Maserati Alfieri tilts at Porsche

It's the 100th birthday this year of legendary Italian marque Maserati, which after several years (even decades) in the sales doldrums has started to rise again recently on the back of strong sales of its new four-door models, the Quattroporte and the Ghibli.

This Alfieri concept is a little different to the sensible saloons and it's much more than just a show-stand birthday card; according to Maserati insiders, it represents the future of the company.

For now it's based on the cut-down version (some 60cm shorter) of the current GranTurismo coupe's chassi, but unlike the donor car which is a large, soft, comfy GT, the Alfieri is a focused, light 2+2 sportscar with a rivalry for the Porsche 911 and the Jaguar F-Type in its sights.

In fact, by the time it reaches production, it may have moved its engine. Maserti is known to be keen to use the carbon-fibre chassis from the Alfa Romeo 4C sports car , to help it keep the Alfieri’s weight under 1,400kg.

According to Maserait head designer Lorenzo Ramaciotti, "The Alfieri is a transition point between 100 glorious years of history and the future that is opening up before us. I can't honestly say that we'll see this car in production in the next two years, but I'm certain we'll see something very similar."