But is it possible to keep the internal combustion engine alive forever?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you probably know Maserati is on the cusp of a full rejuvenation. A total of eight plug-in hybrids and four pure electric vehicles will be launched by the end of 2022 in a model offensive planned by parent company FCA to put Maserati back where it belongs in the premium segment.
The fact that Maserati is ready to embrace electrification does not mean the company with the trident logo is putting the good ol’ internal combustion engine on the back burner. Speaking with Motor Trend, Maserati North America’s boss Al Gardner pledged to keep the ICE alive forever by saying the brand he’s running will never go entirely electric. The reasoning behind this decision has to do with a “raw emotion” traditional engines offer, an emotion that Maserati values greatly and argues you can’t experience with an EV.
Gardner went on to mention Maserati needs combustion engines and must go back to its roots in order to succeed. He believes the declining sales the Italian automaker has been experiencing for a while are not necessarily related to the actual products, but actually to product awareness. That’s why they’ll do the best they can to make the fabled brand more visible in the eyes of those shopping for a high-end SUV such as the Levante.
The first new-era Maserati will be unveiled in March 2020 at the Geneva Motor Show where we’ll finally see the production-ready Alfieri set to hit the assembly later that year in Modena. The sporty coupe will be joined eventually by a convertible, with the duo set to effectively replace the aging GranTurismo and GranCabrio, respectively. An all-new Quattroporte will be launched by 2022, along with a facelifted Ghibli, a next-gen Levante, and a smaller SUV.
Pretty much all of these new models will be electrified in one way or another, but the ICE will stay play an important role in Maserati’s future.
Note: Mid-engined Maserati supercar rendering by Rain Prisk pictured.
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