We look at Maserati’s hi-tech future
We get a behind-the-scenes look at the hi-tech innovation that’s putting this famous car maker at the cutting edge
THERE aren’t many firms with a name as evocative as Maserati. Founded in 1914 in Bologna, Italy, and taking its Trident logo from the city’s famous statue of Neptune, Maserati moved its headquarters to Modena in 1940.
With an initial focus on racing, the company produced its first road car in 1946. Since then, Maserati has earned a reputation for building fast, beautiful cars with iconic engines and evocative exhaust notes that have caught people’s eyes and ears on both road and track.
But even one of the best-loved names in the business has to move with the times. For the first 99 years of its existence, for example, Maserati exclusively used petrol engines in its range of sports cars; it wasn’t until 2013 that the first diesel appeared in the Ghibli saloon.
And now, with the global automotive industry experiencing seismic change, Maserati is having to follow suit. The Italian company has no intention of being left behind in the race to go electric. To find out more, we headed to Modena to witness the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one.
For the last 12 years, the Maserati GranTurismo has been built in Modena. We described this classic, timeless beauty as “the best car Maserati has built for at least 25 years” when we reviewed it in 2008. What’s more, the GranTurismo has one of the most sonorous engines ever fitted to a road car. Sadly, though, that engine is coming to the end of its life – a victim both of time and the requirements for makers to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. To mark its passing, one of the last GranTurismos to roll off the production line in Modena was finished in a special “Zeda” paint scheme, with the tri-tone effect designed to connect “the past, the present and the future” of Maserati.
We couldn’t resist the chance to climb into this special GranTurismo, and although the cabin appeared suitably exclusive, the haphazard, old-school arrangement of the major controls spoke of the car’s age. Nonetheless, the GranTurismo as we know it is now gone for good.
Fans of Maserati’s GT cars need not worry, though, says the firm. Because while the petrol-engined GranTurismo is a thing of the past, its replacement will be an all-electric model that company bosses claim “will herald a new era of electrification for the Maserati range”. And before that happens, the Ghibli saloon will receive electrification via
a hybrid powertrain option, under the ‘Maserati Blue’ moniker that will denote the firm’s electrified cars. A mid-sized Porsche Macan-rivalling SUV with a plug-in hybrid option is also in the works, while the Levante and Quattroporte will be updated to keep pace with modern customer and regulatory requirements, too.
Innovation Lab
Maserati set up an Innovation Lab in 2015 to aid this sea change, featuring simulators and user-experience research rooms that aim to ensure the technologically complex cars that are essential for Maserati’s future don’t neglect the all-important driver and passengers.
The Lab is normally swathed in secrecy, and our visit marks the first time that the facility opened its doors to
“Zeda’s tri-tone paint is designed to connect the past, present and future of Maserati”
“The dynamic simulator sits on a raised motion platform that offers a greater range of movement than industry-standard sims”
“If sleek, tech-laden laboratories are required to keep Maserati in business, then that can only be a good thing”
anyone outside the company. The first stop on our tour is the static simulator, which comprises, strangely, the cabin of an Alfa Romeo Giulia set in front of a wraparound screen framed by three projectors.
The static simulator is used in the initial stage of the development of a new model’s driving dynamics. Maserati’s view is that its cars are set apart from their competitors by the driving experience, so getting this spot-on is key. The steering, brakes, stability control and other systems can all be simulated here, allowing engineers to receive early feedback from development drivers.
Further along, the Lab’s dynamic simulator is brought into play. This features another section of Giulia (Maserati admits Alfa Romeo has had access to the Lab), which sits on a raised motion platform that can tilt to six degrees of freedom (forward/backward, up/down and left/right), while a lower platform offers a further three degrees – a greater range of movement than industry-standard sims.
The hi-tech development isn’t just about driving dynamics, though. The ‘User eXperience’ lab, for example, is where Maserati assesses a variety of factors to ensure drivers are able to operate their cars comfortably and efficiently. A virtual skylight can reproduce lighting conditions from different times of day and night, which allows designers to check that there are no problems with distracting reflections. Other research facilities include one where warning sounds made by future Maseratis can be assessed; another sees the effects of different weather conditions, while driver-assistance systems are also put through their paces.
All of these facilities are hugely impressive and feel properly futuristic. But shouldn’t a Maserati be designed in an analogue, non-digital way, sketched on exquisite draughtsman’s paper before being signed off with flourish and brio?
Well, over the years Maserati has been owned by at least three paymasters, including the Italian government, proving beautiful flourishes can make for risky business decisions. But with the Dynamic simulator alone resulting in a 50 per cent drop in development time for new models – and reducing the need for physical prototypes by 40 per cent – going digital has undeniable cost advantages, while also bringing Maserati firmly into the 21st century.
If sleek, tech-laden laboratories are what’s required to keep a firm steeped in history such as Maserati in business, the Innovation Lab can only be a good thing.