Maserati

Maserati - the iconic automotive brand, founded 1914 in Bologna is constantly moving forward on their road to global success. The production of their luxury sports cars is increasing in the last couple of years. In 2017 the company sold over 50.000 cars worldwide - half of it was their first SUV-flagship Maserati Levante (starting at 72.630 Euro).

Germans are commonly said to be the benchmark of the segment of luxury sports cars - shifting to the market, which is one of the strongest and also most competitive automotive market in the world, the Italian brand is making a big progress. Achim Sauer, Maserati Regional Manager for Germany adds: “At Maserati we are experiencing a big growth that is not only great, but all above it is sustainable.”

To prove it, together with the German Maserati team, we went looking for some proper snow and ice in the Austrian Alps. At the pole position: The latest Maserati Levante S, the sporty Quattroporte S Q4 and the youngest model of Ghibli S Q4, the premium-business-limousine with a new face lift.

We’re at Hotel Gut Brandlhof, starting up in Saalfelden, Austria. This 4-star superior hotel is not only a great place to stay and enjoy the 3,000 m² Vivid Spa, it also offers an extensive range of sports activities and a special relationship with vehicles - the only one of its kind in Europe.  

From there we are heading to the driving technique center, right next to the hotel. Let’s see how these Italians can handle the snow and ice on the 70,000 m² ice rink. But before we can speed up, we will learn more about how to drive on snow and extreme ice situations like a pro. This is also included as a part of the Maserati Winter Tour, which is arranged every year on different locations.

Once we arrive at the ice track we switch the Quattroporte S Q4 for the Ghibli S Q4 (starting at 87.930 Euro) with its 430 horsepower, the most powerful among its model range and probably the most capable and dynamic sports sedan on the road today.

With the Ghibli S Q4  we can speed up for a near-perfect drift around the first ice circle. Choose manual control and paddle the gears, and you’ll mostly stick to second, with a few short spurts in third.

Maserati’s Q4 intelligent all-wheel drive continually analyzes data to optimize driving dynamics and fuel consumption. If the road surface turns slippery, within just 150 milliseconds, the system transfers up to 50% of the power to the front wheels for maximum traction. Q4 provides the best of both worlds: an exhilarating, sporty drive coupled with safety and security when the going gets tough.

And for all the fashion lovers, there is one more thing “Made in Italy”. You can now get your Maserati with a nice, subtle Ermenegildo Zegna mulberry silk interior, which includes seat and door inserts and is available for the Ghibli, Quattroporte and Levante models.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Maserati brothers could hardly have imagined the impact they would still have a hundred years later on the whole automotive world. In 1963, Maserati was the first company to give a birth to a proper luxury sports sedan, the Quattroporte.

This year, the company has introduced new models, incl. European premiere of Ghibli, Quattroporte and Levante Nerissimo Edition at the 88th Geneva Motor Show. The technology is changing year by year, but the values of Maserati brothers always remained the same: connecting the powerful performance with the rebelliousness elegance in a whole range of Italian masterpiece on four wheels.