#ghibli

In the lead-up to my seat time with Maserati’s latest on the big track at Willow Springs International Raceway and the nondescript streets surrounding it, the automaker held a press briefing via video conference. Here, company PR chief Kas Rigas explained the “duality” of the brand, citing the original Quattroporte as the prime example.

Launched in 1963, it was Maserati’s first road car after a long string of successful, purpose-built race cars, and it featured a motorsport-derived, all-aluminum DOHC V8 ensconced in a Pietro Frua-designed grand-touring sedan wrapper.

Sadly for Fiat Chryler’s Italian luxury brand, the buzz last week surrounded the newly unveiled Ford Bronco, not the upcoming Ghibli Hybrid.

A model and brand TTAC’s readership can’t get enough of, the Maserati Ghibli appears for 2021 with an optional 48-volt mild hybrid powertrain that mates a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with electric “e-Booster” supercharger to an eight-speed automatic. It’s the automaker’s first electrified vehicle.

Maserati has mulled plans to totally revamp the brand since 2018. In September of last year, the company decided it was finally ready to make its move, boldly announcing that it had entered into “a phase of intense and vital change, with a series of activities to totally revamp the product range and re-launch the Maserati brand.” Those improvements wouldn’t show up in earnest until 2020.

The gist of the plan involves widespread electrification aimed at improving overall performance, plenty of new product coming down the chute, and the promise that all future Maseratis will be manufactured in Italy. That’s right, the country that looks like a shoe and has given us automotive gems like the Pagani Zonda, Alfa Romeo MiTo, and legendary Fiat Multipla. Alright, so maybe the vow of continued Italian production is a double-edged sword, but the brand does seem legitimately interested in righting the ship. Italy conjures up visions of spirited driving and gorgeous roads, and it’s not like Maserati can disassociate itself from the country — that’s part of its identity and appeal.

The marque will have to delay its plans, however. These days, Italy is synonymous with viral outbreaks, not vistas, forcing the brand to postpone its big re-launch.

Maserati of North America is recalling over 1,000 of its newest luxury sedans to repair fuel lines that pose an engine fire risk. It’s not exactly what you’d want to hear when discussing your fresh, six-figure status symbol, but the automaker appears to be addressing the problem right out of the gate. According to the manufacturer, the vehicles haven’t even been delivered to the customers yet.

The affected vehicles include Maserati’s 2018 Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans. Both models suffer from a potentially weepy fuel line in the engine compartment that could leak gasoline exactly where you don’t want it. As customers have yet to take delivery, the units will have to be repaired prior to being picked up.