Maserati has announced it will be unveiling the 2014 Quattroporte at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. In lieu of waiting for the exact figures, we decided to lay out a bit of a preview.
Standing as Maserati’s flagship sedan, the Quattroporte will be lighter, longer, more powerful, more fun to drive, and more eco-friendly. With the new Quattroporte, and the other new Maserati offerings, the company hopes to up their annual sales to 50,000 units per year by 2015, which would represent a tenfold sales increase.
Maserati has described the updated lines of the Quattroporte as “harmony of shapes, dynamism of lines, Italian elegance.” With a stronger belt line that runs the length of the vehicle and frameless doors as well as three side windows.
The out-going Quattroporte was only available with one engine and transmission configuration: a 4.7-liter V8 mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. For 2014, Maserati will offer a V8 and perhaps a turbocharged V6 engine as well as a few transmission options. Maserati has claimed the Quattroporte will be eco-friendlier but hasn’t said exactly how. While a hybrid is unlikely at this time, we assume engine options will simply run more efficiently and put out fewer carbons.
While the engines will be proprietarily Maserati, their research and development has been a joint venture of Maserati and Ferrari in Italy’s infamous motor valley. In fact, the engines will be produced in Ferrari’s Maranello assembly plant.
Come January at the unveiling in Detroit, we will be sure to have a full rundown of the full 2014 Quattroporte.
