In his poem “Divine Comedy,” Italian author Dante Alighieri wrote, “From a little spark may burst a flame.” It is fitting that Italian automaker Maserati is using a spark to tease its future.
That future includes a completely redesigned Maserati Ghibli Hybrid. Maserati has also been showing a pre-production version of a car under wraps on a tour though Italy calling it the MC20. It was designed and engineered at the Maserati Innovation Lab in Modena, Italy.
As part of its announcement, Maserati shared images of its headquarters being hit by simulated lightning.Photo courtesy of Maserati
That bit about being straight from Italy is important to the brand. Despite being owned by a company headquartered in the Netherlands (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) that is about to merge with a company headquartered in France (PSA Group), the Maserati team has been given the freedom to design using Italian sports car DNA.
That Italian sports car DNA will be merging with a hybrid powertrain in a move all about sparking Maserati sales. For its part, the company is calling it, “the first in a line of new vehicles at the vanguard of a new era for Maserati.” The’s a next chapter, if you will.
Throughout 2020, Maserati is expected to strengthen its position in the luxury electric vehicles market as it works to allocate more of its production space to electrified cars.
The Ghibli Hybrid goes first, later this year. The Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabriolet will begin production in 2021 as the automaker’s first all-electric cars. The next-gen GranTurismo and GranCabrio will be built at the Mirafiori production hub.
Maserati’s Modena facility is in the process of a remodel, which will allow it to be modified enough to begin producing what the company is calling a “super sports car” in 2020.The Ghibli Hybrid will have the first hybrid engine in the history of the marque.
A forthcoming Maserati utility vehicle is set to be built at Cassino in 2021. The automaker is already teasing the model saying that it is, “intended to play a leading role for the brand, thanks to its innovative technologies.” Technological innovation is not something Maserati has been known for lately so this could be a welcome change.
