In Italian, Quattroporte literally means four doors. A special car was commissioned by Prince Kharim Aga Khan to the design house of Pietro Frua that really started it all.

Maserati debuted their first Quattroporte in 1963. This caw was fitted with a V8 4.1L engine that produced 256 horsepower mated with a ZF manual gearbox. This first generation Quattroporte was able to hit 143 mph for its top speed.

The second generation was developed during a period when Citroen was in control of the Italian car marques. The car was conceptualized by Bertone but the car’s power decreased to 210 horsepower as it used a V6 3.0L powerplant. That is the bad side of the coin. The good side is the rarity of this Maserati Quattroporte generation since only 13 units were produced. Six of these were prototypes, so only 7 were considered production units.

The next generation Quattroporte was during the time of Alejandro De Tomaso used the design lines of ItalDesign Giugiaro. This car was unwrapped during the Turin motor show of 1979. The car was fited with a V8 4.9l engine that can give out 280 hp.  Between 1970 through 1990, the car manufacturer was able to rollout 2110 units.

The Quatrroporte 4^th generation is an evolution of the 400-Series cars of Fiat which took control of Maserati back in 1993. Two variants were offered, one had a 284 hp V6 engine and another was more aggressive with 326 hp V8 powerplant. None of the 2375 specimen made it to the US soil.

The current generation Quattroporte is considered to be the greatest of the brood. It follows the sleek design lines of Pininfarina and roars with a 400 horsepower V-8 engine.

Through the guidance of its mother company, Fiat, Maserati will be developing a platform that it will share with the Alfas. The high end RWD platform is also expected to take the place of the Quattroporte and most likely the convertible and coupe of the Gran Turismo.

According to insiders, the new platform will involve a lot of aluminum content to cut on some weight which is seen as a problem for all the current models of Maserati. The platform will also have an architecture to accommodate the hybrid setup that the Maserati will borrow from the stables of Ferrari. There has been no official announcement yet but a next Quattroporte may be due in two or three year’s time.

Alfa Romeo will also utilize the new platform to create new rear wheel drive units. It is almost certain that Alfa Romeo will come up with a new model to replace the limited edition of their sports car 8C Competizione. The 8C’s success indicates that the price of the car can be sky high if the product is appealing enough.

There is also a loud buzz about a 4C that will have a cheaper tag price of $70,000. This sports car though may not benefit from the Maserati platform which can be too expensive for the model.

The plans have not been disclosed if the new Alfa Romeos will be released as limited edition units or will they form part of the low production range.

Alfa Romeo is also planning to borrow the LX platform from Chyrsler.

Ferrari recently revealed the 599 HY-KERS at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show and Maserati will not allow itself to lag behind. The two luxury brands are no longer under the same Fiat business unit but the Italian stallion has the closest configurations to Maserati. It might be wise for Maserati to use the technology of Ferrari to expedite the process.

Maserati is also looking forward to shed some pounds from their cars which are a bit heavy compared to competition. They may also be looking into slashing the emissions of their cars in the next few years.

The Maserati may be really fit for a hybrid set up. One, the price is a bit lower than the Ferrari’s. They are also seen being driven on the road.

A green clean up is really sweeping the high end of the market with Lamborghini, Ferrari, and now the trident of Maserati turning green.

The Quattroporte was able to rack up about 56 awards from different organizations and press groups in a short span of six years zooming on the road. The car really deserves all the accolades with its beautiful design lines and innate appeal. The credentials of the Maserati Quattroporte though is beyond its skin and relies more on its luxury and performance with its top of the line GT S version.

The Awards Edition Quattroporte will get some design and equipment upgrades. This will include the Quarzon fuso finishing which refers to the metallic perlesescent grey color of Maserati with a splash of golden hints. The special edition Maserati also gets a 20 inch alloy rims, interiors with leathers from Poltrona Frau and Alcantara.

The Maserati Quattroporte Awards Edition will have a dual-cast set up for its brakes complemented with calipers for all the four corners. The calipers will be the hand polished made by Brembo and Maserati which will be the first one in the market. These calipers are designed to withstand the stress of heat cycles.

The Maserati Awards Edition Quattroporte variants are expected to hit the market before the end of this year as 2011 models. They will sport a unique plate to denote their status.

Before your jaws drop because of the tag price on the Maserati, let us line up some reasons to convince you that the price is just right. Buyers can choose from 9 standard colors and 5 optional, six soft top colors, 10 shades of leather by Poltrona Frau, and three wood trims to select from.

The car also comes stock with twenty inch Birdcage rims, Maserati’s patented Skyhook suspension system, dual twin sport exhaust, sensors for rear parking, , and surround sound by Bose.

