Maserati has been the subject of plenty of speculation lately, and its absence from the Paris Motor Show this week has only added fuel to the fire. Will the brand survive? Will it have a new owner? And will the Quattroporte ever make a comeback? Yes, no, and sort of are the best answers we can provide at this time.
First, the good news: Maserati sales may be down, but the brand is not going away. According to a report by Auto Express, Maserati will reveal its future vision in the form of concept cars set to debut in Modena, Italy this December. Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa promises this December presentation will not be full of vaporware and pipe dreams. “It won’t just be about slides, but a real plan that will secure the future for our beloved luxury brand,” said Filosa when addressing the media.
That future is expected to include a new SUV roughly the size of the discontinued Levante. According to Maserati’s CEO, Santo Ficili: “A new concept car will be presented. Let me call it Levante, just to say that we are coming back to the E SUV segment.”
That might prove to be a boon for Maserati’s bottom line, but an SUV is typically not what gets the blood flowing for the average car enthusiast. Fans of the trident may be more interested to learn that a Quattroporte successor is, from the sound of it, in the works. But as we reported back in June, this new vehicle is probably going to be “Quattroporte-like” more than a direct descendant.
“The story of the Quattroporte, in my mind, for the future is not a sedan. It can be something between a shooting brake and a crossover: a very low, big car to come back to this part of the segment,” said Ficili. Most enthusiasts would probably vote for a station wagon over a SUV, but we will have to wait and see what Maserati has planned.
One thing we do know is that Maserati will continue to be part of the Stellantis family, and there are no plans to sell the Italian automaker. According to a Bloomberg Television interview (by way of Motor1), Filosa shut down any Maserati sales rumors. When has was asked if there are any plans in place for a sale he replied with: “Not at all.” He went on to say that not only is Maserati not for sale, but there are no plans to separate the European and American brands under the Stellantis umbrella.
So, Maserati isn't going anywhere—at least, not under new ownership. A new SUV and a radically reinvented Quattroporte might give enthusiasts something to get excited about, however. Whether either vehicle can help restore Maserati to its former glory remains to be seen.
