‘It used to matter, but the number of people who care is dwindling’
CC: The thing is, what was the last great Maserati? Nobody knows.
GK: You obviously haven’t driven the MC20. And where were you when they launched the 2008 Quattroporte Sport GT S? Not to mention the GranCabrio.
CC: You’re dead right, Georg, I haven’t driven some of Maserati’s recent cars. And that’s the problem: who in the real world has, and can Maserati do enough to persuade them to make the effort to change that? Nobody understands what Maserati represents…
GK: Right now, tradition, style, image, street cred. But what Maserati means going forward is less clear, I give you that.
CC: The MC20 should be exciting enough to work as a halo product but the new GranTurismo coupe looks suspiciously bland under its minimal disguise. Face it, nobody cares whether Maserati lives or dies ....
GK: I do. I can’t wait to watch elettromobilità italiana unfold. Can a battery-powered Maserati match the fabulous Nettuno V6? Are they going to create a thrilling customer journey worthy of the brand name? The Grecale Folgore (below) looks like a very interesting beginning of that journey.
CC: To my mind Maserati has the same problem Jaguar has. It used to matter but the number of people who remember or care about what happened in the 1950s and 1960s is dwindling every day.
GK: I also care about the future of Alfa and Lancia. They can all thrive.
CC: Or they can all blur into one under Stellantis. I get that synergies mean survival these days, but I worry whether Stellantis has the ability to make Maserati a true Porsche rival. Now if VW bought Maserati, and positioned it as Lambo’s little brother, maybe, just maybe, we’d be looking ahead to an exciting future.