Piano Black Wood Leather Steering Contrast Drilled Trident Red Calipers Cover on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Maserati Ghibli reportedly dies in 2023

When Maserati debuted the Ghibli sedan at the 2013 Shanghai Motor Show, the executive tourer was meant to establish itself as a sporty alternative to the BMW 5 Series set and help Maserati increase its global sales eightfold. Neither of those happened. The product push didn't materialize, and the Ghibli failed at its task because it never managed to be the smooth, dynamically masterful Italian it could have been, its rough edges inexcusable in a sedan that once started at about $76,000 and is now nearly $80,000 after destination. Even so, we never wished the Ghibli ill, we wished Maserati would sort it out. That's not going to happen, according to Automotive News. The outlet's product page for the Ghibli says, "Production is expected to continue through 2022 on the sedan, which will not be replaced." Assuming this happens and the Ghibli takes a final ride into the sunset in 2023, it will have had ten years on the market. The model launched Maserati's electrification push, the Ghibli Hybrid and its 48-volt mild-hybrid system coming online last year but not for sale in the U.S. market. At the same time, the model finally acquired the raucous V8 one would have expected at launch or shortly after, in the guise of the Trofeo trim we do get.   Like all other automakers, though, Maserati has a huge to-do list over the next five years, and it can't coddle laggards. Last year, the automaker's product roadmap called for a pile of new and new-generation models. The MC20 flagship is out, the Grecale crossover is due early next year in ICE and battery-electric forms, followed by the new GranTurismo and GranCabrio with ICE and EV powertrains, plus the MC20 Spider and pure-electric MC20. In 2023, the new Quattroporte will return that nameplate's former glory as the only sedan in the lineup, followed by a new Levante, both with internal combustion and electric powertrains. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Maserati MC20 supercar plays in the snow

Maserati makes 328-foot-long trident with 80 Grecale test mules

Maserati delayed the launch of the Grecale, its long-awaited second SUV, from November 2021 to the spring of 2022, but that doesn't mean the test mules and the engineers tasked with driving them are taking a sabbatical. The company is still testing prototypes all over the world, and it brought 80 pre-production models fully draped in camouflage to a test track in Modena, Italy, to create a giant trident emblem. Over 250 development models are racking up miles in Italy, Finland, the United Arab Emirates, China, Japan and the United States, according to the Italian firm. About a third of them gathered near the company's home town to form the 328-foot trident. It's a stunt that allowed Maserati to release a handful of cool images, but it teaches us little about the Levante's baby brother, which will be aimed at the Porsche Macan. Luckily, Maserati also released a couple of images that show four prototypes parked in front of the Milan Cathedral. We can tell that the Grecale borrows a handful of styling cues from the MC20; it's not simply a scaled-down Levante. Its headlights are oval and nearly vertical (the Levante's are thin and almost horizontal) and its grille looks wider and thinner. Earlier spy shots suggest that the Grecale wears a roofline that leans more towards sport than utility; it's not a utilitarian people-hauler with the proportions of a school bus. Unverified reports claim that Maserati will build the Grecale on an evolution of the Giorgio platform that underpins Alfa Romeo's Stelvio and Giulia models. If that's accurate, rear-wheel drive will likely come standard (at least in some markets) and all-wheel drive will be offered at an extra cost. We're guessing that four- and six-cylinder engines will be available, though full specifications haven't been published yet, and Maserati previously confirmed that a high-performance version worthy of the Trofeo emblem will join the range at some point.  More details about the Maserati Grecale will emerge in the coming months.  Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Maserati will field a Formula E team in 2023

Some Italian flair is coming to the Formula E grid. Maserati plans to field a team in the electric motor racing series in 2023, becoming the first brand from the country to do so. The automaker is returning to single-seater competition for the first time in more than six decades. Maserati ran a successful Formula 1 team in the 1950s and its two-seater MC12 took 14 titles in the FIA GT sports car series between 2004 and 2010. Maserati plans to take what it learns on Formula E tracks and feed that back into its Folgore EV lineup. “Beyond this piece of history, Maserati Formula E will be our technological laboratory to accelerate the development of high-efficiency electrified powertrains and intelligent software for our road sports cars," Stellantis Motorsport senior VP Jean-Marc Finot said. The automaker will enter Formula E as the series shifts to the Gen3 car, its lightest and fastest vehicle to date. Formula E and the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) said the Gen3 will be the planet's most efficient race car. They claim the EV will produce at least 40 percent of energy used in a race via regenerative braking.