Joined
·
695 Posts
Maserati Head of Vehicle Engineering, Paul Fickers:
"Our whole objective, not just with the GranTurismo but also with the Quattroporte, has been to retain Maserati's unique DNA but also attract those Mercedes and BMW customers. Many of our customers love the added edge and aggression of the Quattroporte's DuoSelect paddle-shift transmission, but for others it has been a barrier. Some customers felt intimidated by it, thinking it was somehow more complicated because they couldn't simply slot a lever into "D" and drive. Now we're hearing those same customers say how much they love the Quattroporte Automatic's gearshift paddles."
Further on in the article, Ficker says that the GT suspension settings will be 30-40 percent firmer than on the Quattroporte. The initial production run will be GranTurismo Automatics with a Duo Select version to "follow soon after".
Maserati Technical Director, Jean Luc Brossard on the future:
"Our sales are growing by roughly 30 per cent per year. We expect to produce between 7000 and 7500 units by the end of 2007: 5000 QPs, the rest GTs. The capacity of our Modena factory is 10,000 units, which we hope to reach by 2009. To continue growing, and to make Maserati a truly healthy company, a third model is essential...(long pause)...although obvisously I'm not going to tell you what this is just yet."
"Our whole objective, not just with the GranTurismo but also with the Quattroporte, has been to retain Maserati's unique DNA but also attract those Mercedes and BMW customers. Many of our customers love the added edge and aggression of the Quattroporte's DuoSelect paddle-shift transmission, but for others it has been a barrier. Some customers felt intimidated by it, thinking it was somehow more complicated because they couldn't simply slot a lever into "D" and drive. Now we're hearing those same customers say how much they love the Quattroporte Automatic's gearshift paddles."
Further on in the article, Ficker says that the GT suspension settings will be 30-40 percent firmer than on the Quattroporte. The initial production run will be GranTurismo Automatics with a Duo Select version to "follow soon after".
Maserati Technical Director, Jean Luc Brossard on the future:
"Our sales are growing by roughly 30 per cent per year. We expect to produce between 7000 and 7500 units by the end of 2007: 5000 QPs, the rest GTs. The capacity of our Modena factory is 10,000 units, which we hope to reach by 2009. To continue growing, and to make Maserati a truly healthy company, a third model is essential...(long pause)...although obvisously I'm not going to tell you what this is just yet."