gavriil

Tradition will become a thing of the past at Maserati as designers put the finishing touches to a new SUV, which is scheduled to make its world debut at next month's Detroit Motor Show.

Powered by an uprated version of the 4.2-litre V8 unit that was first used in the Maserati Spyder, the car is said to be a development of the Buran MPV (picture) that first appeared in January 2001 and featured in issue 634.

Styled by Guigiaro, the newcomer is described as a 'pure' concept to gauge public opinion about a trident-badged off-roader. Aimed at the likes of the BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne, the car reflects Maserati's concern at the diverse new ranges produced by rival sports car manufacturers. The Italian marque currently builds only two models, the Spyder and the Coupé. No technical details are available about the newcomer, but our story took a twist last week when it was revealed that Audi has been working with Maserati on a number of confidential projects.

Our sources say the new car could be inspired by the Audi Magellan off-roader, which is also likely to debut at Detroit. As a development of the VW Touareg, the Magellan could donate its chassis and transmission technology to Maserati. Air-suspension components that could be tuned to give a superb ride would also be on offer.

devnull

What is the world coming to...

gavriil

Money talks, tradition walks. Have no problem with that. We benefit in the end.

HiOSlvrCL

Have you seen the one by Volvo? It's supposedly won the motor trend import car of the year for 2003. Who's next? Ferrari

gavriil

By the way, did I say "I love this country"? That's the reason I left Europe.

gavriil

They better run cos the game is ahead of them.

Zoot

I think a Maserati SUV is more acceptable than a Porsche.

nate'sCLS

now, I've heard it all

nate'sCLS

But still, I understand why Porsche did it. The Boxster saved the Co. and the SUV could only help.

Loseit

iTrader: (1)

yeah, it works out to simple economics. If they don't change with the times they will be history!