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Maserati Alfieri claims 2014 Concept Car of the Year award

8 March, 2015

Maserati’s Alfieri Concept caused a stir within the motoring fraternity upon its unveiling at last year’s Geneva International Motor Show — not only did the sharp 2+2 coupe boast a name in honour of one of the legendary marque’s founding brothers, Alfieri Maserati, it also displayed the beautiful lines that Maserati’s designs are known for.

The Alfieri Concept, designed at Maserati’s Turin-based Centro Stile, displayed none of the exaggeration so common in concept vehicles. The design influence from Maserati’s classic A6 is clear, with a long, low nose juxtaposed against the squat, muscular rear section.

Now, a year on, Maserati’s efforts have been rewarded by being named 2014 Concept Car of the Year at the Car Design Night in Geneva. The event’s Car Designs of the Year awards are judged by an independent panel of professional designers, including those from educational facilities, and from behind names such as Daimler, General Motors, and Jaguar. Marco Tencone, who led the Alfieri design at the Centro Stile, was on hand to accept the award on Maserati’s behalf.

Following the positive public reaction to the Alfieri Concept, the car was also promised for production as an exotic competitor to the likes of the Porsche 911 and Jaguar F-Type. Though various concessions will undoubtedly be required to ensure the Alfieri will be suitable for a global market, Maserati CEO Harald Wester promises that the coupe’s design is here to stay.

The engine is the same 4.7-litre unit found in the Maserati GranTurismo coupe, producing 460hp and 384lb·ft through a six-speed automatic gearbox, and limited-slip differential. Production is confirmed for 2017, with a cabriolet version to follow soon after.

NZ Classic Car magazine, March/April 2025 issue 398, on sale now

23 February, 2025

An HQ to die for
Mention the acronym HQ and most people in the northern hemisphere will assume this is an abbreviation for Head Quarters. However, for those born before the mid-’80s in Australia and New Zealand, the same two letters only mean one thing – HQ Holden!
Christchurch enthusiast Ed Beattie has a beautiful collection of Holden and Chevrolet cars. He loves the bowtie and its Aussie cousin and has a stable of beautiful, powerful cars. His collection includes everything from a modern GTSR W507 HSV through the decades to a 1960s Camaro muscle car and much in between.
In the last two Holden Nationals (run biennially in 2021 and 2023), Ed won trophies for the Best Monaro and Best Decade with his amazing 1972 Holden Monaro GTS 350 with manual transmission.
Ed is a perfectionist and loves his cars to reflect precisely how they were on ‘Day 1,’ meaning when the dealer released them to the first customer, including any extras the dealer may have added or changed.

You’re the one that I want – 1973 Datsun 240K GT

21 February, 2025

In the early 1970s, Clark Caldow was a young sales rep travelling the North Island and doing big miles annually. He loved driving. In 1975 the firm he worked for asked Clark what he wanted for his new car, and Clark chose a brand-new Datsun 240K GT. The two-door car arrived, and Clark was smitten, or in his own words, he was “pole vaulting.”
Clark drove it all over the country, racking up thousands of miles. “It had quite a bit of pep with its SOHC 128 hp (96kW) of power mated to a four-speed manual gearbox,” he says. Weighing in at 1240kg meant the power to weight ratio was good for the time and its length at almost 4.5 metres meant it had good street presence.
Clark has been a car enthusiast all his life, and decided around nine years ago to look for one of these coupes. By sheer luck he very quickly found a mint example refurbished by an aircraft engineer, but it was in Perth.