Unveiled at the Geneva International Motorshow 2014, the Alfieri Concept Car celebrates Maserati’s centenary, while also honouring engineer Alfieri Maserati, founder of the Officine Alfieri Maserati and perhaps the most prominent of the Maserati brothers.
Alfieri Concept is actually more than an idea. It’s a statement of intent for Maserati. It proves, once again, that Maserati is a sportscar leader to its very core, paving the way for the continuation of Maserati’s racing legacy.
Inside, the story continues. Exuding the luxury of simplicity, the cockpit is pared back to the essentials, a little like the racing Maseratis of the 1950s. The cockpit layout is a classic 2+2 design with an open space for luggage behind the rear seats.
Its design is simple but not spartan, so you can relax into the Poltrona Frau soft leather seats and admire the anodised aluminium dash and centre console, with a gear lever and clock fashioned from solid blocks of aluminium.
Gazing at the Alfieri, you’d be forgiven for thinking its design is inspired by vintage classics like the 1953 Maserati A6GCS-53 – that cosy sports cockpit set behind the long, sleek bonnet bonnet.
Alfieri is far more than a retrospective though. It may be packed with superb engineering like the triple air ducts on the wheel arches and the Bi-Xenon headlights, but its ethos is truly modern, clean and uncluttered, with its shark-like sweeping lines and a deep, double-concave grille which forgoes its useful chrome surround, so it seems to float.
“The light weight and feel of the design is very important” said designer Marco Tencone of the Alfieri. “Everything is pulled in so as not to give the feeling of a massive car.” With the Alfieri’s design, less is certainly more.
It may be a concept – but it’s an incredibly realistic one. Powered by a 4.7 litre, naturally aspirated V8 engine, the Alfieri delivers an awesome 460bhp at 7,000 rpm.
Its six-speed, electro-actuated gearbox is mounted in a single unit with a limited slip rear differential, connected to the engine through a rigid torque tube. The transaxle is engineered to give the Alfieri optimised front-rear weight distribution, with carbon ceramic Brembo brakes for tremendous stopping power.
Delivering true supercar performance, the Alfieri shares its engine and transmission with the GranTurismo MC Stradale, but is shorter and lighter, and takes its truer inspiration from the classic Maserati A6 GCS grand tourers built between 1947 and 1956.
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