Even traditional sports-car manufacturers are at the mercy of the SUV’s popularity, it seems, and Maserati has confirmed its Ghibli sedan will be gone after 2023.
Once the Ghibli is gone, its larger Quattroporte sedan sibling will be redesigned into a downsized version closer to the Ghibli’s dimensions. The Italian automaker has determined that with so many buyers opting for sport-utilities, it simply doesn’t make sense to offer two sedans.
Maserati first used the “Ghibli” name on a two-seater tourer in 1967, and then on a four-seater coupe in 1992. The current vehicle was launched in 2013. In Canada, the 2022 Ghibli is offered as the Modena Q4 with 424-horsepower twin-turbo V6 starting at $107,400; or as the Trofeo with 580-horsepower twin-turbo V8 at $139,300. The Quattroporte offers the same V6 and V8 performance, with its Modena Q4 at $139,000, and Trofeo at $180,100.
Maserati’s current SUV offerings in Canada are made up of the Grecale, with three trim levels starting at $75,200; and the Levante in four trims starting at $105,200.
Earlier this year, Maserati CEO Davide Grasso said the automaker will offer a fully-electric version of each of its product lines by 2025, and won’t offer any internal-combustion engines by 2030.
Its first production electric will be the GranTurismo Folgore coupe, planned to go on sale in 2023. Folgore, Italian for “lightning,” will be the branded name for electrics, and the compact Grecale SUV will be getting an electric engine shortly under that moniker as well. Maserati has said it will use a 800-volt fast-charging architecture — similar to Porsche’s Taycan, and quicker-charging than Tesla.
There’s no word on exactly how a downsized and eventually electrified Quattroporte will look, but Maserati’s parent company Stellantis has already announced it will use four fully-electric platforms across all of its global brands – which include Dodge, Jeep, and Ram in North America – along with a solid-state battery that’s expected to be ready for introduction by 2026.
Keyword: Maserati will drop the Ghibli and downsize the Quattroporte