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It’s the top of the street for the V8 engine at Maserati, and the corporate is sending it off in model with restricted editions of the Ghibli sedan and the Levante SUV.
The 2024 Ghibli 334 Ultima and the Levante Ultima would be the final Maseratis with an engine format that has powered a few of the quickest and most unique vehicles constructed by the Italian firm since 1959.
Maserati’s lengthy goodbye farewells the F154 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 shared with Ferrari, which has powered top-of-the-range variations of the Ghibli sedan and the Levante SUV since 2018.
In Maserati specification, the F154 includes a cross-plane crank and a moist sump – the Ferrari model used within the Roma, F8 Tributo, and SF90, is dry-sumped, with a flat-plane crank. Within the Levante and Ghibli, it develops 426kW at 6750rpm, and 730Nm between 2250rpm and 5250rpm.
Simply 103 Ghibli 334 Ultimas can be supplied, all painted in a deep pearlescent blue referred to as Blu di Persia. Each the quantity to be constructed and the color they’re all painted are a nod to Maserati’s first ever V8-powered street automobile, the 5000GT.
Maserati constructed simply 34 5000GTs between 1959 and 1966, with our bodies from 9 totally different coachbuilders.
The 5000GT was created on the request of the Shah of Iran, who needed a automobile that mixed the consolation and options of Maserati’s six-cylinder 3500GT coupe with the efficiency of its V8-powered 450S sports activities racer, and supplied to pay the event prices to get it constructed.
Identified internally because the Tipo 103, the Shah’s automobile had bodywork painted a singular shade of blue.
And the 334 bit? That refers back to the limited-edition Ghibli’s prime pace, in kilometres per hour, which Maserati says makes it the quickest four-door sedan on the earth.
Along with its particular blue paint and the usual carbon exterior package deal, the Ghibli 334 Ultima is distinguished by a regular rear spoiler, matte darkish graphite 21-inch alloy wheels, and a ‘334’ brand painted in purple on the entrance guards.
Inside is an inside trimmed in black Alcantara and pale terracotta leather-based, with carbon fibre accents, 334 logos stitched into the seats, and a numbered plaque on the centre console.
We couldn’t verify the 334 Ultima’s claimed prime pace, which is 8km/h larger than that of the common Ghibli Trofeo, on the snowy, sinuous mountain roads we encountered on our drive within the Italian Alps.
And we’ll must take Maserati’s phrase that its 3.9 second 0-100km/h time is 0.4 seconds faster than the Ghibli Trofeo. However we discovered sufficient dry(ish) tarmac to often benefit from the V8’s animal snarl and intoxicating chunk above 4000rpm. The F154 feels splendidly vibrant and alive on the prime finish for a turbocharged engine.
The place did the additional efficiency come from? In a phrase, finessing. Although the 334 Ultima’s homologated weight of 2020kg is equivalent to that of the Trofeo, it weighs 25kg much less because of its extra sport-oriented customary tools. The rear spoiler additionally helps cut back drag at excessive speeds.
And particular, stickier compound tires assist the automobile launch more durable from a standing begin.
Heavy snow and freezing temperatures additionally meant we couldn’t uncover whether or not the 334 Ultima’s particular compound tyres improved prolonged its dynamic envelope past that of the Ghibli Trofeo.
Our take a look at automobile was as a substitute fitted with Pirelli’s glorious Sottozero 3 winter tires, and the circumstances examined their capabilities to the restrict. What we will say is that the traction and stability management protocols within the Regular and Sport drive modes work properly on slick surfaces, intervening rapidly and easily to assist maintain the 334 Ultima on the street.
Corsa mode dials again the digital nannies, which meant we solely dared strive it a few instances. Other than the stiffer trip and crisper throttle response, Corsa properly sharpened the upshifts eight-speed computerized transmission.
Downshifts, even in handbook mode, remained disappointingly sluggish, nonetheless. Along with faster downshifts, we’d additionally like a firmer, extra decisive brake pedal to raised finesse braking, particularly on slippery surfaces.
On the identical roads, in the identical circumstances, the calm composure of the Levante Ultima proved why highly effective, all-wheel drive SUVs might rightly be thought-about the grand turismos of the 21st century.
All-wheel drive doesn’t rewrite the legal guidelines of physics, in fact, but it surely does enable the Levante, which boasts a claimed prime pace of 304km/h, to confidently deal with all roads in all weathers.
At 2240kg, the Levante Ultima weighs 220kg greater than the Ghibli 334 Ultima, which dulls the response of the F154 V8 only a tad.
That mentioned, along with propelling the Levante Ultima to greater than 300km/h, the engine nonetheless has muscle sufficient to hustle the massive, bluff Maserati from 0 to 100km/h in 4.1 seconds.
A complete of 206 Levante Ultimas can be constructed, 103 of them painted blue (a color referred to as Blu Royale), the opposite 103 completed in a black named Nero Assoluto, with a ‘V8 Ultima’ brand painted on the entrance guards.
All roll on black-painted 22in alloy wheels. Just like the Ghibli 334 Ultima, the Levante Ultimas will all come outfitted with a carbon exterior package deal and an inside trimmed in pale terracotta and black, though the seat materials is all leather-based fairly than the 334’s leather-based and Alcantara mixture.
Maserati has constructed greater than 100,000 V8-powered vehicles since 1959, so the Ghibli 334 Ultima (5 of that are coming to Australia) and the Levante Ultima (two of that are heading to our shores) characterize the top of an period.
Nevertheless it’s not simply the V8 that’s going away; by the top of 2025 each the Ghibli and the Levante themselves can be changed by all new fashions.
The Ghibli nameplate will in reality disappear altogether. As an alternative can be a brand new sedan constructed on a model of the platform that underpins the Gran Turismo coupe that goes on sale in Australia in 2024.
It is going to be badged Quattroporte – the present sedan of the identical identify, which is out there in abroad markets, can also be being phased out – and, just like the Gran Turismo, can be obtainable with the Nettuno V6 inner combustion engine or the Folgore electrical powertrain.
The all-new Levante is scheduled to debut in 2025. And whereas Maserati has mentioned it’s dedicated to having nothing however EVs in its lineup by 2030, don’t be shocked if the Trident model’s up to date flagship SUV lineup consists of fashions with a Nettuno V6 below the bonnet in addition to pure electrical powered variations.
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