Maserati product plans laid out
Italian sports car maker spells out hybrid and EV plans
MASERATI has outlined a detailed product plan that will see the Italian firm launch a series of new hybrid and fully electric models by 2022.
Parent company Fiat Chrysler (FCA) has invested five billion euros in Italy for retooling Maserati production sites for electrification as well as developing autonomous driving technologies.
The plan kicks off with a heavily updated and hybrid version of the Ghibli saloon that will be launched next year. Like the existing model, it will continue to be built in Italy, along with every new Maserati, and is expected to use a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
No technical details on the hybrid system have been announced but Maserati has previously confirmed that its plug-in hybrids will be ‘performance-focused’.
Following this will be the muchanticipated electric coupé, expected to be based around the Alfieri concept that was first shown back in 2014. The project has had a series of false starts but Maserati appears to have finally nailed down the car’s mechanical make-up – that it will be fully electric. Maserati has suggested the most powerful variant will sprint from 0-62mph in two seconds.
Company boss Timothy Kuniskis has previously confirmed that both coupé and Cabriolet versions of the Alfieri will be available.
The long-rumoured Maserati midsize SUV, previewed in our exclusive image, comes next in 2021. This car will be a direct rival for the likes of Porsche’s Macan and will get a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but not a pure-electric version. The new SUV will be built at Maserati’s Cassano plant in Italy where a £710million investment has already been allocated to construct the production line.
Maserati will then replace its current GranTurismo and GranCabrio with two new electric GT cars – a convertible and a coupé.
Elsewhere, there are also plans for more advanced driver-assistance systems. These will include Level 2 for motorway driving and even level 3 autonomy, which allows drivers to remove their hands from the wheel in certain scenarios.
“Alfieri has had a series of false starts, but Maserati seems to have nailed down its make-up: fully electric“