Maserati Ghibli. An Entirely Different Galaxy
The Maserati Ghibli is an E-class sports car of the Italian Maserati brand, owned by the Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. It has been produced since 1967 in coupe and sedan bodies. The RWD or 4WD variations are available. In 2021, Israeli buyers could purchase the third generation of the magnificent sedan after the restyling in 2020.
Maserati positions its Ghibli cars as a ‘Daily Ferrari’. And that’s correct. The approximate cost of the last, third generation, is $65K. About 20K cars are produced per year. Maserati is a different galaxy. Not compared to the Germans, Americans, Japanese, Koreans. Everything is different here, the car seems very light in weight, but it weighs more than 1800 kg, it is easy to drive, it is pleasant to corner at speed, accompanied by an excellent Italian exhaust. In 2013 the Maserati Ghibli was recognized as the best car in its class according to Euro NCAP.
First generation
It was produced 1967 to 1973. The first Ghibli, shown at the Turin Motor Show, was designed by the then very young, but already famous, designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. The design of a two-door coupe was really quite extraordinary, some even called it the most beautiful car from Maserati. And its name the new model got in honor of the hurricane South American wind. In addition to the coupe, the Spyder was available with an open-body model, and it was possible to order a hard top or a folding convertible soft top.
The first Ghibli was Maserati’s last front-engined supercar - the Bora, which began production while the Ghibli was still in production, had already been built with an engine over the rear axle. The engine installed under the hood of the first Ghibli, was very powerful and high-tech: a completely cast aluminum with four camshafts and four carburetors at a volume of 4719 cm ³ it produced 340 hp and accelerated a stocky coupe with a low center of gravity to 265 km / h. Then there was the 4.9 liter SS Series engine, which produced 355 hp and sped up to 100 km/h in 6 seconds. There was a choice of 4-speed automatic transmission or 6-speed manual. The 25 Spyder was equipped with the SS engine.
Maserati positions its Ghibli cars as ‘Daily Ferrari’.
Maserati Ghibli’s first-generation interior provided the driver and passengers with a high level of comfort not typical of other, classic sports cars of the mid-1960s. It was finished in high quality leather and wood paneling, had automatic air conditioning, electric mirrors, central locking, three-point seat belts and adjustable seats. A total of 1,150 coupes and 125 Spyders were produced until 1973.
Second generation
It was produced from 1992 to 1998. In 1992, the ‘Ghibli’ name returned. The new RWD coupe was powered by twin-turbocharged 6-cylinder engines: a 2-L 310 hp engine for the European market, or a 2.8-L 288 hp engine for other countries. Transmission is manual or automatic, and 4-speed in both cases.
After an upgrade in 1994, the second Ghibli received an restyled interior, electronically controlled suspension and ABS. In 1995, a Cup version with a boosted to 355 hp 2-L engine was produced in several dozens of cars. In 1997, this model was replaced by the Maserati 3200 GT. By this time 2,380 Ghibli coupes had been produced.
Third generation
It has been produced from 2013 until now, with a restyling taking place in 2016 and in 2020. Maserati announced its intentions to release a new Ghibli sedan back in 2008. And a few years after joining Fiat Chrysler, Maserati said that the new sedan will be based on the Chrysler 300 and will be equipped with diesel and gasoline engines and gearbox from ZF. The third-generation Ghibli was officially unveiled at the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show. The third Maserati Ghibli is a car for the driver. This is evidenced not only by the refined handling, but also by the rear seat, where passengers' knees rest against the backrests of the front seats and their heads against the ceiling.
The Italians admit that they have borrowed a lot from the competors, including the rear five-lever suspension copied from the Mercedes E-Class W 212 series. There may be differences in the front axle. For example, with 4WD, there are two wishbones at the front and a McPherson with one A-arm at the rear. In Maserati assure, that even with rear-wheel drive correctly adjusted suspension Ghibli allows to realize almost all torque of the engine, conceding in acceleration only 0,2 seconds to 4WD version, which appeared exclusively due to demand of marketers.
The third generation came in several versions: the Ghibli, Ghibli S, Ghibli SQ4 and Ghibli Diesel. The first three were powered by a Chrysler Pentastar-based gasoline six-cylinder 3-L 24-valve engine with turbocharging and direct fuel injection into the combustion chamber. Its power in the first version is 330 hp. Its power in the first version is 330 hp (500 Nm), in all other versions - 410 hp (550 Nm). (550 Nm). In Ghibli Diesel under the hood is also installed a 6-cylinder engine of the same volume, but as the name suggests - diesel, rated at 275 hp (570 N). (570 Nm), borrowed from Jeep Grand Cherokee.
2016 restyling
The restyled Ghibli has not changed externally. There are two new versions available for the 4-door sedan - Luxury and Sport. The first differs by the abundance of chrome, as well as interior trim in leather and wood, and the second can feature interior details made of carbon fiber and aluminum.
The new Maserati Ghibli 2016 model year is a premium 5-seat sports sedan. As for the platform, it has a somewhat unusual layout. The engine stands longitudinally at the front on a massive subframe, with an independent suspension on double wishbones attached to it. At the rear, the manufacturer has gone for a little trick. Thanks to cooperation with DaimlerChrysler, the engineers managed to receive the rear suspension like Mercedes models. It has two diagonal and three cross-arms, also connected to the subframe. The springs and adaptive Skyhook struts made by Sachs are installed all around. Under the influence of an electromagnetic field, they are able to change the stiffness of the shock absorbers.
The new Maserati Ghibli 2016 model year is a premium 5-seat sports sedan.
The new car is equipped with 3-L V-shaped 6-cylinder turbocharged engines of different capacities, petrol and diesel. All of them are supplemented by an 8-speed automatic transmission. Suspension both front and rear is independent multi-linkage with anti-roll bar. Drive is by default exclusively to the rear wheels. For better realization of torque, the rear differential is equipped with a mechanical lock. Four-wheel drive is only available on vehicles with the 430-hp petrol engine.
The interior of the restyled Ghibli features a new climate control unit, an advanced multimedia system with an 8.4-inch screen and support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. As is appropriate for executive models, the 2016/2017 Maserati Ghibli received a wide list of optional equipment. One of the main innovations was the ADAS (Advanced Driving Assistance Systems) safety system complex. It is based on radar cruise control, thanks to which the car can keep the distance behind the car ahead, as well as prevent collisions. The system of marking recognition works in tandem with it and is able to keep the car in the selected driving lane. Other features include automatic high beam switching, traffic sign detection and blind spot monitoring.
2020 restyling
In 2020, the third generation of the Maserati Ghibli was restyled again. The restyled models feature a grille with different vertical slats, additional chrome or glossy black trim, depending on the version, and LED taillights. There are updates in the interior as well. The 2020 Ghibli has a central 10.1-inch display inside instead of 8.4 with higher resolution, improved picture and a redesigned interface based on the Android operating system. The restyled car has received a second level of autopilot, with which it can move independently on any roads with good markings at speeds up to 145 km/h. It is also possible to control the functions of the car using a mobile app. But most importantly - there is a hybrid version - Ghibli Hybrid and powerful Ghibli Trofeo, equipped with a V-shaped turbocharged 8-cylinder 3.8-L of 580 hp, capable of delivering 326 km/h and accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds.
