Maserati’s first hybrid – one of the most ambitious projects for the Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer

 

 

 

The new Ghibli Hybrid represents the first step in a plan that will lead to the electrification of all new Maserati models. The luxury automotive brand’s first all-electric cars will be the new Maserati GranTurismo and Maserati GranCabrio, scheduled for 2021.

The arrival of the new Maserati Ghibli Hybrid thus expands the Maserati range, which is now even more competitive and responsive to the demands of the market. The common denominator of the restyling is the blue colour, chosen to identify all cars with hybrid technology and the new world they represent.

With the new Ghibli Hybrid, the Trident Brand enters the world of electrification.

The choice to introduce the hybrid technology on the Ghibli sedan is no coincidence: this model, with over 100,000 units produced since its launch in 2013, perfectly embodies the Modena-based luxury manufacturer’s DNA.

In fact, the challenge facing Maserati was to enter the world of electrification without altering the high-end brand’s core philosophy and values. The result? The creation of the best possible hybrid. What’s more, Ghibli Hybrid will retain the unmistakable sound that has always distinguished every Maserati.

On the exterior, the blue colour characterises the three iconic side air ducts, the brake calipers and the thunderbolt in the oval that encloses the Trident on the rear pillar. The same blue colour reappears inside the car, in particular on the embroidered seams of the seats. The new Ghibli Hybrid also introduces new stylistic contents, starting from the new front grille, with bars redesigned to represent a tuning fork, a musical device that emits a sound of extreme purity, and which also evokes the Trident symbol itself. There are significant changes at the rear of the car, where the light clusters have been completely restyled, with a boomerang-like profile inspired by the 3200 GT and the Alfieri concept car.

The hybrid car technology exploits kinetic energy the car accumulates when in motion, recovering it and transforming it into electricity during deceleration and braking, and storing it in a battery.

The innovative powertrain combines an internal combustion engine (4 cylinders, turbo, displacement of 2.0 l) with a 48 volt alternator and an additional electric supercharger (e-Booster), supported by a battery. This solutio, said Maserati, is unique in its segment, and is the first in a new generation of powertrains.

Thanks to maximum power output of 330 hp and torque of 450 Nm delivered from just 1,500 rpm, the new Ghibli Hybrid’s performance data are very impressive: top speed of 255 km/h and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds.

Ghibli Hybrid occupants will still revel in the unmistakable sound that characterises all Maserati models, thanks to the optimised exhaust, which includes specially designed resonators.