2012 Maserati Quattroporte To Be Cleaner & Better-Positioned Against German Rivals

There is no escaping the trend of growing emphasis on fuel economy and emissions level, not even for a traditional sports-car brand like Maserati. According to company CEO Harald Wester, the next-generation Quattroporte will be 15 percent lighter and 25 percent lower on fuel consumption and emissions compared to the current Quattroporte.

To achieve those objectives, the upcoming model will feature start-stop technology and smaller-capacity V6 and V8 engines, among others. A ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic transmission, which further improves drivetrain efficiency, will be fitted as standard to better position the Maserati against BMW 7-Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

Despite the associated extra weight and efficiency impairment, an all-wheel-drive system will be offered too, Wester says, so that the new Quattroporte will not lose out on equipment count against the German rivals. More details will be revealed nearer to the car's launch in late 2011 as a 2012 model.

AboutSeow Yaohan

Seow Yao Han strives to bring you the latest and the most comprehensive information on cars available in Malaysia. But it's never easy for him to talk and write cars in this part of the world because what you lust after is often not what you drive home. When the euphoria of test-driving that branded, super-expensive sports car dies down, he just goes home in his less-than-glamorous ride.