► A new era: Maserati with no sports cars
► Two-year hiatus coming with no GTs
► Replacements due in late 2019/2020
Maserati is bracing itself for a range with no sports cars, as the emphasis shifts to four-door saloons and crossovers.
The GranTurismo and GranCabrio are about to be pensioned off, with production at the Viale Ciro Menotti HQ in Modena in northern Italy due to end in 2017.
And with no replacements due to see the light of day until 2019 – or more likely 2020 in right-hand drive showroom form – that spells a two- to three-year hiatus with no sports cars in the range.
What! Maserati with no sporting GTs?
That’s right. It’s a sign of the times that the sporting Italian brand’s 19 UK dealerships will be selling just notchbacks and SUVs – in a strategy that seems to be working; the company has sold 21% more cars this year than ever before and is on course for a new record.
But Maser executives are keen to point out that the GT twins will be replaced. Giulio Pastore, managing director of Maserati’s European division, told CAR that a new era of sports cars was on the drawing board.
‘We have to have sports cars in our range and we would like to keep two models again,’ he said, indicating that a standalone coupe and convertible were on the drawing board, rather than a single CC-style folding hard-top option.
What about the Alfieri concept car?
The Alfieri concept was produced to mark the brand’s centenary and is ‘in a holding pattern,’ according to new CEO Reid Bigland.
‘Contrary to popular belief, it’s not dead,’ he told CAR at the Paris motor show. ‘You could just say it’s orbiting the Earth, awaiting landing.’
Electric Maseratis are coming
One potential scenario has the Alfieri positioned as a standalone EV sports car, spearheading the range’s electrification, leaving the new 2020 GranTurismo and GranCabrio to feature V6 and V8 petrol engines, rear-wheel drive and a new aluminium architecture.
‘We are studying hybrids, plug-in hybrids and 48-volt systems too,’ admitted Pastore.
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