Tag: Ferrari

Maserati joins ranks of EV holdouts among exotic automakers

Teaser for Maserati Alfieri sports car
Although it announced the end of using Ferrari engines in its cars last week, Italian luxury-carmaker Maserati won't be going all-electric any time soon.

“This is a brand that needs combustion engines,” Maserati's North American chief, Al Gardner, told Motor Trend in an interview earlier this month. “It needs that raw emotion,” he said.

As if electric cars can't deliver raw emotion. Just ask any Tesla Model S P100D or original Roadster owner.

And Tesla's electric cars have been running over the rest of the luxury passenger-car sector in sales, to become the top selling car in both the luxury sedan and premium sedan markets.

READ THIS: Jeep Grand Commander EV leads FCA electrification push

Gardner is adding Maserati's voice to a chorus of classic sports-car makers saying electric is not for them. Although Porsche's parent, the VW Group is going all-in on electric cars and has said that it will transition to an all-electric automaker and is currently developing its last combustion engine, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said last November that the 911 would never become an EV. (Although two hybrid variants of the 911 are reportedly under development.)

And Gardner made his statement in the face of Fiat Chrysler's business plan announced last June, showing that Maserati planned to launch eight new plug-in hybrids and four new battery electric vehicles by 2022, and that those vehicles would cover 68 percent of the company's lineup.

Maserati 2022 roadmap

At least some of the electric models would use 800-volt battery architecture for the fastest possible charging—up to 350 kilowatts, or an 80 percent, or bulk, charge in less than 10 minutes.

The company at the time said that the electric models would use three motors to provide torque-vectoring control, and have 50 percent more power than today's models.

Those plans aren't necessarily off the table, but according to Gardner, it won't be enough for the brand.

Just as Tesla wanted to stand out from the mass of internal-combustion cars when the company launched the Model S, Maserati and others are counting on the individualized character of internal combustion engines to stand out from the nearly silent crowd in the mainly-electric future.

Ferrari sticks to FY targets after Q1 core profit up 14 percent

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Ferrari is seen on a sheet covering a car before a presentation at the 88th International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland, March 6, 2018. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy/File Photo MILAN (Reuters) – Italian luxury carmaker Ferrari confirmed its full-year targets after core earnings rose 14 in the first quarter, driven… Continue reading Ferrari sticks to FY targets after Q1 core profit up 14 percent

CK Holdings acquires Magneti Marelli from FCA

NEW DELHI: CK Holdings on Thursday announced the completion of its previously announced acquisition of Magneti Marelli S.p.A.from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. The combined business will operate under the entity “Magneti Marelli CK Holdings Co., Ltd.” The completion of the transaction is a key milestone in creating a leading global independent automotive supplier. This transaction,… Continue reading CK Holdings acquires Magneti Marelli from FCA

CK Holdings Co., Ltd. completes acquisition of Magneti Marelli from FCA

“ CK Holdings Co., Ltd. completes acquisition of Magneti Marelli from FCA  Transaction will create a leading global independent automotive supplier 2 May 2019 CK Holdings Co., Ltd. (“CK Holdings”), a holding company of Calsonic Kansei Corporation (“Calsonic Kansei”), today announces the completion of its previously announced acquisition of Magneti Marelli S.p.A. (“Magneti Marelli”) from Fiat… Continue reading CK Holdings Co., Ltd. completes acquisition of Magneti Marelli from FCA

Bentley not sold on electric, planning plug-in hybrids for full lineup

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Bentley Continental GT V8
The ultra-luxury carmaker Bentley is at work on a new model strategy, and fully electric vehicles might not play as much of a part in it as the company had previously hinted.

The company, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, will reveal more about its future direction in July, corresponding with its 100th anniversary, according to a report earlier this month in Autocar, citing Werner Tietz, the board member in charge of Bentley’s engineering.

Bentley is looking to expand its buyer base rather than sell more cars to existing buyers. Part of the strategy will also involve offering a plug-in hybrid version of each of its models by 2025. It might also add another SUV to the lineup, although it hasn’t detailed whether that means one larger or smaller than the current Bentayga.

2019 Bentley Bentayga Hybrid

Bentley had previously hinted that it was leaning toward making a smaller SUV all-electric—although that was before an extensive leadership change at the company in 2017.

Bentley backing away from all-electric?

In the Autocar report, Tietz sounds notably less bullish about all-electric vehicles than his predecessor as engineering boss, Rolf Frech. “It is by no means certain that battery-electric is the right way to go,” said Tietz, who argued that the current technology wouldn’t work for towing horse trailers or boats.

