are highlighted by the new carbon fibre bonnet which frames an important central air intake and two rear extractors and the new forged 20" alloy rims. The new GranTurismo MC Stradale boasts a cabin that has four comfortable seats and an interior design featuring new materials and style.

Also confirmed, the 4.7 litre, 460 HP aspirated V8 engine which made its debut in the GranTurismo Sport and is now, with its installation on the new GranTurismo MC Stradale, present throughout the entire 4.7 litre GranTurismo range. Combined with an MC Race Shift 6-speed electro actuated gearbox, this engine ensures outstanding performance - with a top speed of 303 km/h (188mph) - which can be enjoyed in this new four passenger configuration. The safety of the vehicle is guaranteed by the Brembo carbon ceramic brake disks. In keeping with Maserati's principles, the new GranTurismo MC Stradale makes the most of the work invested in the previous model in terms of reducing fuel consumption and emissions.

GRANTURISMO MC STRADALE

Maserati has turned its beautiful and potent GranTurismo MC Stradale into a machine that is just as fast but even more practical, technically advanced and even more beautiful.

First launched in 2010, the two-seat GranTurismo MC Stradale took development ideas from its Trofeo racing cars seamlessly blending them into its GranTurismo coupe. This year Maserati took those ideas and evolved its light-weight two-seat super coupe into the four-seat 2013 GranTurismo MC Stradale.

Its all-new carbon-fibre bonnet not only creates high-speed downforce and improves cooling, but also means the four-seat GranTurismo MC Stradale retains almost the same dry weight as the discontinued two-seat version (1700 kg.). This means it continues to be the lightest and fastest car in the Maserati GranTurismo range, even though it now offers comfort to four adults instead of two.

The ongoing development of the GranTurismo MC Stradale also proves that Maserati has not neglected the importance of its two-door coupe range even with the world’s focus on its all-new Quattroporte model.

Powered by the most potent version of Maserati’s 4.7-litre V8 engine, the GranTurismo MC Stradale hits 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds on its way to a top speed of 303km/h (188mph).

The GranTurismo MC Stradale utilises the most powerful 460CV (338kW) version of the 4.7-litre V8 and mates this to the lightning-fast gear shifts from its six-speed electro-actuated “MC Race Shift” transaxle gearbox.

Drawn from the GranTurismo Sport, this version of the classic 4.7-litre V8 benefits from diamond-like coating of its tappets and camshaft lobes as part of Maserati’s Low Friction Program to be both powerful and fuel efficient.

The transaxle gearbox layout not only helps the GranTurismo MC Stradale to retain an ideal 48:52 front-to-rear weight distribution, but also incorporates the brilliant MC Race gear shifting strategy that allows it to change to higher gears in just 60 ms, 5 times faster than a blink of an eye. The transaxle layout means that it sits in the same housing as the asymmetrical limited slip differential.

The powertrain package also delivers its drivers the choice of Automatic, Sport and Race modes, with each level delivering additional rewards in the throttle response, the exhaust note and the skid-control systems.

In another lesson drawn from its racing experiences, the gearbox also offers Sequential Downshifting, where the driver can simply hold the downshift paddle in while braking and allow the car to change to sequentially lower gears until the paddle is released.

All of the dynamic performance the GranTurismo MC Stradale generates is backed up by some of the most powerful brakes in production, with enormous carbon-ceramic brake disks at all four corners.

The brake master cylinder has a diameter of 27mm to add consistent power and deliver a shorter pedal stroke than the standard car. The front brake package has 380mm x 34mm brake disks and six-piston calipers, while the rear has 360mm x 32mm discs and four-piston calipers.

It also rides four 20-inch forged alloy wheels that are lighter than the standard wheels, while Pirelli has developed its PZero Corsa tyres (255/35 ZR20 at the front and 295/35 ZR20 at the rear) specifically to deliver more mid-corner grip and progression for this layout.

The suspension and chassis layout enhance the already-impressive track performance of the GranTurismo MC Stradale without losing any of its abilities as a day-to-day car.

Its chassis poise was developed to be easy to drive and as comfortable as possible to retain all of the inherent handling, ride and stability benefits of the GranTurismo’s long wheelbase.

This long (2938mm) wheelbase is the key which unlocks the GranTurismo MC Stradale’s broad range of handling abilities across different conditions, allowing it to switch from a super-aggressive track car to a city commuter or autobahn express in the time it takes for the driver’s mood to change.

It has the speed to be a road-legal racing car, with its ride height lowered by 10mm at the front and 12mm at the rear compared to the standard GranTurismo Sport, yet it has the progressive handling to be considered an extremely usable super-sports car.

