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Sketches
of the new Maserati Coupé, scheduled for its
international debut at the Geneva Motor Show in three
weeks time have been revealed by the new sports car's
designer Pininfarina.
The sketches, from the hand of
Pininfarina’s well-regarded
Jason Castriota, show a
dynamic and sharp design, which also evokes many
historic Maserati models
such as the 1960 Tipo 61
Birdcage, Pininfarina A6 GCS
of 1954 and the later Sebring of 1964. Despite this, the
car is an avant-garde design and cannot be described as
retro. The line combines organic and geometric shapes,
spawning a sculptural and athletic appearance.
The low nose is dominated by the
traditional Maserati grille,
now set to incorporate vertical concave bars, with a
large trident badge centrally mounted. Whereas it has
strong Maserati DNA, the
nose isn’t at all similar to the
Quattroporte, and the general shape of the
bodywork is far sharper than that of the outgoing 4200
Coupé.
Despite this, it is referred to in some circles as the “Quattroporte
Coupé”.
Its low bonnet is broken by a large bulge to accommodate
the car’s V8 engine. On either side, the bonnet is
offset by sharply defined wings, giving the front of the
car a well-planted and aggressive look.
At the rear the car is again
characterised by muscular wings. The rear glass frame
has kicked top sections, whereas the rear optical units
are triangular in shape. In pure character of the
marque’s valuable heritage,
the chopped tail echoes that of the classic Sebring
model.
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The sketches, from the hand of
Pininfarina’s
well-regarded Jason Castriota,
show a dynamic and sharp design, which also evokes
many historic Maserati
models such as the 1960 Tipo
61 Birdcage, Pininfarina
A6 GCS of 1954 and the later Sebring of 1964. |
|
|
 |
|
Sketches
of the new Maserati Coupé, scheduled for its
international debut at the Geneva Motor Show in
three weeks time have been revealed by the new
sports car's designer Pininfarina. |
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|
Quad exhaust outlets will be neatly packaged in a full-width
slit arranged around the rear diffuser. The new
Coupé,
the name of which is still secret, will provide more
interior space than its direct competitor: the Bentley GT.
The overall length of the car will be around 150 mm shorter
than the Quattroporte sports
saloon, on which it is based. At launch, speculation points
to the car receiving either the same 4.2-litre V8 engine
which is fitted to the current range or the new 4.7-litre
version which made its debut in the production Alfa 8C
Competizione last September; the unit will be available with
both the 6-speed ZF fully automatic and
Cambiocorsa semi-automatic transmissions.
Already presented behind stage to dealers
at the Paris Motor Show, the new
Coupé
received very enthusiastic reviews about the new design,
many believing that it is set to become one of the most
stunning production sports cars of recent times. A waiting
list of at least 6 months is expected until production
starts later in the year, and the price will be higher than
that of the outgoing
Coupé
model. A high-powered GranSport
version, and Spyder sister model
will follow.
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