2008 Maserati Gran Turismo on 2040-cars

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Step inside the secret lab creating Maserati's future

MODENA, Italy – Driving Maserati's raucous GranTurismo MC and the effortlessly quick Levante SQ4 back to back feels like traveling through time. Horsepower doesn't go out of style, but a user interface quickly does, and the GranTurismo looks like it's from another era in that respect. Designers, engineers, and executives are busily orchestrating a transformation that will ensure the 105-year old firm's next leap forward is even more dramatic. Autoblog went behind the scenes in Maserati's Innovation Lab – which has never been opened to outsiders before – to find out how the looming metamorphosis will shape Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles' (FCA) flagship brand. Maserati is on the brink of a ground-up redesign that will take it into new segments of the market, and diversify its powertrain palette. We heard the term electrification used on many occasions during our visit, though company officials resorted to automotive omerta when we asked for additional details. An earlier product plan reveals every upcoming addition to its line-up will be available with an electric powertrain, and there will be quite a few cars to electrify. Historically a small, almost niche automaker, Maserati is on track to release five new models between 2020 and 2023, including a second SUV positioned below the aforementioned Levante, plus replacements for most of its current cars. Technology is playing a significant role in Maserati's renaissance. The company's four-year-old Innovation Lab is home to simulators capable of reproducing six months' worth of wear and tear in two weeks. Engineers can dial in a variety of situations, locations, and road conditions, ranging from a winding country road in France to a busy highway in southern California. They can digitally insert potholes, add rain or fog at the push of a button and remove either just as quickly, and put virtual prototypes on a long list of race tracks around the world, including the Nurburgring. Digital wind tunnels help the team test future cars well before they're built. This approach saves time and money, explained Luca Dusini, the man responsible for Maserati's vehicle dynamics testing and simulation. Making every dollar and each minute count is key to pulling off such an ambitious overhaul. 90% of development work is carried out on the various simulators, according to Dusini. This is significant, because Maserati is developing most of the technology it will pack into its future models from scratch.

Maserati to cap output at 75,000 cars

Maserati appears set to take a page out of corporate sibling Ferrari's playbook with the possibility that it may cap global annual output in the coming years. Ferrari announced in 2013 that it would limit itself to 7,000 vehicles a year to maintain exclusivity, and so far, it has stuck to the plan.
According to an unnamed Maserati executive speaking to Reuters, the Italian luxury car maker wants to cap its sales to 75,000 vehicles a year. However, it's hardly there yet. The company doesn't forecast reaching that production benchmark until 2018.
Dave Sullivan, an auto industry analyst for AutoPacific, thinks that limiting sales could be a smart move for Maserati. "If it is profitable at 75,000 and doesn't require a significant investment in capacity to get there, this appears to be sound," he said to Autoblog via email. "Alfa Romeo is intended to be the volume brand and by capping Maserati, it means that even if you opted to buy the 'entry level' Ghibli, you still have a level of exclusivity."

2019 Maserati Ghibli GranLusso S Quick Spin Review | A mixed designer bag

It's been a minute since we've driven the Maserati Ghibli (our first drive was way back in 2013), the twin-turbocharged, V6-powered smaller sedan from the legendary Italian outfit. In the last couple years, rumors have swirled that the Ghibli would donate its platform to the Dodge Charger and its Challenger and 300 siblings. So, in a sense, our time in Southern California in the 2019 Maserati Ghibli GranLusso S was both a preview of FCA's shared rear-drive sedan future as well as a check-in about how the Ghibli is maturing in general. Not that the Ghibli hasn't evolved in the six years since it went on sale. For 2018, Maserati moved to an electrically-assisted steering rack, mostly to enable driver assistance systems with steering intervention. The V6's output has been bumped in the S, to 424 horsepower. The headlights and grille have been updated, too, to compliment the newer and more aggressive Levante. In Los Angeles, at least, the Ghibli doesn't stand out – the town is lousy with Ghiblis, Levantes, and Quattroportes. Good for Maserati, I suppose, but bad for exclusivity. Nor does the car pop in photos like it does in person. My tester was a metallic, creamy white, which is flat and dull in photos or from far away. That's a shame, because this car has phenomenal contouring. From behind the wheel, the driver's side fender porpoises above the shapely hood. Walking along the side, the curvature of the rear fender where it meets the deep tumblehome of the C-pillar is delightful. Everybody stares at an exotic, but the owner of a Ghibli should feel special contemplating their sheetmetal. This sense of specialness dissolves inside. There are Maserati tridents everywhere, presumably to help you remember that you're looking at the expensive Italian sports sedan you just purchased rather than a riot of low-rent, Chrysler-derived bits. The steering wheel buttons feel cheap and wobbly, the too-shiny center console finish seems synthetic, the prominent lighting and engine start/stop controls to the left of the steering wheel are ensconsed in a dull plastic surround. Some of the aesthetic choices – subjective, yes – are confounding. Take the textile inserts on the seats and door cards. I love the fact that interior designers are playing with textiles, which can be used to great effect. And the pitch here is compelling: an apparently famous Italian designer (Ermenegildo Zegna) used a fancy fabric (mulberry silk) with special weaves and textures.