2017 Tesla Model X

There are of course many people who do tow—today—with the Tesla Model X. One couple we recently featured towed a 3,800-pound camping trailer around the Southeastern U.S. and saw range drop by at least a third. Rivian is also developing its electric R1T pickup and R1S SUV around impressive towing capability—of up to 11,000 pounds.

One other noteworthy change is that the brand won’t be building “pure sports cars”—a decision that’s a bit surprising as the brand had shown several concept cars that looked aimed at Aston Martin, or even Ferrari.

Bentley EXP 12 Speed 6e concept, 2017 Geneva auto show

The most interesting evolution of those ideas was the EXP12 Speed 6e, a plush, racy-looking, fully electric, two-seater shown in 2017. Bentley then said that a production model based on it would be able to “drive between London and Paris or Milan and Monaco on a single charge.”

In the meantime, it’s considering a small electric city car while also evaluating fuel-cell technology and looking at carbon-neutral synthetic fuels.

Considering the changing priorities of luxury-vehicle buyers, and the importance of being seen in a vehicle that’s efficient and technologically advanced—in a world that includes Tesla—we’re eager to see where this storied British brand is headed.

Faster than a fighter jet: The $2.5 million Pininfarina Battista electric hypercar debuts in US

H/O: Automobili Pininfarina
The Pininfarina Battista hypercar

While other automakers packed the Javits Center for the New York International Auto Show, Automobili Pininfarina launched one of the week's most exciting car debuts at an off-site event.

The company's new all-electric Battista hypercar produces a whopping 1,900 horsepower and reaches 60 miles per hour in under two seconds. That makes it the fastest street-legal car ever built by an automaker, even outrunning a Formula One race car to 60 mph.

Pininfarina has previously said that a Battista will hit 180 mph in less time than an F-16 fighter jet. All of that thrust comes from electric motors that are fed by a 120 kWh battery and should be good for around 300 miles of range on a single charge.

The company — which has roots in the storied Italian design house that styled iconic cars like the Fiat 124, Maserati GranTurismo, Ferrari Testarossa and Alfa Romeo Spider — is targeting a 2020 release date for the Battista.

H/O: Automobili Pininfarina
The Pininfarina Battista hypercar

The company enters the all-electric hypercar fray at a competitive time with companies like Rimac and NIO rushing to market ultimate-performance EVs. More established brands are also pushing for performance electrics, as Tesla gears up to build the next Roadster and Porsche puts its Taycan on sale.

Automobili Pininfarina has secured U.S. retail partnerships with distributors in Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco. With just 50 of the 150 Battistas destined for the North American market and a $2.5 million price tag, the Battista is sure to be a rare sight. According to the company, over half of the cars slated for North America have been reserved.

The Battista was first shown during Monterey Car Week in a private showing. The company plans to return to Monterey this year to launch the “PF1,” which is supposedly Automobili Pininfarina's upcoming electric luxury car.

H/O: Automobili Pininfarina
The Pininfarina Battista hypercar

In quest for electric supercars, engineers head to start-ups

FRANKFURT: Rene-Christopher Wollmann, head of Mercedes-AMG’s 2.75 million euros Project One supercar programme, has moved to a job at Automobili Pininfarina in a sign that innovation in high end electric sportscars is shifting toward small start-ups. Wollman’s move, which has not been made public, comes at a time when big carmakers, like Volkswagen and Mercedes… Continue reading In quest for electric supercars, engineers head to start-ups

Vettel’s delicate fight for power at Ferrari

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Ferrari CEO confident on plan’s targets despite uncertain backdrop

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Ferrari is pictured during the first press day of the Paris auto show, in Paris, France, October 2, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The chief executive of luxury race car maker Ferrari said on Friday he was confident about meeting the targets of a business plan through 2022… Continue reading Ferrari CEO confident on plan’s targets despite uncertain backdrop

Fleet pooling avoids CO2 penalties of the EU: How Fiat threads a dirty CO2 deal with Tesla

Yep Dirty he can: An off-road vehicle of the Fiat Chrysler brand Jeep in a river crossing Maserati, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo – the Fiat Chrysler Group (FCA Show stock market chart) has some car brands in the program that stand for high-horsepower vehicles. These products have never been particularly economical or even low in emissions.… Continue reading Fleet pooling avoids CO2 penalties of the EU: How Fiat threads a dirty CO2 deal with Tesla