THE WINDS OF CHANGE Maserati Ghibli Hybrid Gransport - Diners Club

MOTORING

THE WINDS
OF CHANGE
                       Maserati Ghibli Hybrid Gransport

The motoring landscape is hardly stagnant, certainly not
in the 21st century, as the motoring industry grapples with
the unstoppable force of hybridisation and electrification.
While some legacy automakers may have taken their time
in this respect, the results of their measured effort have
been worth waiting for, and now fan the winds of change in
the luxury segment. The Maserati Ghibli Hybrid is one such
case in point.

          G
                      hibli (or chibli, gebli,   a single storm, Maserati’s Ghibli Hybrid       innovation      and     high-performance
                      gibleh, gibli and          is destined to shift perceptions of            automotive engineering to drive Maserati
                      kibli) is a name of        hybridisation in the luxury motoring           to a more sustainable future, as “faster
                      Libyan origin for          segment and is the precursor to the            than diesel, greener than gasoline”.
the Sirocco – a hot, dry, usually south to       brand’s range of electrified products,
south-easterly desert wind that occurs           including the 2022 GT, GC and later                CHANGING HISTORY
throughout the year, but most frequently         the MC20.                                          Built entirely in Italy – at the Avvocato
in spring and early summer. The Ghibli               The Maserati brand has always              Giovanni Agnelli Plant that also produces
is caused by Mediterranean depressions           stood for technical innovation, passion,       the Quattroporte – the Ghibli Hybrid
tracking east, entraining hot air from the       performance, and bespoke luxury. As            showcases the evolution of Ghibli with a
desert region ahead of them. The Ghibli          the first electrified Trident car, propelled   new front grille design that celebrates the
can last for days and is both respected          by the first hybrid powertrain in the          Maserati tuning fork. In GrandLusso trim,
and feared by the desert dwellers of             marque’s history, the Ghibli Hybrid            the grille is garnished in chrome, while the
North Africa.                                    extends Maserati’s legacy while fostering      GranSport trim – as tested by Signature –
    Much like this wind can have a               a link between the internal combustion         gets an even more aggressive look with
profound effect on the landscape by              age and the era of electrification. Maserati   Black Piano finishing.
moving vast quantities of sand during            describes this new philosophy of using             At the rear, the Ghibli Hybrid (and,

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in fact, all Maserati model year 2021         embellished several details in dark blue, the   its superior elegance and driver-focussed
cars) benefits from a new 3K injection        colour universally adopted as the symbol        design that matched its inherent sporty
moulding technique to manufacture the         of clean mobility. The three traditional air    driving character. For the Hybrid, Maserati
rear light clusters. For GrandLusso trim      ducts on the front mudguard have a blue         introduced      several      model-specific
cars, the boomerang-style rear lights – a     trim, as do the Brembo brake callipers and      elements that drive the experience to
homage to rear light designs from earlier     the thunderbolt in the C-pillar Trident. In     elegant new heights.
Maserati cars – display in three colours:     a market obsessed with distinction, these            The most notable are the 12-way
black around the edge, red in the middle      accents do more than merely highlight           adjustable leather front seats with
and clear in the bottom section. The light    that this is a new-generation Maserati;         integrated anti-whiplash headrests, the
cluster is produced in two versions – black   they distinctively and publicly elevate         sport steering wheel fitted with aluminium
for the “Black Pack” trims and lighter for    the owner to eco-conscious status while         gearshift paddles, and the Inox sport pedals.
more refined trims, with the differences      confirming them as a connoisseur of fine             In South Africa (and other EMEA
achieved by varying the colour of the         motoring heritage.                              countries), the sculpted sport seats
internal upper surround element.                                                              are upholstered with a premium full-
    To differentiate the Ghibli Hybrid from      SUAVE ENVIRONMENT                            grain “Pieno Fiore” natural leather, with
other models in the range (Ghibli 350,           When Maserati first introduced the           contrasting dark blue stitching and
Ghibli S, and Ghibli Trofeo), Maserati has    Ghibli eight years ago, it was lauded for       embroidered Trident on the headrests.

                                                            2021 / edition two                                                           51

The same styling is repeated on the door        genuine Maserati roar.” By all accounts,       own as a dynamic and emotional Maserati
panels and instrument cluster, while the        this is true, but no words can accurately      worthy of the name.
dark blue trim creates a lighter, more          convey how enticing the driving                    South Africans, to their detriment,
contemporary cabin interior that echoes         experience is in the Ghibli Hybrid. This       tend to have a somewhat myopic view of
the shade of the car’s exterior blue details.   car completely demolishes the notion           sporty luxury when it comes to motoring.
    For passengers, the overall experience      that four-cylinder power cannot be as          Our German-focused proclivities do us a
is supreme comfort, including an array of       expressive as six cylinders or that hybrids    disservice, in my opinion, by shielding us
premium, user-friendly technology.              are merely for young-at-hearts who wish        from the genuinely intense experiences
    The centre is almost entirely               to make a statement on how eco-savvy           that cars such as the Ghibli Hybrid
reimagined and neatly accommodates              they have become.                              provides. The time has come to cast our
an updated gearshift lever, driving mode            Combined, the 2.0-litre turbo petrol       eyes wider, to sample the labour of love
buttons, and the characteristic forged          engine with 48-volt mild-hybrid and            that Maserati engineers have bestowed
aluminium double rotary knob that               electric supercharger set-up generates         upon us, and to be swept away by the
provides intuitive control of the Bowers &      246 kW and 450 Nm, which is enough             winds of change blowing across the
Wilkins infotainment system.                    to propel the car to 100 km/h in an            motoring landscape. Unstoppable force,
    In keeping with the needs of a new          environmentally friendly 5.7 seconds,          meet immovable object.
generation of Maserati customers, there         and on to a top speed of 255 km/h. That
is a climate-controlled mobile phone            is a mere 0.2 seconds slower than the
compartment with an SD card reader,             Ghibli 350 and only 0.8 seconds slower
USB socket and auxiliary-in port, and a         than the 316 kW Ghibli S with its 3.0-litre
wireless smartphone charger (standard or        V6 twin-turbo petrol engine. Even the
optional depending on the market).              3.8-litre V8 Trofeo, which blasts to the
    Special mention goes to the                 100 km/h mark in 4.3 seconds, is not
infotainment system with its crystal            lightyears ahead of the sprinting scope
clear screen and supremely intuitive            set by the hybrid car. That’s not to say
user experience. For the first time, Apple      that there aren’t significant differences in
CarPlay and Android Auto are included,          the experience between these cars, but
bringing the cockpit experience bang up         instead underlines the fact that the Ghibli    by bernie hellberg jr /
to date with its peers.                         Hybrid is entirely capable of holding its      photography by maserati south africa

    NEW AGE OF CLEAN POWER
    No objective evaluation of any
Maserati would be complete without an
in-depth assessment of the car’s dynamic
capabilities. The Hybrid Ghibli is very
much a chip off the old block, where
driving enjoyment in general, and the
characteristic Maserati engine sound in
particular, are concerned.
    In the Ghibli line-up – traditionally
dominated by six-cylinder power (or
eight-cylinder in the case of the Trofeo)
– the Hybrid is the first four-cylinder
derivative to break cover. This two-litre
powerplant seamlessly integrates with
a 48-volt Hybrid system that enables
energy recovery when slowing or braking.
    The official Maserati text describes
how the Ghibli’s hybrid system combines
the best features of the V6 turbodiesel
(that the Hybrid replaces) and petrol
powerplants and continues to describe
the car as being “fun to drive, with the

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