Maserati’s plans – a manual, a new Quattroporte… and maybe a V8?
Maserati’s Bottegafuoriserie program could spawn a limited-run manual, and the Modenese brand’s not stopping there
During the reveal of its new GranTurismo, GranCabrio cars and its new Grecale SUV, senior figures from Maserati spoke with some refreshing candor about what their ambitions are for the brand. There were some very exciting ideas being bandied about – not the fodder of a company suffering in financial stranglehold at the hands of its conglomerate owners, contrary to popular belief.
On the ground floor, expansion is coming for Maserati, beyond its Grecale, GranTurismo and MCPura models, with a strong desire to bring the Quattroporte name back, as well as introduce an E-segment SUV successor to the Levante. The old saloon, which bowed out in its sixth generation, was beloved if not a big seller. Which is why it will require ‘some evolution’ for its next generation, according to Christiano Fioro, Maserati marketing head.
‘A modern interpretation of a sedan can change’ he continued. ‘There will be space for a Sedan that is more capable, still aggressive. Quattroporte is definitely looking for something new. There’s space between SUVs and sedans to be made.’
Santo Ficili, Maserati COO and Alfa Romeo CEO followed, saying that ‘we are not today present in the E-segment, where the Quattroporte used to be. We are developing new models and we cannot forget the E-SUV, that used to be the Levante. For sure there is a hole that we need to fill again.’
Then talk turned to Bottegafuoriserie, Maserati’s and Alfa Romeo’s shared special projects and wishes program. It’s the department that conceived of and delivered the MC20-based Alfa Romeo 33. Likewise, it’s where customers go for customisation and personalisation wishes, with a roughly one-in-four takeup that’s steadily rising.
While we know Alfa Romeo is looking to introduce limited special project cars beyond the 33, the Maserati team also expressed interest in a higher tier, rarified project, that its customers have expressed strong desire for a manual transmission and most surprisingly of all, that it is open to obliging:
‘Maybe 50 per cent of our customers do demand a manual gearbox, and a petrol engine,’ Fioro said. ‘I believe we will have to have a manual gearbox in our Bottega product. The day we will be able to present a new Bottega program for Maserati, I hope will be soon.’
The feeling in the group, which consisted of marketing chief Fiori, COO Ficili as well as head of engineering Davide Danesin, was that hybridisation was important but had to be handled carefully. There is intent to augment the venerable Nettuno V6 engine, currently serving in everything from the Grecale SUV to the MCPura supercar in an ‘all motor’ set-up. However, a plug-in solution holds the least appeal. It was also asserted in no uncertain terms, that emissions regulations shouldn’t be a problem for the engine.
‘We see a hybrid future for the Nettuno,’ Dansin said. ‘There’s more performance and additional customer value to be had. We are not pursuing plug-in, but 48-volt and ‘full’ hybrid solution. Folgore is our plug-in solution.’
‘We are continuously evaluating all options, of course. Plug-in cars are heavy, with big batteries. A discussion around them is that customers don’t actually charge their plug-in hybrids and this is not a desirable solution. Hybrid has a benefit for efficiency, but we prefer mild- or high-voltage, potentially with smaller batteries.’
In fact, there was dismissal of very few ideas floated to the group by journalists, including the return of a V8. ‘Today we have one of the best, if not the best V6 in the world – Our Nettuno,’ Fiori said in response. ‘The team is working to develop this engine, to go into a hybrid environment. We are not forgetting the possibility of the V8 – it’s a point we are considering. We have the knowledge, the capability, to consider a V8. There are some people in the world that believe this is an engine Maserati should have. We stay close with our customers and we always get asked about the sound.’
