Andrea Pininfarina, head of the famed Italian design firm that bears his family name died Thursday morning in a motorcycle accident after a car collided with the Vespa he was riding to the company’s design and r&d center in Cambiano. Pininfarina, who was 51, had been Chief Executive Officer of Pininfarina S.p.A. since 2001 and Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2006. Andrea Pininfarina was the grandson of the founder of the firm, Battista “Pinin” Farina. The death of Andrea Pininfarina comes at a time when the family-controlled company is in the midst of a crucial restructuring after Pininfarina’s consolidated net loss increased from €21.9 million in 2006 to €114.9 million in 2007.

The Vitaphone Maserati team took a dominant 1-2 finish in this weekend’s 24 Hours of Spa.

The No.1 car of Andrea Bertolini, Michael Bartels, Stephane Sarrazin, and Eric van der Poele took the victory, two laps clear of Xandi Negrao, Miguel Ramos, Alessandro Pier Guidi, and Stephane Lemeret in the sister car.

continue reading "Maserati MC12 WINS this weekend’s 24 Hours of Spa"

As of August 1st, Harald J. Wester will take on the office of Chief Executive Officer of Maserati, in replacement of Roberto Ronchi who leaves the Group at his own request. Mr. Wester will maintain his current positions as Chief Technical Officer of Fiat Group and Fiat Group Automobiles.

continue reading "Harald J. Wester named as Maserati New CEO"

The Versione Corse is the mandatory production version for the homologation of Maserati’s MC12 GT1 race car from the FIA GT-championship – the same car that won the Manufacturers’ Championship back in 2005. Under the rulings, twelve cars must be manufactured and sold to the public and the first of these race-cars built for the road is now up for sale. The car is being sold in auction in Germany and bidding has already reached €1.45 million (approximately $2.25 million).

continue reading "First Maserati MC12 Corsa (Road Legal)for sale"

Leaving aside the subtle design tweaks, the biggest change in the 2009 Maserati Quattroporte is the introduction of a new range-topping model dubbed the Quattroporte S. While the standard version is fitted with the familiar 400 Hp 4.2-litre V8 engine, the Quattroporte S adopts the new 430 Hp 4.7-litre V8 recently introduced on the GranTurismo S. Both versions of the Quattroporte are matted to a 6-speed automatic transmission developed in association with ZF.

continue reading "2009 Maserati Quattroporte Facelift"

Maserati opens up its stunning GranTurismo coupe.

Except the roof the convertible will be the same as its coupe sister, although it is likely the 434bhp 4.7-liter V8 from the current GranTurismo S will feature as standard to compensate for the extra burden of a complicated folding roof – the coupe already tips the scales at over 1,800kg.

Maserati’s GranTurismo Convertible will hit showrooms in March 2009.