What's the news?
Maserati has brought its entire range to Paris, although it's not known if someone has been appointed to feed the cat and turn the lights off back in Modena while the show is on... While the Levante SUV and GranTurismo sports car are both displayed, it's the Quattroporte and Ghibli saloons that have received numerous upgrades for next year, so let's run through the changes.
Exterior
The Quattroporte (which literally translates as four doors in Italian, but sounds much sexier of course) is now available in GranLusso and GranSport trim. The GranLusso exterior treatment consists of a new front bumper and some chrome detailing with 20-inch rims, while the GranSport features a more aggressive look with bigger grilles for enhanced cooling, lots of black detailing, 21-inch wheels and a larger rear spoiler among other items. These new styling elements complement the existing changes made to the car since June 2016. The MY17 Ghibli saloon sees Luxury and Sport trims become available in a similar theme to the above, and a Carbon package will be offered as a further upgrade on both Ghibli Sport and Quattroporte GranSport models.
Interior
The cabin of the Quattroporte GranLusso features an industry-first use of patented silk fabric on the seats, door, headliners and sun visor, with wooden trim adorning the dash and steering wheel inserts. The GranSport takes a different, racier approach, with more supportive seats, a carbon fibre or full leather steering wheel and aluminium gearchange paddles.
Both the Quattroporte and Ghibli see the addition of a new 8.4-inch touch screen, which is compatible with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay apps, and a rotary knob aimed at increasing ease of use of the infotainment options.
Mechanicals
Top speeds are increased throughout the Quattroporte and Ghibli ranges, with the common-to-both 3.0 V6 petrol engine pushing out an extra 20hp. Parts of the chassis, suspension and the ZF 8-speed auto gearbox are shared between both cars, with the Ghibli carrying a 50kg weight advantage over its bigger brother. Both models will be available with the option of the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems package, which boasts safety elements such as adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, automated emergency braking and lane departure warning, all of which bring a degree of autonomous capability to the big Italian cruisers. An optional Surround View camera further complements these features.
Anything else?
There's no word on any pricing as yet, but interested parties should keep an eye on www.maserati.com for further details.