Maserati Ghibli Trofeo Fast Fleet test – daily driving the Ferrari-powered saloon

The histories of the Maserati Ghibli and evo are tightly intertwined thanks to co-founder Harry Metcalfe’s love of Maserati’s boxy 1990s Biturbo-based Ghibli II. His blood-red Ghibli Cup – which wore the plate ‘M4SER’ – was a bit of a legend around these parts, as much a member of the team as any of us, and a uniquely quick and characterful car.

Much has changed since those heady days. Not least at Maserati, which was owned by Ferrari in 1999, then switched to Fiat Group ownership in 2005, under which the marque pursued volume sales with a new range of Ghibli and Quattroporte saloons and the Levante SUV. Now part of the vast Stellantis group, Maserati is redefining itself once more, with the MC20 (now MCPura) and bold plans for electrified powertrains.

> Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo 2025 review – should Bentley be worried?

In the context of this reinvention, the Ghibli Trofeo is a legacy car. While it's now gone off sale for good, it was a car that straddled several periods of parent ownership and comes from a time not so long ago when the world was a simpler and more straightforward place to sell high-performance cars. The Trofeo is a throwback, but a rather glorious one.

Prior to its arrival at evo, M600 GHB served a stint on Maserati GB’s press fleet. Indeed, editor Gallagher tested it back in July 2022, when he fell for its uncomplicated delivery, old-school character and immense performance. With Maserati’s star in the ascendency, living with the Ghibli Trofeo seems like a good way to get to know the marque as it is (and was) before Maserati’s evolution takes another step.

Being the flagship of the Ghibli range meant there was little in the way of hardware options, but as with all premium/luxury brands there was plenty of scope to add to the basic list price of £118,020. So far as M600 GHB is concerned, foremost amongst its cost options is the Blu Maserati paint, which cost £7020. There’s a further £9000-worth of interior options (including the Carbon package, Cold Weather package and Driver Assistance package, plus extended Alcantara for the pillars and headlining, and a Harman Kardon sound system). Including taxes, it all added up to £136,575, or just a few grand shy of a basic M5 CS. Not that you could get one of those anywhere near list price, but it does illustrate the level at which the Ghibli is punching.

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Given few of you will have seen a Trofeo even in 2025 – supersaloons are rare beasts at the best of times, let alone one built by Maserati – it’s probably worth taking you through its vital statistics. And they really are vital, the headline number being a whopping 572bhp from the Ferrari-derived 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8. In fact the Trofeo is the only Ghibli to have an eight-cylinder motor, the rest relying on six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. The V8 may originate from Maranello, but Maserati has thoroughly reworked it for its own applications, so where the Ferrari version displaces 3.9 litres the Maserati version loses a little swept volume, along with the dry sump and cross-plane crank. Peak revs drop from 8000 to 6750, but that more than fits the brief for this two-ton saloon.

It’s a hugely impressive engine. One that doesn’t have the screaming appetite for high revs or truly explosive power of the Ferrari version, but retains the same smooth, free-spinning response and has a full-blooded yet quietly understated delivery that’s authentic and characterful without being shouty or contrived.

It certainly feels more exotic than the rather surgical M5 or the hot-rod E63, and there are echoes of the old loony-tune V6 and V8 biturbo engines that powered the 1990s Ghibli and Quattroporte. If you’re going to fall for the Trofeo over a BMW or an AMG Benz, it’ll be this engine that seduces you.

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And rightly so, for it feels prodigiously potent. Arguably a bit too potent for the rear-wheel-drive chassis when the roads are cold and wet and the boost begins to build. Fortunately the ESC catches the tail smoothly enough, and if you want to play around the mechanical limited-slip diff is a willing partner. This said, you need to pick your moment, as the Ghibli is a big car to hustle.

The eight-speed ZF auto gearbox isn’t as incisive as a DCT, but it shifts quickly and cleanly and suits the Trofeo’s demeanour, happy to shuffle through the gears unaided or let you pull the paddles. Conditions haven’t allowed a meaningful exploration of the dynamic modes, but Sport feels like it’ll be the sweet spot.

Having previously run a 5-litre supercharged F-type, I was hopeful the Maser would at least match the 450bhp Jag’s fuel economy, but where that would return 30mpg on a motorway journey and drop to 24 in more general use, thus far the Ghibli has refused to be coaxed above 24mpg, even on a gentle return trip to Heathrow. Fortunately, the 80-litre tank means it still has a decent range, but the Trofeo is going to test editor Gallagher’s sense of humour when it comes to fuel expenses.

What are my first impressions? Well, I’m enjoying the Ghibli’s rarity and its enormous reserves of performance. I like that in being a supersaloon and not a super-SUV it makes a satisfyingly anachronistic statement about your preferred means of rapid propulsion. Also, it’s stimulating to be in a car that takes some getting to know. Audis, Beemers and Benzes are great cars, but each has a familiar stamp that’s shared across the vast majority of models in their respective ranges. The Ghibli is more conventional than its forebears, but it’s still a little quirky in the context of today.

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I suspect this means there will be things about it that will annoy, but equally I know there are aspects of the Ghibli that are unique to Maserati, and therefore refreshingly likeable. Whenever I see someone driving an RS6, M5 or E63, I always feel a sense of admiration for their choice of vehicle. The Ghibli Trofeo is a step beyond, because it’s not an SUV and because it strays from the default supersaloon choices. The leftfield option might not be the ‘best’, but it will always be more interesting.

I have no doubt an all-wheel-drive M5 or E63 would better it in a point-to-point dash across country, but I don’t think the Trofeo is that kind of car. It does its thing in a different way. One that resists the pursuit of supercar poise, traction and raw pace in favour of a more classical supersaloon blend of immense waftability and colossal straight-line stonk. I think there’s something rather cool about that.

We won’t be keeping the Ghibli for as long as some of our Fast Fleet cars, but we’re hoping to pack in some big trips before it goes back to Maserati. For starters, the spec sheet tells me the Trofeo is a 203mph machine. While that figure may not have the impact it once had, I still think the double-ton is a more evocative benchmark and bragging right than any Tesla-rivalling 0-60mph time. With a bit of luck we’ll be heading to Germany to put that top speed to the test…

This story was first featured in evo issue 306.