For the first time, Maserati is
taking direct aim at the BMW 5-series with the stylish new Ghibli. Not only
that, but it’s got a diesel engine…
Many years ago, in 1967, Maserati’s first
Ghibli was a big, handsome and rather exotic front-engined V8 supercar. And
then, after a long pause, it was a small, hyper-potent twin-turbo two-door
coupé pumping a starling 306bhp from just 2.0 liters. That was back in the
early 1990s. And now the Ghibli is an executive saloon, armed to do battle with
the BMW 5-series, Mercedes-Benz E-class and Jaguar XF and, in a first for
Maserati, it’s available with a diesel engine. Three very different animals,
then, and the latest bearer of the name owes little to this haphazard bloodline
except that all three cars are resolutely sporting, and flaunt lavish and
classily flamboyant interiors.
Maserati
Ghibli Diesel front
Instead, the latest Ghibli is a very close
relative of the just-launched and larger Quattroporte saloon. They share the
same root architecture, the same drivelines, the same suspension and, indeed,
the same production line. They differ in looks – no two exterior panels are the
same, and the Ghibli is almost a foot shorter, slightly wider and, besides its
bespoke cab-rear proportioning, bears its own sculptural character. And inside,
there’s a more driver-biased dashboard design. Nevertheless, Maserati has a
challenge here, in developing a car of more distinctive and more sporting
character using the same engines, transmissions and suspension, and without
tempting prospective Quattroporte buyers into thinking that they might as well
spend less money to get a car that, in essence, is the same.
The Ghibli offers three engines and two
drivelines, the range beginning with a rear-drive, twin-turbo 3.0-liter petrol
V6 developing 326bhp. Above that sits the Ghibli S, with the same 404bhp
twin-turbo version of the V6 recently launched in the Quattroporte, this engine
available with either rear or four-wheel drive. Disappointingly, considering
the Quattroporte Q4’s dynamic prowess, the four-wheel-drive version will not be
available in the increasingly inclement UK. The most unusual offering, in a
Maserati context at least, is a 271bhp 3.0-liter V6 VM Motori turbo diesel
that’s an essential weapon if the Modenese marque is to boost its sales from
well under 10,000 units to 50,000.
Maserati
Ghibli Diesel side
All Ghiblis come with an eight-speed ZF
automatic transmission, multi-link rear suspension and double wishbones up
front, Maserati’s electronically controlled Skyhook dampers, a limited-slip
differential and Brembo brakes. Unusually, Maserati has resisted the
fuel-saving and emissions-reducing temptations of electrically assisted
steering in favor of a pure hydraulic system in the quest for tactile realism
at the rim. And all Ghiblis benefit from broadly 50/50 weight distribution, a
model-for-model kerb weight that’s 50kg lighter than the Quattroporte’s and a
reasonable 0.31 drag coefficient.
If Maserati’s (slightly) more populist
mission succeeds, then it’s the diesel that will be the best-seller here and
through much of Europe. That’s one reason why we’re majoring on it here;
another is the seeming incongruity of an oil-burning Maserati. Still, we got
used to diesel Porsches, and there’s no reason why a diesel bearer of the
trident badge can’t make a fine sporting drive. Especially with 443lb ft of
torque to fire through an eight-speeder.
Listen to it from the outside and the
Ghibli diesel has an almost maritime sound to it, and a little taxi-rank
clatter, too. But if you’re inside, you hear none of this, the silence instead
broken by a low, potent hum. And in the powertrain’s Normal mode, this hum
rises with a welling serenity that rarely turns penetrating. It’s not quite as
sweet as BMW’s best, but it’s civil and has some subtly sporting rort.
Maserati
Ghibli Diesel interior
Now press the Sport button beside the
gearlever, accelerate hard from 1000rpm in second and, after a pause while the
revs wind to 1800rpm, you’ll hear a deep-chested, swelling backbeat that brings
locomotives and other industrial-strength engines to mind. Thank the Maserati
Active Sound system for this. A pair of noise actuators installed close to its
quarter of tailpipes heighten the desirable elements of the diesel’s tune, and
with a resonance that’s surprisingly satisfying.
You’ll want to leave the Ghibli in this
mode, not only because of the lightly beguiling soundtrack but also because
this engine feels unexpectedly indolent in Normal, and never mind its fat 443lb
ft of torque, which spools from a not-quite-low-enough 2000rpm. The pull is
there, of course, but it takes a determined right foot to get to it. In Sport,
the diesel pulls with a fair bit of verse – if rather less than the lively
326bhp petrol V6 and certainly storms along in a stealthy, low-rev lope that
makes it easy to think that you’re advancing more slowly than you are. And, as
ever, the ZF ‘box does a good job of selecting the right ratio for the moment.
