With am ambitious production goal to reach 50,000 units annually by 2015, small Italian luxury brand Maserati has its work cut out. But that doesn’t mean it’s running without a scheme to make that goal, the most recently rumored piece of which is a two-seat sports car.
While there hasn’t been an official release yet or anything concrete, a rumor coming directly from company CEO Harald J. Wester is suggesting that a mid-engined V8 meant to compete with the Porsche 911 and Audi R8 is slated for production.
Provided it makes it to production, which seems likely given the marque’s mission to diversify its lineup, Maserati’s new sports car would run under the GranSport nameplate.
While parent company Fiat hasn’t examined the proposal yet, it would include limited production of about 1,500 to 2,000 units per year. Those units would feature a lightweight chassis including a carbon fiber frame. It would also be rear-wheel drive and come with a dual-clutch transmission.
With an estimated price around €150,000, which translates to a little less than $200,000, would slot in nicely underneath the €200,000 Ferrari 458 Italia.
