Maserati display at the 2003 L.A. Show.
Maserati Showcases '03 Upgrades at L.A. Auto Show
THE LOS ANGELES AUTO SHOW WITNESSES THE U.S. RELAUNCH OF THE TRIDENT
—Doug Magnon & Maurice KhawamLA Auto Show, January '03
Officials at the Maserati stand said the new '03 Spyder is due out toward the end of this January. Changes for '03 include glass rear windshield with defroster; V8 badges on the front fender skirts, new wheels (see below), and a change from ASR to ESP traction control. ASR is limited to traction control slippage of the rear wheels, whereas the ESP system has yaw sensors that read the attitude going into a corner and makes traction control corrections based on the proper angle that the car should assume when entering a particular corner. Also some structural stiffening has been added to the Spyder chassis to reduce the cowl shake criticized on previous models.
New Spyder rims
Don't look for the new QP until mid '04 as it debuts at the Frankfurt show next September. The engine should be based on the current 4.2L but likely with additional bhp.
Sales figures in North America for all '02 models (Coupe & Spyder) are at 950 units with 65% Spyders. No further announcements were made regarding their entering LeMans or GT racing this year.
The most popular trade-ins for the new Maserati's are Jaguar and Porsche 911!
The featured marque at the show was Aston Martin, which debuted the AR1 prototype (American Roadster 1) designed by the firm of Zagato, represented by Dr. Andrea Zagato who was on hand for the unveiling of this model at the LA Show. The sales director stated that they will build 99 cars if they get 66 orders from the US. It is an open car and is very retro-reminiscent of the convertible DB4's and 5's of the sixties. They will be debuting a second car this week at the Detroit Auto Show. In the concourse display area Aston Martin featured 4-5 Bond movie cars, but their display paled in comparison to last year's featured marque—Maserati!
Ferrari currently has 30 dealers in the US and 3 in Canada but plans to increase the number of North American dealers this year as other manufacturers are aggressively striving for their piece of the exotic car pie. The Ferrari-Maserati Group that sells 20% of its production here, certainly cannot be expected to rest on its laurels, but rather continue development of advanced product to consolidate its position in the hotly contested US market.
Spyder display at the 2003 L.A. Auto Show