The track rivalry between the Italians and Germans used to be legendary. But now they are competing in the sales charts, or rather Mercedes gets everything and the Italians try to catch up. Maserati wants to give buyers in the market for a luxury cruiser something more to think about with a video that hopefully appeals both to their soul and eyes.
Jaguar makes a beautiful car the first time and steadily ruins it. Just check out the F-Type's body kit. But Maserati is the opposite way. I remember how boring the GranSport looked when new, but it was decent in around 2012. It's the same story with the Quattroporte GranSport, part of the facelift for the 2017 model year.
The GranSport treatment includes 21-inch Titano wheels, a black front lip spoiler, larger air intakes, a diffuser at the back and two side pockets that incorporate trapezoidal exhausts.
I'm old enough to see the connection to the past, as Maserati's previous coupe was called the GranSport too. Round about 2004, this cool Italian sportscar had a 4.2-liter V8 that was related to the one used by the Ferrari F430.
But now, GranSport is just a trim level, together with GranLusso. The engines choices are about the same as they've always been, and they include two versions of the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 (350 and 410 PS), a couple of V6 diesels (250 or 275 PS) and the thumping great 3.8-liter V8 fitted to the GTS model. Care to guess which one is in the video?
"What every sports sedan wants to be when it grows up. The all new exclusive Maserati Quattroporte GranSport trim version," says the description of the clip. And it's a popular one, with nearly half a million clicks in its first day.
The Maserati brand could have continued to exist as a niche carmaker. But under Fiat's "leadership" it has tried to become a mainstream carmaker. Both the Ghibli and Quattroporte had some flaws and way too many Chrysler parts peaking out. As for the Levente, it might have been better if they used the Jeep Grand Cherokee chassis after all!
The downside of having a Ferrari engine in a sedan is that you get Ferrari emissions taxing and fuel consumption. You also don't see Maserati making any videos about ironing out the bumps or driving autonomously. So perhaps the people who are watching this ad are those know they can never afford the real deal.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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