When Maserati announced its Folgore electrification plan earlier this year, it didn't mention the Ghibli at all. It led to speculations about Modena's smaller sedan getting the axe sooner or later, and now we know its cut-off date. The company's Australia general manager Grant Barling told Drive the luxury sports saloon "will move into run-out phase into 2024." Interestingly, he also detailed what the future has in tow for the Quattroporte.
Already confirmed to get a purely electric version, the new four-door Maserati is actually going to be smaller than today's model. That rarely happens in the automotive industry as cars tend to get bigger and bigger with the next generation. Grant Barling explained the Quattroporte will be about the same size as the outgoing Ghibli.
"The long term plan is that the Ghibli will be replaced with the Quattroporte,. The plan is for the Ghibli and Quattroporte to become one. So the Quattroporte will become a short-wheelbase [model] – Ghibli-sized, but called a Quattroporte. To be honest, that [large car] segment [in which the Ghibli competes] has come down quite a bit."
One of the oldest cars in the premium segment, the third-gen Ghibli has been around since 2013 and it's safe to say no one is surprised the car is living on borrowed time. With the proliferation of crossovers and SUVs, Maserati's aging entry-level sedan will be another victim of customers shifting to high-riding offerings. Speaking of which, the next-gen Levante has been confirmed and is going to get an EV version much like the smaller Grecale.
Grant Barling also announced the twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 engine of Ferrari origins used in the Trofeo-spec Ghibli, Quattroporte, and Levante is also going to be discontinued. That doesn't come as a big shock seeing as how the company with the Trident logo now has its very own twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 dubbed Nettuno.
The smaller-displacement engine won't be available for more than seven years or so since Maserati has already signaled the ICE's demise by going purely electric in 2030. Before that happens, the MC20 supercar will get an EV version, much like all of the company's future products.
