Maserati Quattroporte news - Maseracer - 2009

Magnificent yet magnificently daft news out of Switzerland: the Maserati Quattroporte is going racing.

The four-door V8 supercar is preparing to hit the track in the Italian ‘Superstars Series' touring car championship, duking it out with Audi RS4s and BMW M5s. It'll be entered by Swiss race outfit ‘Swiss Team' (tricky to know how they came up with that name, really) and driven by former F1 driver Andrea Chiesa.

It might even look a bit like it does in that picture, too. See, that's only a hastily cobbled together rendering from Swiss Team - they admit they haven't even finalised the car's livery yet - but the early signs are promising. We like.

The QP racer will retain Maserati's 4.2-litre V8 engine, which will put out about 450bhp to the rear wheels through a sequential racing box. We're told that it should weigh in at a non-handicapped 1,430kg, while the bodywork will remain near-stock. The QP is expected to debut on-track at Imola this weekend.

So what strange and unlikely metal would you like to see on the race track? How about the new Aston Rapide? Or, if we're going really left-field, a Rolls Phantom? Suggestions please...

Talking of racing Maseratis, watch Stig in the Ferrari Enzo-baiting MC12: