due April 2004, the Fiat Punto MPV ( Monovolume ), aims to compete with the Ford Fusion and and forthcoming GM Corsa Monovolume

Lancia have added two new models to their range: A limited edition Ypsilion version called the Unica and a Lybra Intensa LX fitted with the 2.4 litre common rail diesel unit, available in both saloon or estate format.
 

Lancia have added two new models to their range: A range topping limited production Ypsilion version called the Unica and the Lybra Intensa LX which comes fitted with either the 2.0 litre 5-cyl petrol unit or the 2.4 litre common rail diesel unit, and is available in both saloon or estate format. more

Following on the heels of news that the new Ferrari FX prototype will be unveiled at the upcoming "Artedinamica" Ferrari-Maserati exhibition, comes news that Maserati will display three drawings and two 1:5 scale models of the Pininfarina-designed "Quattroporte" model, due for launch late next year at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

The exhibition in Tokyo will celebrate the art in design of the Ferrari and Maserati marques through their history, culminating in their entwinted yet individual present day status.

Maserati are giving few clues about the car away. The four door, super luxury saloon will be probably powered by a development of the 4.2-litre V8 engine and used in the Spyder and new Coupe models, but expected to have a capacity increased to closer to 5-litres, with gearing and torque patterns evolved for this significantly heavier, almost 5 metres long saloon. Only the new automated manual, steering wheel paddle-controlled gearbox expected to be available. The drawings reveal a large, prominent, retro-style front grille, and a very low aerodynamic roofline and a wheelbase 3 metres long.
  see larger size drawings of the Maserati Quattroporte

After an absence of eleven years, the Maserati marque has been officially relaunched in the USA. In a high profile ceremony a Coupe and Spider were parked on Wall Street, the heart of the USA's stockmarket. The CEO's of Ferrari-Maserati USA and Fiat USA jointly rang the ceremonial bell marking the end of the days trading. Maserati has recently opened a head office in New Jersey and has already signed up 30 dealerships, all chosen with utmost care to provide the very highest of standards which the company is looking to achieve. Maserati expect to sell around 1200 cars in the USA this year, over a third of the expected 3500 cars to be sold worldwide in the same period. A second assembly line is now running and it is expected that within two years, 40% of Maserati's produced will be destined for the US, making it the marques largest market.

Ferrari have released the first official photo of the F40/F50 successor, currently codenamed "FX" although almost certain to be called the F60 when it reaches production. The prototype will make its public debut at a Tokyo Ferrari and Maserati exhibition in six days time before its official release at the Paris Motor Show later this year. Little detail has been released but the Ferrari FX is a no-compromise transfer of F1 technology into road going GT application, which results in an output of 650bhp and a 0-60mph time of 3.2seconds, from its 6.0 litre V12 engine and seven speed paddle-controlled gearbox. see more of the Ferrari FX

The Rivalta factory, 25km's outside Turin, has seen car building end with the transfer of the production lines for the Alfa Romeo 166 and Lancia Thesis to the nearby Mirafiori factory. Recently the Lancia Kappa line was retooled for the Thesis, but while the Thesis is still encountering pre-production problems, a decision was made to transfer the line to Mirafiori. The city's Mirafiori plant is now the sole line for the Alfa Romeo 166, Fiat Multipla, Panda and Marea, as well as being secondary line for the Punto. 

Giving interviews at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Ferrari's President, Luca di Montezemolo, gave broader indication that Ferrari will soon be floated on the stockmarket. He gave further details of the upgrading taking place at the Maranello factory including the new Euro 70M engine shop which recently opened and that work on a new Euro 45M paint shop would begin shortly. Ferrari's first retail shop opened at Maranello earlier this month and trading has been promising.

Ferrari have extensively studied Audi, Volvo and Toyota manufacturing plants, the world leaders in providing employees with a conducive working environment, in an effort to create an ideal working environment, and to maximise ecological impact at Maranello. This has seen olive groves being planted around the factory grounds.

Luca di Montezemolo has joined the board of luxury goods and retailing group, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute, hinting at Ferrari's desire to maximise the value of the brand, while Ferrari already receives Euro 18M in royalties each year.

Di Motezemolo also said that a stockmarket float would help fund future Maserati racing activities, the broadest hint yet that a racing comeback for the marque is planned.

After opening last November, Alfa Romeo's "Sustaining beauty: 90 years of art in engineering" exhibition at the London Science has been deemed a great success in the raising of Alfa Romeo's brand image in the UK. Aiming to celebrate 90 years of Alfa Romeo designs and mark the UK introduction of the 'Car of the Year' award winning Alfa 147 range.

The display features cars and exhibits from the official museum in Milan including production models as well as prototypes and racing cars. Design models and sketches, engines, and period advertisments complete the display.

The exhibition still has two weeks to run, it closes its doors at the end of this month.

see the exhibition in more detail
 

The Lamborghini Murcielargo has just set three world speed records for production cars at the Prototipo Ring test track at Nardo, Italy, establishing the new model's position as one of the world's fastest road cars. The runs, carried out by factory test driver, 26 year old Giorgio Sanna, were carried out in adverse weather conditions, on the Murielargo's standard Pirelli P Zero Rosso tyres, leaving Lamborghini room to improve these benchmarks at a later date.

The records broken, set in the class for non-turbocharged engines of over 6,000cc, were for the One Hour International Speed Record for Series Production Cars, from a standing start, 22 laps of the 12.6km high speed track were covered at an average speed of 198mph ( 320kmh ) which included a refuelling stop utilising a standard "petrol station" pump and no modification to the fuel filler cap. The 100 Kilometre Speed Record for Series Production Cars, from a standing start, the 100-kilometer distance was covered in 18 minutes and 44.9 seconds at an average speed of 198.953 mph. Lastly the 100 Mile Speed Record for Series Production Cars  was covered by the Murielargo from a standing start in 30 minutes and 9 seconds, an average speed 198.996mph.

Lamborghini pronounced themselves extremely satisfied with the runs, the strong winds amply showing the four wheel drive Murcielargo's excellent stability and road holding capabilities to the full.
 

after achieving three production car class speed records, test driver Giorgio Sanna and the Lamborghini team pose with the successful record breaking Murcielargo

see the new Lamborghini Murcielargo

The GTA branding, which recently made its debut on the 156GTA and Sportwagon GTA and will appear on the 147 range later this year with the release of the 147GTA will be added to the new GTV and Spider models expected late 2004/early 2005. Both the GTV and Spider are to be built on the GM derived "Premium" platform which will be introduced on the Alfa 166 replacement. The GTV and Spider will be larger than the current models and will shift slightly upmarket. Insiders state that the new models will be "significantly" different visually, breaking with the pattern of the current model's almost identical looks.

The GTA versions will feature four wheel drive and are likely to utilise the Maserati-sourced, 4.2 litre V8 engine, currently being developed for Alfa Romeo by Ferrari.

view more impressions of how the new GTV and Spider models may look