Maserati Alfieri

Remember the Maserati Alfieri? Of course you don’t. Maserati first revealed its F-type-alike two-seat coupe back in 2014 and given how much happens in a week these days – new memes, new royals, new memes about royals – you can’t very well be expected to recall a pretty but defunct concept car from four years ago…

Except… it’s back! Yes, the Maserati Alfieri is going into production, really, promise, absolutely-gonna-happen this time. And Maserati has selected it as the spearhead for its new hybrid and electrification programme. The Alfieri will ditch the concept’s V8 engine, and be offered as a plug-in hybrid and a bespoke EV. This is the part where we say ‘look out, Tesla’, or some such cliché. Then again…

Maserati claims the all-electric, all-wheel drive version of the, erm, Alfi-E-ri will be good for a 0-62mph time of less than two seconds. Yep, one-point-something to sixty. That puts it right alongside the proposed Tesla Roadster’s performance claims.

Meanwhile, a plug-in hybrid version will be offered likely to combine a bi-turbo V6 powerplant with battery power for reduced CO2 emissions. Maserati says the car’s aluminium spaceframe construction will prioritise low weight, and the EV version will ‘only’ weigh 175kg more than the petrol-powered variant. In addition to the coupe pictured above, Maserati will also sell a two-door soft-top roadster that’ll rival the likes of the Mercedes AMG Roadster and the upcoming Aston Martin Vantage.