Maserati Joins Forces with Fendi to Create GranCabrio Special

At the upcoming Frankfurt auto show, Maserati will display a new special edition version of its sleek GranCabrio designed by Italian fashion house Fendi, which is best known for its expensive "baguette" handbags.
The Fendi treatment starts with a unique three-layered body color named Grigio Fiamma Fendiand which is described by the automaker as a special dark grey with an iridescent golden finish on the surface. The yellow brake callipers and the Fendi logo on the 20-inch Trident design alloy wheels complete the exterior touches.
There's a lot more going on inside as the special edition of the GranCabrio is all dressed up in bespoke materials and colors.
For starters, there's the Pergamena Fendi wood trim that runs across the width of the dashboard, on the doors and on the top of the gear lever, while the seats, instrument cluster cover, the gear lever and the floor mat surrounds are covered in Fendi's high-quality Cuoio Romano leather.
The Italian design house's logos make their appearance on the headrests, rocker panels, on the dashboard, in front of the passenger seat, and on both sides of the black cloth folding top.
Fendi has also designed a Limited Edition Travel Set of luggage and accessories for the GranCabrio.
Power comes from the standard Maserati's 4.7-liter V8 engine coupled with an automatic transmission.

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Maserati UK Introduces New Sport Pack

A new sport package has been added to the available options for buyers of Maserati's GranTurismo S Automatic in Britain.

This Sport pack is said to enhance the GranTurismo S Automatic's performance by adding the MC Auto Shift software that allows for faster gear changes and a revised exhaust system, which keeps its bypass valves fully open in Sport mode to provide what the company describes as "an even richer sound".
The package also adds a variety of styling features including include body colored side skirts and front winglets, a black grille featuring the Maserati Trident logo with red accents, black mesh side grilles, smoked out headlights, an integrated rear boot lid spoiler and oval exhaust pipes.
The coupe's sportier looks are rounded off with Grigio Mercury Neptune-design alloy wheels.
Maserati says the 4.7-litre V8 continues to develop 440HP at 7000 rpm and a peak torque of 490Nm (361.4 lb-ft) at 4750 rpm offering the automatic coupe a 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 5 seconds flat and a top speed of 183 mph (295 km/h).
The package is priced at £3,840, lifting the total price of the GranTurismo S Automatic to £92,480 on the road.

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Investigators Uncover Multi-Million Pound Tax Scam in India; European Exotics And Foreign Diplomats

In what sounds more like the plot of a The Fast and the Furious movie than real life, investigators at India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence office (a.k.a. India’s IRS) have uncovered a massive exotic car smuggling operation in the nation’s capital of New Dehli. It all has to do with India’s notorious 100% import tax on new luxury vehicles.
It began with one New Dehli luxury car dealer, Sumit Walia, importing brand new luxury cars on forged invoices. These invoices listed the cars as second-hand, which saved Walia – and his customers – some 40% on import tax. Some of the cars – which included Porsches, Bentleys and Aston Martins – were found to have been stolen from the streets of Britain, France, Singapore and Japan.
A month later, another scam – involving a London-based British-Indian car dealer and diplomats from New Delhi’s North Korean and Vietnamese embassies was uncovered. The diplomats would act as middle-men for rich buyers; buying the exotics under their names and therefore getting them tax-free. An official Directorate of Revenue Intelligence office had this to say about the investigation:
“Our investigators suspect around 300 to 400 luxury cars have been imported on fake papers and sold in all major cities across India using the same modus-operandi. The cars have been sold to politicians, celebrities, cricketers, Bollywood actors and many businessmen in the last four to five years.”
Some 40 cars have been impounded, including several Porsche Panameras and Aston Martin Rapides valued at £250,000 and £290,000 per unit. A £350,000 Bentley Continental Supersport was also among those vehicles recovered. Other vehicles have simply been abandoned by their owners on the streets of New Dehli. Investigators found that most of these vehicles were either illegally registered or displayed temporary plates.

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Alfa Romeo 4C: Spawn Maserati, Abarth Variants

If Alfa Romeo wanted tο get peοple talking with the debut οf its 4C concept in Geneva, they succeeded. The Internet is abuzz with rumοrs οf its production pοtential. There have already been repοrts that the Alfa will spearhead the marque's full-fledged return tο North America, tο be followed by bοth Spider and Abarth versions. Nοw, wοrd is that Maserati cοuld get a derivative, either.

If the reports prοve accurate and the spinoffs cοme tο fruition, that wοuld mean three brands within the Fiat group will get their οwn versions οf the lightweight, mid-engined, fοur-cylinder sports car.

And that's befοre any οf the Chrysler brands get a crack at it, because a Dodge version tο pick up where the Circuit concept left οff could be mοst tempting. The Maserati version wοuld naturally be positioned and appοinted differently frοm the Alfa οr Abarth models. The questiοn is whether the market can bear mοre than οne Elise rival from Fiat/Chrysler, let alοne multiples.

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New 2012 Maserati GranCabrio Sport

The 2012 Maserati GranCabrio Sport - (2011 geneva auto show) engine produces in this configuration 331 kw (450 horsepower) and has 510 nm at the peak of its rich, thick torque. Maserati grancabrio sport heads to geneva - photos 2012 maserati grancabrio sport published on 23 feb 2011 the new maserati sport grancabrio with new levels of performance, handling, powerful and fuel-efficient.