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Velvet Maserati Ghibli is a Black Cat in Monaco's Casino Square

We think it's safe to say that Maserati's rebirth isn't going the way they wanted. The Levante hasn't replaced the Cayenne as the go-to SUV of the rich and famous. However, we still think the Ghibli is a fantastic car.
Velvet Maserati Ghibli in a Black Cat in Casino Square 1 photo
Photo: YouTube screenshot
It really sounds like a sports sedan should. They never got round to making the super-hardcore version they wanted, but little old Ghibli still provides a sense of occasion. Compared to it, some of the supposedly effervescent German cars seem like Kardashians - pretending to be good actors, but only appearing in Instagram photos.

I don't know why the Kardashians keep coming up every time one of these wrap cars show up. The trend seems to have originated in London, where a Rolls-Royce and a Ferrari 599 grabbed some attention a while back.

Supercar spotting isn't popular anymore, especially not in Monaco, where you have a better chance of enjoying the Renault Twizy than anything else. Still, it's not like you've seen a velvet-wrapped Ghibli before.

I don't know why they did it, but the people who make car wraps developed velvet that's malleable enough to be curved around body panels yet still durable enough to withstand the weather.

Built on a platform derived from that of the Quattroporte flagship, the Ghibli is a midsize luxury car. Think of it as a BMW 5 Series with Italian flair. In this particular case, you can think of it as a 530d rival because we can clearly hear the rattle of a diesel engine in the background of the video.

That one offers 275 horsepower from a 3.0-liter V6 block with only one turbo. If you want gasoline, the basic RWD model gets you 350 hp, but there's a 410 hp model with AWD. Everything gets sent out through the familiar 8-speed auto by ZF.

What kind of person would buy a Maserati Ghibli with a diesel engine when the Germans do that part better? I don't know... maybe the same kind of person who enjoys velvet wrapping.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

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.
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