The car has been developed specifically to be comfortable, progressive, balanced and entertaining for all drivers, while its Race mode is designed to deliver fast lap times in complete security.

Another key to the delivery of this potential has been the retention of the 2012 GranTurismo MC Stradale’s aerodynamic benefits with the addition of the sculpted carbon-fibre bonnet. With lessons taken directly from the Trofeo and GT4 racing programs, the bonnet contains an air inlet vent and two hot air extraction vents and delivers the twin benefits of reducing weight and adding 25 percent more frontal downforce at 140 km/h (86mph).

Developed from both track feedback and complex computational fluid dynamics (CFD) research, the new bonnet adds high-speed stability without increasing drag, largely by relieving under-bonnet pressure.

The new carbon-fibre engine cover joins a host of other Trofeo-derived aerodynamic updates that add high-speed stability and efficiency through the air. These include a deep front splitter integrated into the front bumper, deep functional side skirts, a re-profiled rear bumper and a pronounced rear lip spoiler on the boot.

All of these units combine as one integrated aerodynamic device to use the entire length of the car to generate downforce and to refocus the air from the engine and brake cooling systems into areas of maximum downforce and minimum turbulence.

Its black grille and the red accents on the Trident mark it as one of Maserati’s MC range even to casual observers, but some of the biggest developments have been inside the Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale, where four lightweight seats replace the two seats from the discontinued 2010 two-seat version.

Front seats utilise carbon fibre back to achieve their low weight and also cater for Maserati’s traditional luxury with a combination of leather and Alcantara trims. All four seats also have integrated head restraints for safety and support.

The standard trims are soft black. The seats can be delivered with Alcantara with “drilled” perforations to achieve a stylish, practical finish, coupled with red stitching to match the accents on the grille’s Trident.

The Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale has three steering wheel options, all of which have multi-function buttons and a flat-bottomed section on the circumference.

They can be delivered in full leather, a combination of leather and Alcantara or a combination of leather and carbon-fibre.

To continue its more aggressive interior theme, the Maserati GranTurismo MC’s gearshift paddles are longer than those in other GranTurismos in order to facilitate easier gear shifting in more demanding driving situations, and come in concert with perforated aluminium pedals.

QUATTROPORTE EUROPEAN PREMIERE V6 AND V8

The 2013 Geneva Motor Show also sees the European premiere of Maserati’s all-new Quattroporte range:

• Quattroporte GTS (V8 twin turbo charged, 530 horsepower and rear wheel drive)
• Quattroporte S Q4 (V6 twin turbo charged, 410 horsepower and all-wheel drive system)
• Quattroporte S (V6 twin turbo charged, 410 horsepower and rear wheel drive)

The new flagship of the Maserati product range, the Quattroporte is larger, lighter, more luxurious and more practical than the globally acclaimed car it replaces. With a 307km/h top speed, it’s also as fast as most two-door supercars.

The sixth-generation Quattroporte sets the high-technology tone for Maserati’s upcoming new-model onslaught, but also remains faithful to Maserati’s long history in luxury sports saloons.

The powerful engine and the large cabin are at the core of the Quattroporte’s design, dominated by a long, powerful nose and a concave Trident grille and providing a clear link to both the outgoing Quattroporte and the GranTurismo.

Even with all of its new technology, the new Quattroporte remains true to Maserati’s roots. Its V8 twin turbo makes it not only the fastest four-door Maserati ever built, but also the most powerful and the most economical as well.

The direct-injection engine family will boast a 3.8-litre V8 and a 3.0-litre V6, both of which are all new, twin turbo charged, designed by Maserati Powertrain and assembled by Ferrari at Maranello.

The 3.8-litre V8 engine provides Maserati’s new performance benchmark, reaching 100km/h in just 4.7 seconds and achieving a 307km/h (191mph) top speed. It is 20km/h faster than the Quattroporte Sport GT S and has up to 200Nm more torque as well. The V6 twin turbo doesn’t lack for performance, either, reaching 285km/h (177mph) top speed and accelerating from 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds.

The V8 delivers 390kW (530hp) of power and 710Nm of torque (in overboost), while the V6 stretches out to 301kW (410CV) and 550Nm of torque.

With an eight-speed automatic transmission and both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive (Q4) configurations, the Q4 all-wheel drive configuration available with V6 engine only, it is also the most secure all-weather performance car in Maserati’s history.

The intelligent Q4 all-wheel-drive system has been engineered to be compact and lightweight. It has been studied and developed to guarantee the highest traction and torque as well as comfort in all conditions, with optimised consumption.

