Autocar May 08, 2019

LIKE SEVERAL OTHER Fiat Chrysler Automobiles brands, Maserati has promised a lot but under-delivered in recent years. When announcing the roll-out plans in 2012 for the Ghibli, Quattroporte and Levante in an expanded range to be later topped by the Alfieri sports car, it vowed to sell 75,000 cars a year by 2018. In reality, it sold only half that, and the Alfieri won’t now make production until at least 2021. That trio of new cars were only average in their class, and the welcome improvements made since (like the Levante, road tested on p34) have only highlighted again just how far rivals have moved on. There are signs that FCA knows this, too. So Maserati now has a new strategy: every car is to be replaced by 2022, each including a…

LIKE SEVERAL OTHER Fiat Chrysler Automobiles brands, Maserati has promised a lot but under-delivered in recent years. When announcing the roll-out plans in 2012 for the Ghibli, Quattroporte and Levante in an expanded range to be later topped by the Alfieri sports car, it vowed to sell 75,000 cars a year by 2018. In reality, it sold only half that, and the Alfieri won’t now make production until at least 2021. That trio of new cars were only average in their class, and the welcome improvements made since (like the Levante, road tested on p34) have only highlighted again just how far rivals have moved on. There are signs that FCA knows this, too. So Maserati now has a new strategy: every car is to be replaced by 2022, each…

“Senior officials at BMW are now said to be favouring a pure-electric model for the new i8” BMW is on the verge of making the next generation of its flagship i8 sports car a fully electric model, according to sources at the firm. Bosses are at a crucial decision-making stage with the next i8 and senior officials at the German car maker are now said to be favouring a pure-electric model. The second-generation i8, tentatively slated for introduction by the end of 2023, was originally conceived as a high-powered four-wheel-drive evolution of today’s petrol-electric hybrid. That type of set-up has been clearly indicated by BMW development boss Klaus Fröhlich on a number of occasions over the past year. However, recent information out of BMW’s R&D headquarters in Munich, Germany, reveals the development of an…

“Senior officials at BMW are now said to be favouring a pure-electric model for the new i8” BMW is on the verge of making the next generation of its flagship i8 sports car a fully electric model, according to sources at the firm. Bosses are at a crucial decision-making stage with the next i8 and senior officials at the German car maker are now said to be favouring a pure-electric model. The second-generation i8, tentatively slated for introduction by the end of 2023, was originally conceived as a high-powered four-wheel-drive evolution of today’s petrol-electric hybrid. That type of set-up has been clearly indicated by BMW development boss Klaus Fröhlich on a number of occasions over the past year. However, recent information out of BMW’s R&D headquarters in Munich, Germany, reveals…

You’ll forgive BMW for being hesitant to commit to launching an electric supercar. After all, previous attempts from its main rivals weren’t roaring successes. Audi launched the battery-powered R8 E-tron in 2015 after nearly six years of it being mooted. However, it was axed after a little over a year on sale and, according to Audi, fewer than 100 were sold. Blame the absurdly high price (around £850,000), the lack of direct marketing and the fact that buyers apparently had to travel to Audi’s German HQ to buy it. Mercedes didn’t fare much better with the SLS Electric Drive in 2013. Like the electric R8, its performance was astonishing, but the brand claimed only 160 miles on a charge to the R8’s 280. It was also launched just a year before the…

You’ll forgive BMW for being hesitant to commit to launching an electric supercar. After all, previous attempts from its main rivals weren’t roaring successes. Audi launched the battery-powered R8 E-tron in 2015 after nearly six years of it being mooted. However, it was axed after a little over a year on sale and, according to Audi, fewer than 100 were sold. Blame the absurdly high price (around £850,000), the lack of direct marketing and the fact that buyers apparently had to travel to Audi’s German HQ to buy it. Mercedes didn’t fare much better with the SLS Electric Drive in 2013. Like the electric R8, its performance was astonishing, but the brand claimed only 160 miles on a charge to the R8’s 280. It was also launched just a year…