The Porsche 911 has a new rival on the horizon, as Maserati today confirmed it will put the Alfieri concept into production. First shown at the 2014 Geneva motor show, the Alfieri will be built in both coupe and convertible forms, and it’ll share its rear- and four-wheel drive platform with a range of new Alfa Romeos. Maserati’s chief technology officer, Harald Wester, made the announcement today in Detroit, at Fiat-Chrysler HQ, as part of a wider announcement of the group’s five-year plans.
What spec will the Maserati Alfieri be sold in?
The Alfieri will be offered in three guises, kicking off with a rear-drive entry-level model powered by a 410bhp V6, a mid-level 450bhp all-wheel drive version, and a flagship 520bhp V6 all-wheel drive model. Prices will start at around £70,000 when it arrives in late 2016.
And because the Alfieri will be limited to V6 power, that leaves room for a new GranTurismo. It will remain a 2+2 but won’t arrive until around 2018, when the sole powertrain (at least initially) will be a 560bhp+ V8. As yet, Maserati hasn’t confirmed a GranCabrio version.
What else is coming from Maserati?
The Levante SUV, which we expect to see in 2015, and it will play a significant part in Maserati’s goal to sell 75,000 vehicles a year by 2018 – a whopping five-fold sale increase from the 15,400 in shifted in 2013. The Levante will use the same 560bhp V8 as the GranTurismo, and there’ll be 350bhp and 425bhp petrol-fed V6s as well, while in Europe three diesel V6s will range from 250bhp to 340bhp. Four-wheel drive will be standard on all Levante models.
>> Is the Alfieri the car to take on the Porsche 911? Let us know in the comments below