Q4 is an exclusive all-wheel-drive Maserati system; intelligent and active:

- Intelligent: the Q4 system is able to engage traction on the front wheels, that are otherwise passive, only when needed in order to lower consumption and enhance handling.

- Active: the Q4 system varies continuously, moment by moment, and processes a wide range of parameters to distribute torque to all four wheels as required.

To offset its scintillating performance, the V8 Maserati Quattroporte has lowered both its fuel consumption and emissions by 20 percent over the outgoing Quattroporte.

The all-new architecture retains the Quattroporte’s traditionally exquisite handling thanks to its 50:50 weight distribution, a double-wishbone front suspension and a state-of-the-art five-link rear suspension. It can now deliver the added security and all-weather assurance of all-wheel drive as well.

It also delivers new standards in quality in every area from design, development, fabrication and process controls. Produced in the new “Avv. Giovanni Agnelli” plant, located in Grugliasco (Turin), it combines Maserati’s traditions of craftsmanship with cutting-edge technologies that are able to guarantee outstanding and constant quality.

Traditional hand crafted detailing continues in the Quattroporte’s cabin, and this has been added to with even more interior space in all seats and both four- and five-seat layouts.

Cabin luxury leaps forward technically, too, with features like the Maserati Touch Control screen, adjustable pedals (left hand drive only), reversing cameras and the optional 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkins Premium Surround audio system (1280W), as well as compatibility with most modern mobile phone systems.

With the original Quattroporte in 1963, Maserati invented the concept of the luxury sports saloon and the new Quattroporte continues to be the benchmark for high quality engineering, supercar performance and limousine comfort.

GRANCABRIO MC

After making its global debut at the Paris International Motor Show in September 2012, the GranCabrio MC has already proven to be an enormous success for Maserati.

Even over the northern hemisphere’s winter months, Maserati has seen sustained interest in the GranCabrio MC thanks to its position as the fastest open-topped Maserati in the current range.

Like the GranTurismo MC Stradale, the GranCabrio MC utilises the range-topping 338kW (460hp) version of the 4.7-litre V8 engine, which also develops 520Nm of torque at 4750rpm.

Combined with the six-speed automatic transmission’s MC Auto Shift configuration, it can reach 100km/h in just 4.9 seconds and, with the soft-top roof in its closed configuration, can reach a top speed of 289km/h (179mph).

The GranCabrio MC combines high performance and sports characteristics derived from Maserati’s racing programs with the style, charm and practicality of the acclaimed four-seat convertible.

Inspired by the success of the GranTurismo MC Stradale’s masterly translation and adaptation of racing characteristics for use on the road, the GranCabrio MC completes the open-top range with a highly sporty and aggressive look, while maintaining the strengths and characteristics of a true grand tourer, ideal for long journeys.

The athletic look of the GranCabrio MC can be seen in each design element in its bodywork, which blends sportiness, dynamism, aerodynamic functionality, elegance and style.

The car is 48mm longer than the GranCabrio and GranCabrio Sport and is characterised by a grille and front splitter inspired directly from the MC Stradale to reduce lift and optimise airflow.

At 140km/h (86mph), the GranCabrio MC’s coefficient of lift is 10 percent lower at the front and 25 percent lower at the rear compared to the GranCabrio.

Its bonnet incorporates to generous air outlet vents in its centre to maximise cooling for the perfectly balanced 4.7-litre V8 and it adopts new headlights with LED daytime running lights.

The rear aerodynamics are highlighted by a larger rear spoiler integrated into the boot lid and incorporating the GranCabrio MC’s third brake light.

Beneath the boot lid, the rear bumper has been redesigned to improve its aerodynamic efficiency and to incorporate the repositioning of the exhausts into the centre. There are also new air ducts built into the lower part of the bumper, which stabilise the airflow from beneath the body.

The GranCabrio MC rides on 20-inch tyres, wrapped around flow-formed alloy wheels in either the glossy Titanio or matt Grafite schemes.

Inside, the GranCabrio MC has new seats, which are more functional and aesthetically redesigned to set new standards of comfort, performance, elegance and functionality. The headrest is incorporated into the body of both the front and rear seats and the front seats have been redesigned to give the rear-seat passengers an extra 20mm of legroom.

All four passengers will ride in a GranCabrio MC that has single-rate dampers to maximise the car’s sporty character and deliver greater rigidity in order to ensure optimum road holding in all driving conditions, without detracting from maximum passenger comfort.

The GranCabrio MC benefits from Maserati’s patented Dual Cast braking system, which includes cast iron brake discs with an aluminium bell. The braking system provides a 35 metre stopping distance from 100km/h thanks to six-piston front and four-piston rear callipers.