Plans for the trident extend beyond Marchionne’s tenure.
FCA boss Sergio Marchionne might not be much longer for his position at the helm of the Italian-American auto conglomerate, but he’s laying plans to ensure that the company goes from strength to strength even after his departure. Focusing on Italian sports car maker Maserati, Marchionne intends to improve the company’s newfound success, on the back of the Levante SUV.
The success of Levante will spur the development of two more models: One smaller SUV to sit beneath the Levante (more big-bucks for Maserati), and one very important, all-new sports car.
With the Levante now racking up more sales than anything else in the lineup, Maserati is at risk of losing a lot of the identity that the company trades on. A hallowed name in the world of exotic sports cars, the Maserati trident and the story behind it played a huge role in the success of the Levante, since our review of it revealed that little else (like agility and performance) was carried through into the big off-roader.
As such, a new sports car will sit as a halo for the brand, serve as a ‘design template’ of sorts to preview the future design direction for Maserati, and also be a tool in cementing Maserati’s reputation for making beautiful, engaging, drool-inducing cars. And, it’ll be called the Alfieri.
Alfieri isn’t a new name. In fact, the first time it was associated with Maserati was back in 2014, when it was presented to the world at the Geneva motor show as a concept car to gauge reactions. However, the car has faced multiple delays since then as focus shifted towards the Levante SUV, but now it seems the company has enough capital to expend on such a venture.
The new Alfieri will “capture years of Italian design,” according to Maserati boss Tim Kuniskis. He went on to reveal to Autonews Europe that the Alfieri will eventually hit the market with no less than there powertrain options, including a plug-in hybrid. The most potent of all the models will go from rest to 100km/h in just 2-seconds, with a top speed past 300km/h.
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