Maserati has taken the wraps off of its first-ever electrified model–the 2021 Maserati Ghibli Hybrid. This Italian luxury sports sedan promises to provide the Maserati sporty DNA but with the environmental performance expected from an electrified vehicle.
The Maserati Ghibli Hybrid sets itself apart from its non-hybrid models through its subtle blue highlights. This includes blue side ducts and brake calipers. Representing Maserati’s step towards electrification is a blue thunderbolt that’s been added to the trident badge at the rear pillar. As for the rest of the exterior design, the Italian luxury automaker has taken this opportunity to give the Ghibli lineup a facelift. There’s a redesigned front grille that features bars that look like tuning forks, which Maserati says “is a musical device that emits a sound of extreme purity.” At the back, the Ghibli also gets new LED taillights. It now has a boomerang-like profile inspired by the 3200 GT and the Alfieri concept car.
As with every Maserati product, the interior is luxurious and filled with premium materials. The same blue highlights from the exterior are also seen inside. Drivers will appreciate the new Maserati Intelligent Assistant infotainment system with a 10.1-inch touch screen. Its user interface is based on Android Automotive–the second automaker to do so after Volvo’s sister company Polestar. This means that the user interface is fully customizable and responsive to the driver’s inputs.
The main highlight of the Maserati Ghibli Hybrid is its powertrain. It uses a 2.0-liter inline-4 turbocharged gasoline engine and a 48-volt mild-hybrid system. Total system output is at 330 hp and 450 Nm delivered from just 1,500 rpm. With these figures, the Ghibli Hybrid is able to sprint from zero to 100 kph in just 5.7 seconds. Top speed, meanwhile, is at 255 kph.
Maserati’s mild-hybrid technology exploits kinetic energy the car accumulates when in motion, recovering it and transforming it into electricity during deceleration and braking, and storing it in a battery. The decision to utilize a mild-hybrid system over a plug-in hybrid system is due to weight savings. Despite the electrification, the Maserati Ghibli Hybrid is 80 kg lighter than the Ghibli V6 diesel. The battery is also mounted in the rear of the car for optimum handling.
Despite the electrification technologies and downsized engine, Maserati says that the Ghibli Hybrid occupants will still retain its unmistakable sound that characterizes all Maserati models. This is thanks to the optimized exhaust, which includes specially designed resonators.
Production of the Maserati Ghibli Hybrid will start this September. Oh, and it’s coming to the Philippines by 2021.
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