The 2010 GranTurismo Convertible is being marketed by the car maker to the rest of the globe as the GranCabrio. It is being pushed as a remake of the open air classic Maseratis.

This release from the brand is its first convertible with seating for four. The monstrous V-8 power plant is paired with a six speed automatic transmission with adaptive technology and controlled via paddle shifters.

The soft roofing can be retracted in 24 seconds. The top was engineered so it doesn’t cramp the rear seats or the space available in the trunk. A tailored luggage from Ferragamo is also available if you want it to come with your Maserati.

If you feel like reserving a unit now, Maserati welcomes bookings. The first batch of the 2010 GranTurismo convertible will be delivered by late spring.

This engine was designed for a velocipede. Later on this engine was manufactured in a motorcycle plant belonging to Marchese Carcano di Anzano de Parco. Later on when Carcono closed down Carlo joined Fiat in the position of a mechanic. He left Fiat in 1903 and joined Isotta Fraschini to work as a test driver and mechanic. He also helped his 16 years old brother, Alfeiri, in joining this company. Alfeiri founded Maserati and the first headquarters of this company was set up in a rented space at Via de Pepoli, a district of Bologna, in 1914. Alfeiri passed away in 1932, but his brothers carried on the legacy of Maserati cars. Bindo along with Ettore and Ernesto developed a 8-cylinder 3-liter engine.

When you go to a place that has hotels with actual amusement parks built inside of them, you know you are visiting some place special. Naturally, too, you want a slice of that opulence when you visit. You really want to look the part. When in Las Vegas, Nevada, you want a Las Vegas Nevada Exotic Rental Car. That’s natural — you want to fit in with the high rollers!

As you can well imagine, renting a Maserati in Las Vegas will definitely help you look the part. More importantly, it is far less expensive than you are probably thinking. There are dozens of different ways you can get a good deal on a rental car. Believe it or not, that even applies to sports cars.

However, you are probably underestimating how affordable rental cars in Vegas are anyway. The rental companies there know that they get most of their money from visitors. They will never risk charging you an arm and a leg, for fear that you might visit a company outside of Vegas. So take advantage of that; nothing beats tooling around the famous Las Vegas strip in a snazzy Maserati!

Eulberg cites a survey conducted by an insurance company in Britain where subjects’ reactions where measured after hearing a revving Lamborghini, Ferrari, Volkswagen, and a Maserati. It showed 100% of the subjects had increased saliva level after hearing the roar under the hood of the Maserati.

The CEO who also held position at BMW, Jaguar, and Volvo, looks at the reliable performance and styling of the Maserati making it attractive to anyone looking for cars. The US sales of the car manufacturer are up by 11% from January to November of 2008.

The brand was able to remain tough amid the financial crisis. It also survived despite the fact that they only have two models in the market which are both selling for over $120000. They have improved the sales figure of the Quattroporte sedan and the Gran Turismo coupe from 853 units in 2002 to 2520 in 2008.

Despite small allocation for advertising, Eulberg foresees a good 2009 for the Maserati range. Last year, they had an interactive campaign where readers of GQ can download the sound of the Maserati engine as a ring tone. Maserati also takes advantage of direct mail opportunities and the internet to push their brand up in the market.

The North America CEO does not want to disclose plans of Maserati to introduce new cars in the market but the company has a technical partnership with Fiat’s sister line Alfa Romeo. At the soonest, they may use the available technology to come up with new vehicles by 2011.

Of the seven Maserati brothers who formed the Maserati company, Carlo had also taken a part in the 1907 Coppa Florio. He was driving a Bianchi car in this race and came seventh despite stiff odds. The low voltage ignition breaker arms were the root cause of the problem and Carlo had to stop a number of times for replacing these low voltage ignition breaker arms.

Later on he replaced the low voltage system with high voltage systems and this helped to resolve the problems. At the Targo Florio Alfeiri raced a car that was manufactured by Maserati and this was the first production car by this company. This event took place in the year 1926. Of the other cars designed by the Maserati brothers, the type 26 was the most successful ones and this model had won many car races. Now, they mainly make luxury cars — but yes, Maserati has some great racing pedigree!

It is a known fact that the natural oil resources of the world are drying up fast and shall not last for longer than a few decades at most. Apart from that there is the question of the planets ecology. With each passing day the dangerous CO2 emissions of cars is spoiling the ecology of our plant and making life dangerous for its inhabitants. It shall not be long before cars will run on alternative car fuel only and unless manufacturers do not manufacture models that run on alternative sources, they will be out of business. Hence one can safely say that even Maserati shall be unveiling a green car soon.