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Maserati: Alfieri concept car to be put into production in 2016

16 June, 2014

 

Maserati will be putting a concept car into production that is likely to be a bit of a rival of the Porsche 911.

The Alfieri concept will be put into production in 2016 with a plan to produce it in both coupe and convertible forms, on rear- and four-wheel drive platforms that will be shared with new Alfa Romeo models.

Unveiled at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, the Alfieri concept car is all about the company’s sports heritage and the future of Maserati design.

It’s named after Alfieri Maserati, one of the five Maserati brothers, who loved speed and raced cars as a mechanic and from the driver’s seat. The unveiling of the Alfieri concept marked 100 years since Alfieri and brothers Ettore and Ernesto Maserati opened their workshop.

Brothers in arms

26 September, 2025

When you think Porsche, you will often think of the 911 or 356 — both rear-engine, both air-cooled (or at least until more recent times for the 911), and both icons of the sports car world. The 356 is very desirable, in hardtop coupe or in one of the three topless derivatives — speedster, roadster or cabriolet. Similar to larger car firms, Porsche experimented with a cheaper entry-level car for the keen but more modest income prospective purchasers so they could obtain their first foray into the brand.
Reaching back to their roots, Porsche collaborated with Volkswagen and released the mid-engine 914 in 1969. It sold in significant numbers in the USA, and was a modest success.

Motorsport Flashback –The right racing recipes, and cake

17 September, 2025

If a top-fuel dragster sits atop the horsepower list of open-wheel racing cars, then cars designed for the massively successful Formula Ford category are close to the opposite end. Invented in the mid-1960s as a cheap alternative to F3 for racing schools, the concept was staggeringly simple: introduce the Ford Kent pushrod to a spaceframe chassis; keep engine modifications to a minimum; same tyres for all; ban aerodynamic appendages; and you get the most phenomenally successful single-seater class of racing car the world has ever seen.
The first-ever race for these 1600cc mini-GP cars took place in England in July 1967, but it quickly took off. The US and Australia were among the earliest adopters. It took us a little longer because we had the much-loved National Formula, comprising predominantly Brabhams, Ken Smith’s Lotus, and Graham McRae’s gorgeous self-built cars, all powered by the Lotus-Ford twin-cam. After a memorable championship in 1968/69 the class was nearly on its knees a year later. The quality was still there with Smith winning his national title, just, from McRae, but the numbers had fallen. Formula Ford was the obvious replacement and was introduced for the 1970/71 season as ‘Formula C’.