Winds of change

You might not know that they have been around for a century and that they like naming their cars after winds; about the stunning 250F or the Birdcage but, when you hear the name, you instinctively know it is exotic. In its century of existence, Maserati has had a tumultuous life – the small firm started by four brothers has survived world wars, bankruptcy, incompetent ownership and quality control issues and through all that, they’ve never waived from making achingly beautiful cars (ok, the ’80s had a few exceptions). This rollercoaster past has added up to a company that’s very different from what it used to be. Now owned by Fiat-Chrysler, there’s new wind in Maserati’s sails and the two sculptures you’re looking at are the first of what we are going to experience in India, that is, if you can discount their forgettable foray a few years ago with a certain importer.
Maserati’s new attack plan starts with an evocative name – the Ghibli – along with the sixth- generation Quattroporte and the GranTurismo/ GranCabrio twins. There! Short story over, time to see what these cars are like.

The smaller one

The Ghibli is Maserati’s first diesel car ever and, to me, a Maserati diesel is like a front-wheel drive Ferrari – it’s blasphemous. But, we’ll let it slide because the new Ghibli comes in to a world where it has to compete with CLSs, 6 Series Gran Coupes and A7s and not having a diesel in this scenario is like serving pizza without the base. So, I take the ingot-like key from the uniformed driver, slip it in to my pocket and start the 3-litre V6 diesel. The diesel doesn’t sound like one – it’s quiet at idle and this being Maserati, they’ve managed to make an oil-burner sound horny! In ‘Sport’ mode, flaps open in the exhaust pipes and there’s a muted, but very unexpected woofle!
There’s not much life in the first half of the weighty, long travel throttle and the car moves in a way that suggests it’s had way too much cheese. So, I dig in to the throttle pedal a
bit more, and that’s when it’s 588 Nm of torque wafts the rear wheels; it’s when the car starts shifting its 1835 kgs. But, that initial hesitancy is always there, and it’s a shame because it makes you push the throttle more than you want to and gets you thinking that you are working harder than you should be. It’s not that it’s slow – the Ghibli Diesel will get to 100kmph in 6.3 seconds and max out at 250kmph, but a BMW 640d’s throttle response feels like a switchblade knife to the Ghibli’s meat chopper.

It has 271bhp from a Paolo Martinelli supervised (he’s Ferraris engine man) VM Motori developed engine (also found in the Jeep Grand Cherokee) and, as long as you keep your foot down and work the column-mounted paddle shifts, it’ll surprise you with its ability to pick up its skirts and run. Oh, and that ZF-sourced eight speed automatic is quite the quick shifter but not the smoothest around.
The Ghibli chassis is, in essence, a shorter version of the Quattroporte and that means it’s a steel monocoque with an aluminium front sub-frame. The suspension is a double wishbone setup up front and a multi-link setup at the rear and the ride is exemplary. It’s seriously cosseting and does a fantastic job of isolating its occupants from whatever the wheels are rolling over.

Sadly, this is translated in to the driving experience too – it feels a bit too aloof at the helm (and it is a helm thanks to the large diameter steering wheel), there is some body roll when you ask for quick direction changes and the hydraulic steering’s ratio feels slower than what you would expect of a Maserati. It is broad and stable though and it will allow fast, easy cruising.
All of this adds up to a car that feels like it wants to waft and that, in a Maserati, is a bit of a downer. There are plenty of cars that waft out there and you expect a Maserati to set itself apart from the crowd by being sharper – the Ghibli simply doesn’t do that. It’s almost like Maserati deliberately tried to make a more rounded, mainstream car and in the process, stuck a trident in its foot.

