Before my time in the seat with Maserati’s latest on the grand track at Willow Springs International Raceway and the undefined streets that surround it, the automaker held a press conference via videoconference. Here, the company’s head of public relations, Kas Rigas, explained the “duality” of the brand, citing the original Quattroporte as the main example.
Launched in 1963, it was Maserati’s first road car after a long series of successful and purpose-built race cars, and featured a motoring-derived V8, all in DOHC aluminum installed in a sedan packaging for a major touring sedan. designed by Pietro Frua.
“It was the ultimate combination of luxury and performance,” explained Rigas. “And over the years, the racing technology that has put Maserati on the podiums over and over has continued to proliferate in our production vehicles.”
(Full disclosure: Maserati invited our employee to drive their cars at a press event that presumably included free food and possibly gifts. We assume that the COVID protocols have been followed).
It has been a few years since Maserati was actively involved in a series of professional racing – the last with the Pirelli World Challenge campaigning with the GranTurismo coupe in the GT3 and GT4 classes – and I think the order of “luxury and performance” in Rigas’ words are revealing. While Alfa Romeo, another premium Italian brand from Stellantis, seems to prioritize performance over luxury as a general ideology, Maserati’s current philosophy comes from the opposite perspective.
The Masers are certainly not lacking in grunts, however. Like its corporate brothers in the United States, Maserati is taking a “Hellcat all things” approach to its 2021 line, equipping its 3.8-liter, twin-turbocharged, 580-horsepower V8 engine for all of its current models that are specified in the Trofeo finish.
This has been part of the journey with the Quattroporte sedan and the Levante SUV for a few years, but it is an entirely new offering for the Ghibli, which is also the smallest (and presumably more sporty) model in the Maserati three-vehicle line. I wouldn’t blame you for assuming the Ghibli is a Series 3 alternative for those premium sedan buyers looking to venture off the beaten path, but the reality is that it’s closer in size to a Series 5 and priced similarly to the pound per pound.
I spent most of my time at the Trofeo Ghibli for seemingly obvious reasons. Our exercises started with a few straight bursts with launch control: set the steering mode to Corsa, pull the left shift lever twice, apply the brake pressure with the required left foot, then go around the brake and the rear-wheel drive Ghibli Trofeo will rocket at 60 mph from rest in four seconds. This puts him a step or two behind primary engines like the M5 and Mercedes-AMG E63S, which send power to the four wheels, but are still suitably fast.
After becoming familiar with launch control and running a few times in a cone slalom, we set out for our back sessions. It is here that the philosophy of “luxury and performance” instead of “performance and luxury” is most evident. For example, all Ghibli models are equipped with a sunroof as standard, and even with the seat lowered as far as it could go, I found that when you are six feet tall and wearing a helmet, the right foot on the Ghibli is almost on par with a Lamborghini Huracán EVO. There is simply no seating position that leads to driving performance, but it also allowed my head to clear the significant bump on the main attraction, so I just bent over and made sure I had free access to all the controls.
He begins to paint the image of a car that has components adjusted to the track, but it was not designed for this type of driving. The new Zegna Pelletessuta upholstery is lovely to look at, but the reinforcement of Ghibli’s sport seats leaves a lot to be desired when you’re battling the side forces of Curve 4 at Salgueiro Grande or using the six-piston Brembos to slow things down. 140 mph at the end of the front straight.
There are other important nuances that also reinforce the notion of “first luxury”. Although the eight-speed automatic gearbox changes quickly and is reasonably well programmed for aggressive driving in Sport mode (we were not allowed to use Corsa mode on the track), locking the transmission in manual mode and using the paddle shifters was my general preference because it allowed me to be reasonably sure that the car wouldn’t change gears suddenly when I didn’t want to.
The problem is that the exhaust of the Ghibli is so quiet that it can be difficult to hear over the ambient noise with a helmet on, even with the windows open. This led to jumping off the speed limiter a few times and on more occasions that forced me to look at the tachometer when I really wanted to be focused on the track ahead. And even with the shock absorbers in their most aggressive configuration, the Ghibli’s suspension had to work hard to keep up.
In contrast, the Levante’s air suspension seemed to provide better body control, and the more sporty configuration of the system leaves the big SUV low enough to make it look more like a tall car than an SUV. And since it comes standard with four-wheel drive, the Levante is faster out of line (3.8 seconds at 60) and looks more predictable when gaining power in a slow corner.
I came out in conflict with the fact that I really preferred the Levant in this context. The numbers can contextualize performance, but at the end of the day, the vehicle that inspires the most confidence is the one I prefer to spend the most time on. Yes, it is huge and the center of gravity is high, but none of these vehicles were built to set lap records, so it really comes down to the experience itself.
The walk on the streets allowed me to absorb more of Maserati’s news in 2021 and get a better idea of what these machines look like in the real world. All three vehicles received a small visual update this year, but the big news is the cabin. Yes, there is still an FCA parts compartment switchgear here and there, but component sharing really works for Maserati in this specific case. 2021 debuts the new Maserati Intelligent Assistant Infotainment System from Maserati, which is ostensibly a redesigned version of the Uconnect 5 system found in the new Dodge Durango and Chrysler Pacifica.
It’s a big step up from last year’s Uconnect 4-derived infotainment on Maserati’s line, boasting a 10.1-inch widescreen screen of glued glass, more memory and processing power, and standout features like Apple CarPlay wireless and Android Auto . The new system by itself substantially modernizes Maserati’s interiors and, among the current line, the large Quattroporte that I took to the streets of Rosamond seems to get the most benefit from it.
Even today, the Quattroporte seems to be the most honest interpretation of Maserati’s design ethos, but the 3.0-liter biturbo V6 equipped with a GranLusso finish is a little disheartening. If the appeal of the Trofeo line is its emotional impact, the bark of the discreet muscle car from that Ferrari-derived V8 under the hood is a big part of the equation, and losing it tilts the scale even further in favor of luxury as the primary driver. Even with new technology and revised aesthetics, Maseratis still need a visceral component that cannot be ignored.
In its briefing, Maserati noted that the next MC20 coupe will mark its return to motorsport and also to the super sports segment. Karl DeBoer, brand manager at Maserati North America, noted that internal surveys show that 82 percent of purchases made in that part of the market are apparently impulse purchases.
While Maserati paves the way forward with the MC20 and its new Nettuno V6, which will be transported to other models in several iterations, they have also designed the MC20 chassis with provisions for an EV power train that is going further. There is an admirable electrified world unfolding before us, and as it develops, internal combustion engines are becoming a less integral part of a vehicle’s personality by design. Given that, Maserati would be wise to keep an eye on what continues to drive these impulses – and keep them for as long as possible.
[Images © 2021 Bradley Iger/TTAC]