Re: My two cents...
ebrigham said:
At Volkswagen, there is no real 4-seater, GT coupe directly comparable to the Masers - it would slot in quite comforably. 500 HP and AWD sounds pretty enticing – and not a likely scenario while Maserati is owned by Ferrari IMO.
Of course, there is overlap with the QP and that Phaeton thingy they are selling. But Volkswagen will probably have better luck selling a luxury sedan under the Maser name.
You're right, VM don't (yet) have a 4-seater coupe, but the Audi LeMans high-end coupe will slot right into Maserati territory (and since it uses the underpinnings of the Gallardo it should be pretty sweet, even if de-tuned to prevent downgrading from potential Lambo owners).
In this week's UK Autocar mag (
http://www.autocarmag.com/News_Article.asp?NA_ID=208351), there's a special report on the new VW range which includes details of a 5-series level car to sit between the Passat and the Phaeton. "Earlier rumours suggesting it may borrow underpinnings from the Maserati Quattroporte have been denied by Autocar's source, who claim they will be too expensive".
If Maserati was taken over by VW, presumably they'd leave behind the V8 - since Ferrari want to use a development of the same engine in the new 360 (420 Modena?) and if Alfa are ever to produce the 8C Evolutione, that's likely going to use the same lump.
I still think the engine is the strongest point of the current Maserati range and it'd be a pity to see it dropped in favour of some modular piece of VW/Audi/Lambo/Seat/Skoda contraption
Now, if they wanted to drop a V10 in the 2006 Spyder, I might be interested ;-)
Ewan