Also, when you start paying attention to the dashboard you’ll find leather, wood, brushed aluminium and plastic. It’s a mix of some beautifully finished, richly detailed bits thrown in with some parts-bin plastic. The door handles for example feel like they could withstand another world war, as do the air con vents and the paddle shifts. Then you see the gearlever, the plastic surrounding it and the air-con control switches and you wonder where Maserati got mixed up. The cabin abounds with quirks as well – the gearlever isn’t easy to use and you usually end up selecting park instead of reverse, there are buttons behind the steering wheel and I have no idea what they control and the touchscreen system is simple to use but feels a generation old with its graphics and resolution. There’s definitely more work to be done before Maserati can match up to the clinical clarity and precision of the Germans. I’m not done – the seats, especially the lower back support on the front seats, is hard and, even with a medium-sized chap like me up front, rear legroom is a bit tight despite its generous 2997mm wheelbase. It’s like Maserati traded rear legroom to make a bit more space for the 500-litre boot.

So, cold logic says you will spend your money wisely if you pick one of the Ghibli’s rivals from across the Alps but that’s not what it is about is it? You buy a Maserati because you want one, not need one, and that’s exactly how it is with the Ghibli. Screw the quirks and ignore the complaints from the rear seat because it may not be at the sharp end of its class but it’s certainly the most voluptuous. Even with Maserati’s plans of tripling global sales by the end of this year, you’ll be driving something of a rarity, something that can make a CLS look quite ordinary, and there aren’t many cars around that can do that.

The four doors of perception

In my Sunday shorts and t-shirt, I feel like an impostor driving the Quattroporte. I should be wearing a suit, sharp sunglasses and Gucci leather and that’s what the Quattroporte does to you. It makes you feel like the Italian Prime Minister, or a mob boss. It makes you feel like leaving decapitated horse heads in your rival’s bed, it makes you want to hire a machine-gun toting Vito or a Luca as your bodyguard. It makes you wish you had a Rottweiler. The Ghibli is a bit confused in the way it goes about its Maserati-ness; the Quattroporte knows what it has to be.

When you thumb the engine start button, it yowls to life with a sound that’s pure Pavarotti and makes an AMG sound like the Hulk singing Du Hast. The sound that the Quattroporte makes is intricate to the driving experience because it’s audible despite the twin-turbos that boost its 3.8-litre petrol.
Our test car is the GTS and it’s 523bhp and 710Nm (on over-boost) is good for ultra quick getaways and drive-by shootouts. Luca will be happy to know that it runs to 100kmph in 4.2 seconds and goes on to a top speed of 307kmph! It’s a soulful engine and there’s little by way of turbo lag. What it does instead is pull like you wouldn’t believe it could. Midrange performance is tremendous and there’s no let off in its energy all the way till its redline. The eight-speed torque converter is quick and the 285/30 R20 rear tyres have enough traction to put all that power down cleanly and efficiently.

It is this engine and the Quattroporte’s tight handling that makes it quite hard for chase cars to keep up with it. It handles really well – it has double wishbones up front and a multi-link setup at the rear backed up by Maserati’s Skyhook adaptive dampers and, when set in sport, they make this big car feel half its 1900kg. On the narrow, winding road we are on, overtaking is easy – you pull out, stab the throttle and dispatch other traffic with all the nonchalance of a mafia hit. As you overtake, remember that there is about 12-feet of this 17-foot car behind you before you pull back in to your lane.

So, what’s not to like about the Quattroporte? Well, like the Ghibli, the Quattroporte is full of quirks – the seats are again, quite hard, the single stalk to control wipers, headlights and turn signals is confusing. The steering wheel is too large and, despite all the carbonfibre, the interior is a mix of impossibly high quality stuff and surprisingly low rent bits.
Unlike the Ghibli, the Quattroporte’s long wheelbase (173mm more than the smaller Maserati) makes for great legroom at the rear and the rather slit-like glasshouse makes it quite hard for snipers outside the car to score a direct hit. So, a great car overall and one that looks like a scowling Al Capone – I love it to bits even though my bank balance positively collapses at the sight of its `2.2 crore price tag and if you think that’s steep, there is the `1.5 crore Quattroporte diesel as well.

Big sticker price or not, the Quattroporte GTS has character and plenty of soul and lives up to everything you expect of a Maserati. Like the Ghibli, it makes its rivals look as exciting as a slice of bread and I suspect that’s exactly what will tempt people to slide in to its quirky cabin.