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MASERATI AT MOTORCLASSICA 2014
24-26 October 2014,
- More than 20 classic Maseratis celebrate Maserati’s Centenary
- New Maserati Quattroporte and Ghibli that have tripled Australian Maserati sales on display.
Maserati will have a double celebration at this year’s Motorclassica in Melbourne (24-26 October 2014, Royal Exhibition Building) with a display of more than 20 significant models from Maserati’s unique history celebrating its centenary and Maserati celebrating the tripling of its Australian sales in 12 months.
The centerpieceof the Maserati display will be the all new Quattroporte and Ghibli, the models that have driven Maserati’s Australian growth to unprecedented levels.
This year has been a remarkable year for Maserati. The Australian market has seen the launch of two all new models, the new generation Quattroporte and, taking Maserati into an all new market sector, the Ghibli. In the first half of the year the Quattroporte boosted Maserati sales by more than 90 per cent and, with the addition of the Ghibli in the second half of the year, Maserati joined every major Maserati market in the world with triple digit sales increases.
“Melbourne and Motorclassica is the ideal place to celebrate Maserati’s centenary and its remarkable growth this year,” says Glen Sealey, General Manager of Maserati in Australia and New Zealand. “Melbourne and, specifically, Albert Park first brought Maserati to the wider attention of Australians and made it a household name with motoring racing legends such as Stirling Moss, Stan Jones, Reg Hunt and Bob Jane. Melbourne will also take Maserati into a new century with the opening of a second Maserati dealership in November, illustrating the strength of the growth ahead of Maserati’s second century.”
In the 100 years since the Maserati brothers founded their eponymous company in Bologna and adopted the Italian city’s logo as its famous Trident badge, Maserati has become a byword for motorsport success, legendary race wins, remarkable road cars and a unique level of exclusivity, all combined with style and design excellence that could only come from Italy.
This is all distilled into the two new models that have taken Maserati to worldwide success in its centenary year, the new Quattroporte and Ghibli. The Quattroporte, which arguably created the market sector for full size, luxury sports sedans in its previous incarnation,completely resets the benchmark with the new Quattroporte, which arrived in Australia at the start of this year.
The Maserati Quattroporte
The new Quattroporte is more spacious, offers more luxury, more refinement, and yet is also faster and more economical. For the first time the Ferrari-built V8 powered Quattroporte V8-powered GTS is complimented by Twin Turbo V6 and V6 Turbo Diesel variants, enabling the Quattroporte’s unique abilities to be more accessible than to car buyers.
The Quattroporte GTS is not only the fastest four-door Maserati has ever built, but also the most powerful and the most fuel efficient thanks to its 390 kW twin turbo V8. In direct contrast to its scintillating performance, the V8 Maserati Quattroporte has improved both its fuel consumption and emissions by 20 percent over the outgoing Quattroporte.
The 3.8-litre V8 engine sets Maserati’s new performance benchmark by reaching 100 kmh in 4.7 seconds and achieving a 307 kmh top speed- fully 20 kmh faster than the previous Quattroporte Sport GT S. At its peak it delivers up to 200 Nm more torque than the previous model.
This provides the new Quattroporte with a combination of effortless progress and smoothness with imperceptible gearchanges that marks it as an ideal luxury car and, when called upon, shattering performance that would not be out of place in a supercar.
With 301 kW of power at 5500 rpm, the V6 Twin Turbo in the new Quattroporte S lacks little for speed, providing a tremendously powerful driving experience with 550 Nm of torque between 1750 rpm and 5000 rpm. While it shares much with the V8 Twin Turbo, it has a character of its own, revving to a lower 6000 rpm maximum speed and delivering its torque peak 500 rpm sooner.
This combination of lower weight and a wide, flat torque curve enables the V6 Twin Turbo powered Quattroporte S to accelerate to 100 kmh in 5.1 seconds and on to a top speed of 285 kmh. These are performance figures that almost match those of the previous range-topping V8 version of the Quattroporte. The efficient Twin Turbo V6 engine delivers excellent fuel consumption with a figure of 10.4 litres/100 km on the combined cycle and combined CO2 figure of 242 grams of CO2/km.
Maserati’s new diesel engine, a 3.0 litre V6 Turbo, has been specifically developed by VM Motori to meet Maserati’s requirements in terms of performance, efficiency and driving satisfaction. The Quattroporte Turbo Diesel delivers 600 Nm of torque and a maximum power of 202 kW. The engine accelerates the Quattroporte from 0-100 kmh in 6.4 seconds and continues, where the law permits, to a maximum speed of 250 km/h.
What these figures conceal is a level of effortless performance that the combination of 600 Nm of torque and an eight speed gearbox combine to produce and the resolve with which it is delivered.
This is combined with fuel consumption figures similar to those for a medium family car – a combined official fuel figure of 6.2 l/100 km which drops to just 5.2 l/100 km on the open roads. These figures are match by no less impressive emissions figures, a combined CO2 figure of 163 g/km and an open road figure of 137 g/km.
The Maserati Quattroporte Turbo Diesel has a recommended retail price of $169,900 excluding statutory charges, dealer costs and delivery, the Quattroporte S has a recommended retail price of $194,900 excluding statutory charges and dealer costs and the Quattroporte GTS has a recommended retail price of $258,900 excluding statutory charges, dealer delivery and dealer costs.
The Maserati Ghibli
With the Ghibli, Maserati has taken the Trident badge into an all new area of the Australian car market, with a new, smaller – but still spacious inside – sports saloon that is the essence of everything that has made Maserati unique over the past 100 years and presented it in an new car.
Launched in Australia and New Zealand in the middle of this year, the Maserati Ghibli offers a choice of three variants, two powered by a Ferrari built V6 twin turbo V6 and the third version by an advanced Turbo Diesel V6.
