Next-generation Maserati Quattroporte sedan won't get any bigger

The forthcoming Maserati Quattroporte sedan bigger, Lorenzo Ramaciotti, - head of Fiat design � said.

�Even though our rivals � such as the new Audi A8 � are getting longer, we have to keep it as a sporty alternative,� he said.

Ramaciotti also declared that the current grille would stay. Maserati�s CEO, Harald Wester, said the car will be offered with four-wheel drive and stop/start technology.

The Quattroporte, scheduled for 2012, will be 15% lighter than the current model, with fuel economy improving and CO2 emissions dropping by 25%. In addition to stop/start, four-wheel drive, downsized V6 and V8 engines and 8 speed ZF automatic gearbox will be offered.

Wester said the addition of four-wheel drive will help the Quattroporte compete with German rivals.

However, the Quattroporte will have a younger brother. Expected to debut in Autumn 2011, the four-door coupe will take on the BMW M5, Mercedes CLS AMG, Jaguar XF-R and the forthcoming Audi RS7.

The car will be designed in-house by Fiat Centro Stile under the control of Lorenzo Ramaciotti.

Maserati is still deciding where it will produce this model. Maserati�s Modena factory has no capacity, however, coachbuilder Bertone's Turin factory is a favorite.