Maserati future: bold plans for Alfieri electric sports car, baby SUV and Maserati Blue hybrids
Maserati plans an expanded, completely Italian-built model range with various plug-in models by 2022
Maserati has let slip more details of its future product plans, mapping out further details of the Maserati Blue range of electric and hybrid cars that will form the basis of its line-up by 2022. The Italian brand also underlined its ambitions in the direction of autonomous driving and revealed major investment plans for its Italian manufacturing base.
First up in the electrification department is the Ghibli executive saloon that will get Maserati’s first hybrid powertrain in 2020. That is set to be followed by a new Maserati sports car, with design based on the stunning Alfieri concept, which will be built at the firm’s Modena plant.
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Company boss Timothy Kuniskis had previously confirmed that both coupe and Cabrio versions of the Alfieri would be available. Buyers will be offered a choice of three Ferrari-developed powertrains – including, eventually, an all-electric version capable of 0-62mph in around two seconds.
The long rumoured Maserati mid-sized SUV comes next to sit below the Levante. This car will be a rival for the likes of Porsche’s Macan and is expected to get the plug-in hybrid powertrain from the Ghibli hybrid, but not a pure-electric version. We also expect a high performance Trofeo model to rival the Macan Turbo and the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio. The new SUV will be built at Maserati’s Cassano plant in Italy where a £710million investment has been allocated to construct the production line.
Maserati will also replace its current GranTurismo and GranCabrio models with two new all-electric GT cars - a convertible and a coupe. According to the brand, “These models will herald the full electrification era for Maserati”, suggesting that they will be the first of the pure-electric Maseratis to arrive on the market.
Diesel engines will be eliminated from Maserati’s product range and replaced by ‘Maserati Blue’ - an electrified sub-brand encompassing the plug-in hybrids and pure-electric cars mentioned above. It’s designed to allow Maserati to target electric pioneers like Porsche and Tesla with its range of cutting-edge battery electric vehicles. All future powertrains will be engineered and supplied by Ferrari – including those for electric vehicles.
The new Maserati models will slot-in around the continually developing Ghibli, Levante and Quattroporte ranges to create a far broader, more comprehensive model range to propel the brand forward in the future. There are plans to implement more advanced driver assistance systems than Maserati has offered in the past with Level 2 driver assistance for motorway driving and even level 3 autonomy, which allows drivers to remove their hands from the wheel in certain scenarios with the car changing lanes or stopping itself without driver input.
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