In the run-up to my time with Maserati’s latest on the big track at Willow Springs International Raceway and the indescribable streets around it, the automaker held a press conference by video conference. Here, Kas Rigas, chief operating officer of the company, explained the “duality” of the brand and cited the original Quattroporte as the best example.
Launched in 1963, it was Maserati’s first car after a long line of successful, purpose-built racing cars, and featured a motorsport-derived, all-aluminum DOHC V8 housed in a Grand Touring sedan casing powered by Pietro Frua is designed, contained.
“It was the ultimate blend of luxury and achievement,” Rigas explained. “And over the years, the interest technology that Maserati has repeatedly placed on podiums has continued to increase in our production vehicles.”
(Full disclosure: Maserati has invited our contributor to drive their cars during a press event that presumably includes free food and possibly swag. We assume COVID protocols have been followed.).
It’s been a few years since Maserati was actively involved in a professional racing series – last time with Pirelli World Challenge which won the GranTurismo coupe in the GT3 and GT4 classes, and I think the order of the “luxury and achievement” in Rigas’ phrasing is eloquent. While Alfa Romeo, Stellantis’ other premium Italian brand, prioritizes achievements over luxury as a general ideology, Maserati’s current philosophy comes from the opposite perspective.
The Masers, however, are certainly not lacking. Like its state-owned business enthusiasts, Maserati takes a “Hellcat all the things” approach to its 2021 range, equipping its 3.8-liter, twin-turbo V8, 580-horsepower V8 to all its current models that specified in Trofeo finish.
It’s been similar to the course with the Quattroporte sedan and Levante sports utility vehicle for a number of years, but it’s a brand new offering for the Ghibli, which also happens to be the smallest (and arguably sportiest) model in Maserati’s three-vehicle range. . I would not blame you if you assume that the Ghibli is a 3-series alternative for the premium sedan buyers who want to venture down the paved paths, but the reality is that it is closer to a 5-series. and similar pound-for-pound prices.
I spent most of my fast time in the Ghibli Trofeo for the apparent reasons. Our exercises started with some straight line explosions with launch control: Set the ride mode to Corsa, pull the left shift paddle twice, apply the required left brake pressure and then step on the brake and the rear row Ghibli Trofeo will rocket to 60 km / h of rest in four seconds flat. That puts it a step or two behind primary cars like the M5 and the Mercedes-AMG E63S, both of which send power to all four wheels, but it’s still fast.
After familiarizing ourselves with the launch control and finishing a few times with a slalom cone, we headed for our slits. This is where the “luxury and achievement” rather than the “achievement and luxury” philosophy is most evident. For example, all Ghibli models are fitted with a sunroof as standard, and even if the seat has lowered that far, I have discovered that if you wear a helmet, the headroom in the Ghibli is roughly equivalent to a Lamborghini Huracán EVO. There is simply no seating position conducive to performance management, but it also allowed my head to clear the significant downward bump in the head shift, so I just stooped to make sure I had unobstructed access to all the control panels.
It starts with a picture sketch of a car that has components that are on the right track but ultimately not really meant for that kind of driving. The new Zegna Pelletessuta upholstery is delightful to look at, but the reinforcement of Ghibli’s sports seats leaves much to be desired when fighting the lateral forces of Turn 4 on Big Willow or using the Brembos with six pistons to slow things down 140km / h at the end of the front straight.
There are also other important nuances that reinforce the concept of ‘luxury first’. While the eight-speed automatic transmission shifts quickly and is fairly well programmed for aggressive driving in Sport mode (we may not have used the Corsa mode on the track), it was common for me to lock the transmission in manual mode and to use the paddle shifters. preference because it could make me pretty sure that the car would not suddenly move or shut down if I did not want to.
The problem is that the exhaust of the Ghibli is so quiet that it can be difficult to hear it over the ambient noise with a helmet on, even with the windows up. This led to a few times that the revs were limited and that I had to look more at the rev counter when I really wanted to focus on the tarmac road ahead. And even when the dampers are set to their most aggressive environment, the suspension of the Ghibli really had to work to keep up.
On the other hand, the air suspension of the Levante seemed to have better body control, and the sportiest setting of the system leaves the large sports utility vehicles low enough to make it feel more like a car than an SUV. And since it comes standard with four-wheel drive, the Levante is faster off the track (3.8 seconds to 60) and feels more predictable getting power from a slow angle.
I came up against it because I preferred the Levant in this context. Numbers can contextualize performance, but at the end of the day, the vehicle that inspires greater confidence is the vehicle I would rather spend time in. Yes, it’s big and the center of gravity is high, but none of these vehicles are built to set record records, so it really comes down to the experience itself.
With the street ride, I was able to read more of what’s new to Maserati in 2021 and get a better idea of what these machines look like in the real world. All three vehicles received a slight visual refresh this year, but the big news is the cabin. Yes, there are still spot-on switching devices of the FCA parts bowl, but the division of components in this particular case actually works in favor of Maserati. 2021 debuts Maserati’s new Maserati Intelligent Assistant Infotainment system, which is apparently a new version of the Uconnect 5 system found in the new Dodge Durango and Chrysler Pacifica.
It’s a big step up from the information derived by Uconnect 4 in last year’s Maserati series, with a 10.1 – inch widescreen display, more memory and processing power, and key features like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto wireless. The new system alone modernizes the Maserati interiors considerably and among the current range, the large Quattroporte I have exhausted in the streets of Rosamond seem to derive the greatest benefit from it.
Even today, the Quattroporte feels the most honest interpretation of Maserati’s design ethos, but the 3.0-liter dual-turbo V6 fitted in GranLusso finish is a bit overwhelming. If the appeal of the Trofeo range is its emotional impact, the low-key muscle car bark of the Ferrari-derived V8 under the hood is a big part of the equation, and the loss that tilts the scales is further in favor of luxury as a primary factor. manager. Even with the new technology and the revised aesthetics, Maseratis still needs an intestinal component that cannot be ignored.
In their briefing, Maserati noted that the upcoming MC20 coupe will also be their return to motorsport and the super-sports car segment. Karl DeBoer, brand manager of Maserati North America, noted that internal research shows that 82 percent of the purchases made in this part of the market seem to buy impulse.
While Maserati is preparing the way forward with the MC20 and its brand new Nettuno V6, which will transition to other models in different iterations, they have also designed the MC20 chassis with provision for an EV propulsion system that comes further down. There’s a brave new electrified world unfolding before us, and as it evolves, internal combustion engines are becoming a less integral part of a vehicle’s personality design. Given that, Maserati would be wise to keep an eye on the impulses – and keep at them for as long as possible.
[Images © 2021 Bradley Iger/TTAC]