Sales of the Jaguar XJ might be stuck at saddening levels, but another ‘old’ brand is having much success with its own full sized luxury saloon.
The Quattroporte is one of the reasons why Maserati registrations continue to rise, especially in Britain. The importer sold 122 cars in May, with the total since the start of the year now at 645 units. That’s a 50% gain over the first five months of 2014.
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Germany, France, Switzerland, the Benelux markets and Spain are also up YoY, and between 1 January and 31 May, combined sales were close to 2,600 vehicles, a rise of 11.5%. This time next year, volumes should have accelerated fairly dramatically, thanks to the arrival of the Levante. This rival for the Range Rover Sport and Porsche Cayenne is due to enter production in six months’ time. Sales volumes are predicted to be around 25,000 a year on average over a seven or eight-year lifecycle.
Like the Quattroporte, the Levante will use a rear- and all-wheel drive architecture. This was introduced just two years ago by the brand’s largest sedan, and it’s also what underpins the Ghibli. The Alfieri hatchback and roadster (think Cayman and Boxster) will be based upon this platform, as will the follow-up to the GranTurismo. By 2018, thanks to this eventual multi-model line-up, the goal of 75,000 Maseratis being sold worldwide looks feasible. Company CEO Harald Wester has gone on the record as stating he wants to see 50,000 cars sold worldwide this year as a stepping stone towards the larger target.
Exclusivity won’t be harmed by the gradual ramp up to high volumes, as the most recent additional model to appear proves (see pics). Just five of these monsters will be manufactured by Zagato and I would expect we will see other limited edition hypercars in the years to come.
To keep the brand’s top model fresh, a package of subtle mid-life styling changes has just been announced for the 2016 model year. This naturally includes the need for Euro 6 engine compliancy, which means there is now start-stop for all variants and the diesel engine has been modified for AdBlue.
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By GlobalDataOther changes for the Quattroporte include a Harman Kardon Premium sound system with 10 speakers, SIRI smart personal assistant, new 19“ ‘Poseidone’ alloy wheels for the Diesel, S and S Q4, with special 20“ ‘Urano’ rims reserved for the GTS.
Blind Sport Alert is a new option, and something I found to be a surprising omission when I tested the GTS last year has also been redressed: an electrically operated boot lid is now standard for cars powered by the petrol V8.
You can tell that Maserati, while possessing a glorious heritage, nonetheless knows it needs to keep pushing its logo and brand name. That’s why you’ll find over 20 tridents or examples of the company name adorning the Quattroporte. I observed these on the steering wheel, pedals, instruments, clock, infotainment screen, head restraints, backs of the rear seat entertainment screens, and headphone cases. Stand back and take in the car’s exterior, and you’ll see more identification on the grille, bonnet, C pillars and bootlid. What you won’t see anywhere is the word diesel.
Several friends and colleagues who sat in the car were surprised to learn that this example was powered by a compression-ignition engine. This is in fact the only Maserati powertrain not to be supplied by Ferrari. Instead, it comes from VM Motori. The standard transmission is ZF’s 8HP70 eight-speed automatic and you can use the beautiful metal paddles to make marvellous music on your downchanges. Yes, this is most definitely a sporty diesel and if you select the S button, you would almost think the car was powered by a petrol V8.
Its maker says this variant has a top speed of 155mph and that it can reach 62mpg in 6.4 seconds but average CO2 is just 163g/km and Combined consumption is 45.6 mpg. Power from the 2,987cc V6 diesel is 202kW (275hp) @ 4,000rpm, with torque of 600Nm @ 2,000rpm. Other companies should take a lesson from FCA in lightweight engineering, as the Diesel weighs in at just 1,885kg.
Pricing starts at GBP57,500 though the test model’s spec sheet says GBP73,235 including a lot of options. The rear seat entertainment package, for example, is GBP4,500 and special Poltrona Frau leather trim is GBP3,041. The lovely to touch Alcantara headliner is GBP965, glossy black trim is GBP1,100, silver paint for the brake callipers is an extra GBP360 and if you don’t like the thought of being reliant on a puncture repair kit, you’ll need to pay GBP437 (!) for an 18-inch space saver spare.
Things that make this car different to its intended rivals include the frameless doors and a firm ride that somehow manages not to be harsh on UK roads. As a rear-seat passenger, there’s an almost ridiculous abundance of legroom, and you have electric blinds on the windows all four of which are double glazed. The test car was also fitted with a shade covering the back window – it’s a GBP350 option – which automatically lowered itself whenever R was selected.
Of course you don’t have to have a diesel, though when it comes to drivetrains, right-hand drive cars are only available with the RWD chassis. If you’d rather have petrol power, there are two options: 410hp 3.0-litre V6 or 530hp 3.8-litre V8 though even in LHD markets, only the V6 can be ordered with optional all-wheel drive. In China, there is also a 330hp 3.0-litre V6, which gets the car under a tax threshold. Like the other engines, it has two turbochargers. Incidentally, you can tell a GTS from the less expensive cars as it now has unique wheels and a red accent for the trident on its grille.
As for production numbers, it was stated at the car’s media launch in 2013 that overall registrations would likely be around the 80,000 mark, given a “7-8 year lifecycle”. The production plant is AGAP (Officine Maserati Grugliasco, Giovanni Agnelli), the former Bertone works in suburban Turin.
The replacement model being still quite some time off, R&D work will instead be right now concentrated on perfecting first the Levante, then the Alfieri plus of course mid-cycle facelifts for the Ghibli and Quattroporte.
There may be a chance that the new line of turbocharged V6 engines which have been developed for future Alfa Romeos (Progetto 952, then 949 and 961) will also appear in Maserati’s two sedans as part of their scheduled styling refreshes. But more on that tomorrow, when the first official details of the Giulia, next year’s rear- and all-wheel drive Giorgio platform Alfa rival for the Jaguar XE will be announced.
In his next Future models and vehicle review, Glenn Brooks will peer into SEAT’s future models pipeline, after sampling the new Leon X-Perience.
