When you think of Maserati, a luxurious and sporty coupe must come to mind. No doubt it’s also sleek, with muscular contours, and a futuristic edge. High horsepower, tight handling, and smooth ride quality also fit the image of a Maserati sports car. So, it’s probably surprising to hear that it appears Maserati is going on hiatus with its sports car production for at least a couple of years. In particular, it’s the production of the GranTurismo and GranCabrio that will be delayed. By delayed, I mean their successors will likely not arrive until 2019 at the earliest, and possibly not until 2020.
Strange, right? Thankfully, I have some answers as to why this is happening.
Why the Hiatus?
It’s all because of the Alfieri, which has experienced delayed production more times than I can count. The Alfieri was supposed to have made an appearance this year, but now won’t even see production (most-likely) until at least 2020. How does the Alfieri’s production relate to Maserati’s sports-car hiatus?
Simple, because the company had decided that the Alfieri was going to lead the charge for 2016 as its primary sports car. After the production of the current GranTurismo and GranCabrio ended, the company was going to work on the Alfieri. Given that the Alfieri is delayed, again, Maserati decided to put a hold on its entire sports car production.
The brand will release the successors to the GranTurismo and GranCabrio after the new Alfieri finally hits the market. That’s the new plan, at least, with the target positioned after 2020. Until then, the company will have to rely on its other vehicles to keep afloat. It also marks a sad moment in the trident’s history because the company won’t have a sports car in production for possibly two or more years.
How the Brand Will Keep Afloat
The obvious question remaining, is how will the brand keep afloat? After all, the GranTurismo and GranCabrio are two of Maserati’s biggest and best-known vehicles. Therefore, it’s going to be up to primarily the Ghibli and Levante SUV. Thankfully, the Levante is proving to be a serious contender in the luxury SUV market. It’s gained plenty of attention, and is being praised by expert reviewers and novices alike. Meaning the Levante will be able to help keep the company afloat through the rest of 2016 and well into 2017, especially thanks to its diesel version.
For those who aren’t looking for a luxury SUV, they can certainly enjoy zipping around in the Ghibli, which is doing better than ever, thanks to the new model.
General Thoughts
While I don’t think it’s going to be a devastating blow to the company or put them out of business, Maserati and sports/GT cars go hand-in-hand. Therefore, it’s not only strange learning that Maserati won’t be producing either of those for a while — it’s downright depressing. Potentially, it could hurt the brand’s image if the Alfieri is delayed again. Certainly the newfound debacle with the production of the electric version possibly pushing back past 2020 as well isn’t helping anything, either.
