Maserati Alfieri concept (2014) first official pictures

By Ollie Kew

First Official Pictures

04 March 2014 09:00

This beauty is the Maserati Alfieri concept. It’s a 460bhp, V8-powered coupe that points to the styling of the next GranTurismo, and Maserati’s soon-to-swell range of sports cars.With Maserati in the midst of a massive expansion programme, we’re getting used to seeing Maserati SUV concepts and diesel saloon cars at motor shows. Refreshing to see Maser take on the Porsche 911 again, isn’t it?

Anyone else reckon the Maserati Alfieri owes the Jaguar F-type Coupe a paternity test? That raked rear screen, and the way in which it flows into the squat rear haunches: very Ian Callum. Very F-type, in other words. Still, you can never have too many pretty cars on the road…

The Alfieri concept car is made from carbonfibre, but Maserati insiders confirm that the production cars it will spawn (read: next GranTurismo, GranCabrio and so on) will be aluminium bodied, with some composite panels to conform to the weight-saving zeitgeist. Also included on the concept car are carbon-ceramic brakes straight from the hardcore GranTurismo MC Stradale.

An in-house design team has been entrusted with the Alfieri project, not Pininfarina. They were apparently inspired by the classic Maserati A6 GCS-53, and cues like the cab-back stance and exaggerated bonnet length have been carried over onto the Geneva concept car.

Take the all-aluminium wheels: they measure 20in up front, and 21in on the rear, yet their decorative designs are inspired by wire-spoke wheels from the 1950s. A modern design with retro garnish – that’s the crux of the Alfieri concept.

Underneath, the concept car sits on a GranTurimso MC Stradale chassis that’s had a whopping 240mm chopped out of the wheelbase. It should be agile then – and that points to a whole new era for sporting Maseratis. Click here for CAR’s complete scoop on those next-gen Masers.

It’s less production-ready than the outside, which frankly looks like a good-to-go Ghibli coupe. Inside the 2+2 Alfieri, Maserati has gone for minimalist modernism: it takes the button-free approach of the Ghibli to extremes, in the best concept car tradition.

The instrument panel uses TFT displays rather than analogue dials. The numbers rotate around the dials rather than a needle, with a magnifying-glass effect accentuating the current speed and RPM.  The screens complement a larger screen in the car’s dashboard.

Single aluminium billets have been milled to create the gear selector and trademark oval clock, and the pedals, gearshift paddles and steering wheel’s spokes are also aluminium. Meanwhile, the bucket front seats are inspired by 1950s racing bucket chairs. There’s one feature we hope remains resolutely a concept car flourish…

By Ollie Kew