The Ghibli’s most powerful model, the Ghibli S, has boasts 301 kW (410 bhp) and races to 100 kmh in 5.0 seconds before continuing to a top speed of 285 kmh.
The more affordable V6 petrol engine variant not only has an impressive 243 kW (330 bhp) of power and 500 Nm of torque, but also delivers a combined fuel economy figure of just 9.6 litres/100 km. But it is much more than a fuel saving car, though, and is capable of accelerating to 100 kmh in just 5.6 seconds. The flat torque curve makes this power unit particularly responsive, a feature of its performance further enhanced by the eight speed gearbox, and endows this variant of the Ghibli with particularly impressive pick-up from steady speeds in, for example, over taking manoeuvres, and for powering out of corners, something which it excels.
The new Maserati Ghibli is also the first Maserati to offer diesel power, with a 3.0 litre turbo diesel delivering 202 kW and a crushing 600 Nm torque that ensures it can provide the exhilarating performance expected of a Maserati, with a zero to 100 kmh time of 6.3 seconds matched to a combined fuel consumption fuel figure of 5.9 litres per 100 km.
The Maserati Ghibli range opens with the Ghibli Diesel with a recommended retail price of $138,900 excluding statutory charges, dealer costs and delivery; the 330 bhp Ghibli has a recommended retail price of $139,990 excluding statutory charges, dealer costs and delivery and the Ghibli S tops the range with a recommended retail price of $169,900 excluding statutory charges, dealer costs and delivery.
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About Maserati SpA
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer which was established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna (Italy) by its founder Alfieri Maserati and his brothers. Their passion and talent contributed to the company DNA: innovation, excellence, and challenge, which are reflected in the brand’s claim “The absolute opposite of ordinary”. Today, the company's headquarters and main production location are in Modena (Italy). A second state-of-the-art production location, based on the highest quality standards of the World Class Manufacturing (WCM) concept, was inaugurated in Grugliasco, near Turin (Italy), in 2013. Maserati has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993.
Its emblem, the trident, was inspired by the fountain on the Piazza del Nettuno in the center of Bologna (Italy). It is a symbol that ties together the brothers, their hometown, and the artistry and craftsmanship for which Bologna and Emilia-Romagna are known.
Through major investments into product development, production facilities as well as its worldwide dealer network, Maserati has hit a turning point. In addition to the successful GranTurismo and GranCabrio ranges, the latest generation of Maserati’s flagship sedan, the Quattroporte, and the new sports executive sedan, the Ghibli, provide the cornerstones to the brand’s strategy of producing some 50,000 units annually and gaining a significantly strengthened presence in the global luxury car market.
For 2013, Maserati posted a 148% increase in shipments to 15,400 vehicles, driven by the success of the new Quattroporte and Ghibli models. Its major markets include the USA (2013: 6,900, plus 138%), China (2013: 3,800, plus 334%), Europe (2013: 2,500, plus 133%) as well as Asia-Pacific (2013: 1,300, plus 52%) and the Middle East (2013: 750, plus 81%). For 2013, the company posted revenue of €1,659 million (plus 120%) and a trading profit €171 million (plus €114 million).
About European Automotive Imports
European Automotive Imports (EAI), trading as Maserati Australia and New Zealand, was appointed as the distributor of Maserati, its products and services in Australia and New Zealand in 2005, starting operations on 1 October that year, initially from offices in the Sydney suburb of Homebush before moving, in 2010 to its present offices in Waterloo. The company also took over the New South Wales retail Maserati representation from 1 October 2005, initially as Italia Motori until the completion of the new facility in Waterloo as both home to EAI and the new dealership, Ferrari Maserati Sydney, which opened its doors in 2010. From 2013 EAI has also controlled the Maserati retail outlet ‘Maserati Auckland’ in New Zealand. In addition to offices for EAI Maserati dedicated showroom and workshop facilities, the Waterloo facility also provides a state of the art training facility for both technical and sales training. EAI has a fully computerised parts facility in Sydney to ensure fast and efficient distribution of parts and accessories.
EAI is a private company wholly owned by its Executive Chairman, Neville Crichton, and it is not a subsidiary of any of Mr Crichton’s other companies. Maserati Australia and New Zealand is headed by Glenn Sealey, who took over as General Manager in 2010, and who has overseen a doubling of team responsible for Maserati in Australia and New Zealand. These include Bilgen Tug, National Marketing and Public Relations Manager; David Weihen, National Aftersales Manager; Alex Ball, National Sales Manager and Angelo Ruberto, General Manager of Ferrari Maserati Sydney.
Following its appointment, EAI set about a major renewal of its dealer group, with all-new dealerships opening in Brisbane (2006), Melbourne (2008), Perth (2008), Sydney (2010), Adelaide (2013) and Auckland (2013) with major refurbishments in Sydney, Adelaide and Auckland prior to new facilities opening. In addition, Christchurch opened initially as a Maserati service centre bringing the marque officially to the South Island of New Zealand in 2008 and this was expanded to a full dealership in 2013. In Maserati’s centenary year these dealerships will be joined by a second dealership each in Sydney and Melbourne to serve the growing customer base and, in 2016, another dealership in Queensland.
EAI has consistently grown Maserati sales in Australia with its annual best in 2008 with a total of 201 units, a record which is set to be broken in 2014 with sales expected to exceed 300 units. With arrival of new products, EAI plans to take Maserati to an annual sales figure of 1500 by 2016.
For further information, please contact
Glen Sealey
/ Tel: +61 2 8577 8070General Manager / Fax: +61 2 8577 8079
Maserati Australia and New Zealand / E:
Release Number: Maserati_468
Date of release: 9/13/2018 10:02:28 PM