A Machine Meant To Be Driven

Like all highly-strung thoroughbreds, the Maserati Ghibli GranSport can be demure one moment and excitable the next.

- Glenda Williams

There is something to be said for playing loud music and ensuring that the exhaust voice adds to those notes – more so when you are a driving an Italian sports car. It amplifies the sense of occasion.

The Maserati Ghibli GranSport’s throaty exhaust snarl is integral to that sense of occasion and the Italian marque’s personality; an authentic sound harking back to Maserati’s racing DNA.

Sporting Maserati’s famous trident badge and named after a North African wind, the Ghibli was first unveiled in 1966 at the Turin Motor Show.

For its 2018 relaunch, the luxury Italian five-seater sports sedan has undergone subtle restyling, abandoned hydraulic assisted steering for electric power steering, and introduced an array of new hi-tech features.

The high-powered coupé-like sports car shares its core architecture – chassis, suspension layout, V6 engines and eight-speed ZF automatic transmission – with the Italian marque’s flagship, the Maserati Quattroporte, but is 293mm shorter and 50kg lighter.

Three Ghibli models, all built in Turin, Italy, are on offer; two petrol models – the Ghibli and Ghibli S – and the Ghibli diesel. All come with twin-turbo, three-litre V6 engines. The petrol engines are manufactured by Ferrari in Maranello, Italy.

Maserati offers the Ghibli in two trim options: the race-inspired GranSport and the classically elegant GranLusso. Recognisable by their discreetly differing exterior features as well as their distinct stylish interiors, the GranSport is immediately identifiable by its ‘shark nose’ profile.

finweek took to the roads in the GranSport base model, the 350 horsepower Ghibli.

External view

The Ghibli GranSport is a bit of a wolf in sheep’s clothing until the exhaust rumble is heard. This is when heads really start to snap around.