The Maserati Kubang GT Wagon is a 2003

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

unveiled at the

Detroit Auto Show The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), also known as the Detroit Auto Show as of 2022 and prior to NAIAS, is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., at Huntington Place. The show was held in January from 1989 to 2019. I ...

. Designed by

Italdesign Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A. is a design and engineering company and brand based in Moncalieri, Italy, that traces its roots to the 1968 foundation of Studi Italiani Realizzazione Prototipi S.p.A. by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani. Best kno ...

Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was born in Garessio, Cuneo, Piedmont. Giugiaro was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted ...

, it was presented under the

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

brand which was then owned by

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

. In accordance with Maserati's naming tradition, the Kubang is named after a Javanese wind.

Development

The Kubang GT was developed using the floorplan of the

Audi A8 The Audi A8 is a full-size luxury sedan manufactured and marketed by the German automaker Audi since 1994. Succeeding the Audi V8, and now in its fourth generation, the A8 has been offered with both front- or permanent all-wheel drive—and in s ...

, and Maserati hoped for it to be produced in collaboration with Audi. It was designed to use the 90° V8 engine from the

Maserati 3200 GT The Maserati 3200 GT (''Tipo 338'') is a four-seater grand tourer produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati from 1998 to 2002, replacing the Shamal as the flagship grand tourer of the marque. The luxury coupé was designed by Italdes ...

, producing at 6250 rpm. Due to the agreement with Audi never being sealed, the Kubang GT was never developed past the concept stage. In 2011, Maserati built the Kubang concept as an evolution of the GT Wagon.

Features

Alongside sporty characteristics such as a 48/52%

weight distribution Weight distribution is the apportioning of weight within a vehicle, especially cars, airplanes An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocke ...

and a low

center of gravity In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weight function, weighted relative position (vector), position of the distributed mass sums to zero. Thi ...

, the GT Wagon featured a modular interior design. The interior accommodated 5 occupants (2 front seats + a rear bench seat), or 4 occupants in the “Executive” configuration. The interior could also be fitted with a third row of seats.

References

{{Maserati timeline Kubang GT Wagon