2014 Maserati Ghibli

The Maserati Ghibli will have a more-focused, sportier philosophy than the larger Quattroporte. It will be available with two turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engines, and an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The most powerful of the V6s will be the twin-turbo unit in the Ghibli S, which produces 301kW (410hp) of power at 5500rpm and 550Nm of torque from just 1750rpm.

The rear-wheel drive Ghibli S will reach 100km/h in 5 seconds flat, and has a quoted top speed of 285km/h (177 mph).

The second turbo-charged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine available on the Maserati Ghibli not only has an impressive power of 243kW (330hp) and 500Nm of torque, but delivers a fuel economy figure of just 9.6 litres/100km (28.8 mpg). It is much more than a fuel saving car, though, because it is capable of accelerating to 100km/h in just 5.6 seconds.

Both of these engines, with their parallel turbochargers, were developed by Maserati Powertrain in partnership with Ferrari Powertrain and will be built by Ferrari in its world-leading engine construction facility in Maranello.

Sharing much of the technology with the Quattroporte’s 3.8-litre V8 engine, the V6 engines use petrol direct-injection technology along with two low-inertia parallel turbochargers, four continuous camshaft phasers and deliver their fuel at around 200 bar of pressure.

This technology means that while the Ghibli S V6 has a rev limiter at 6500rpm, it still delivers 90 percent of its torque from less than 1500rpm.

The Ghibli will also become the first Maserati production car in history to be powered by a diesel engine, with a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel. The 3.0-litre turbo-charged V6 develops 202kW (275hp) of power and a crushing 600Nm of torque to deliver 0-100km/h acceleration in just 6.3 seconds. Critically, its NEDC fuel economy figure is less than 6.0 litres per 100km (more than 47 mpg). It uses highly advanced Common-Rail direct fuel injection with 2000 bar of injection pressure and it also features reduced-dwell-time injectors. This helps it to deliver sequential multiple injections for highly responsive performance and cleaner emissions with a CO2 output of less than 160g/km on the combined cycle.

The Ghibli S will boast 360mm x 32mm ventilated and cross-drilled dual-cast front brake discs while it has 350mm x 28mm ventilated rear discs. It uses six-piston Brembo fixed brake callipers on the front and four-piston units at the rear to help it stop from 100km/h to zero in just 36 m. The Maserati Ghibli sits on 18-inch wheels and tyres, while the Ghibli S models ride on 18-inch staggered tyres; 19-inch, 20-inch and 21-inch wheels are available as optional extras.