2008 Maserati Mistral Coupe Sketch Unveiled By Pininfarina

Italian design house Pininfarina unveiled a sketch of the forthcoming Maserati Mistral coupe, which is set to debut in concept form at the Geneva auto show in two weeks.

Like all sketches, of course, this one exaggerates the concept’s actual proportions. We do not except such a tiny greenhouse when we get a chance to see it at Geneva, but these drawings are encouraging. Further, we feel we owe ourselves a pat on the back–our Mistral drawing from 2006 came close.

Click through for more details and a sketch view of the rear of the car.

Maserati 3200 GT fans will, of course, notice that the company dropped Giugiaro in the design of this car. Pininfarina took over the development and if these sketches and computer rendering (bottom) any are proof, it was a wise decision.

In terms of engines, there is still talk of various V-8s, but the chief candidate seems to be a significantly updated version of the Ferrari-Maserati 4.2-liter V-8. Local chatter puts capacity at 4.5 liters—that will reportedly be good for upward of 500 horsepower. This is the engine that will in turn be shared with the apparently forthcoming costly Alfa Romeo super-GTs, which will be back on North American soil by 2009 or so.

Our rendering from 2006, previewing the Mistral:

Finally, a computer-generated version of what the Mistral will look like given the current sketches: