Monday, December 23, 2024

This Is Maserati’s Final Internal Combustion Quattroporte

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It’s the end of an era at Maserati as the Italian automaker has just revealed the last gasoline-powered Quattroporte. Rather than a twin-turbo V6, the Quattroporte Grand Finale packs a Ferrari-developed eighter with 572 horsepower and 538 pound-feet on tap.

If you prefer metric units, then scratch that for 580 cavalli vapore and 730 newton meters. Not bad for a sports luxury sedan, but remember that said figures aren’t good enough compared to direct and indirect rivals. The Porsche Panamera comes to mind, with the Turbo S E-Hybrid packing 771 horses and 737 pound-feet) from a plug-in hybrid V8 setup built around the VW Group’s 4.0-liter unit.

The Mazzer’s lump displaces 3.8 liters, and it bears quite a few similarities to the flat-plane-crank F154 engines that Ferrari premiered with the California T a decade ago. 2014 also saw Fiat and Chrysler join hands. The automotive colossus became Stellantis in 2021 by merging with Group PSA, which used to be known as PSA Peugeot Citroen between 1991 and 2016.

As you’re well aware, Stellantis is all-in on electric vehicles. Even if demand for new battery-electric vehicles has cooled down in the past few quarters, Maserati aims to make the switch to fully electric by 2028.

It’s a pretty miserable outlook, but remember that carbon dioxide emissions and fuel economy regulations forced automakers to make drastic adjustments to their lineups. Even Bentley had to give up on its trademark W12 in favor of a plug-in hybrid V8 powertrain, and Ferrari also deserves a shout-out for the power-dense V6 of the 296 series, LaFerrari-replacing F250, and the Le Mans-winning 499P.

Photo: Maserati

Together with the one-of-one Quattroporte Grand Finale, which bears identification number 999999, the Modenese company has also revealed the one-off MC20 Iris with a trick paint job. As opposed to Blue Nobile for the V8-powered sedan, the mid-engine supercar wears AI Aqua Rainbow, with the rainbow being the central motif of this commission.

You might notice Fuoriserie written on both of these vehicles, meaning custom-built. Said term also stands for Maserati’s customization program, and the custom treatment obviously extends inside as well. Highlights include burl accents for the steering wheel rim of the Quattroporte Grand Finale and AI Aqua Rainbow stitching for the MC20 Iris.

At press time, internal combustion Maseratis number five models, beginning with the MC20 and MC20 Cielo. The list continues with the GranTurismo and GranCabrio, plus the Alfa Romeo Stelvio-derived Grecale. The MC20 sports a twin-turbo V6 with no electrical assistance to its name, whereas the Grecale can be had with either the Nettuno engine or a hybridized I4.

In addition to where their engines are located, these models also differ in terms of transmission: dual-clutch transaxle for the MC20 and torque-converter automatic for the GranTurismo, GranCabrio, and Grecale. The latter can be had with two identical electric motors delivering 550 horsepower, whereas the tri-motor MC20 Folgore will debut in 2025. Of course, electric versions of the GranTurismo and GranCabrio are also available.

The next-generation Quattroporte has been confirmed to launch in 2028 with all-electric muscle. However, Maserati will first launch a successor to the Levante in 2027. The automaker does not call said model Levante, but rather E-UV BEV, indicating a different name for the upcoming E-segment utility vehicle.

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