But the GranTurismo and GranCabrio won’t be pushed aside.
Maserati of 2019 isn’t quite bastion of the kind of red blooded Italian sports cars that it was known for in its past. Reflective of many other automakers, the marque’s strongest seller, and by a significant margin, is an SUV. Meanwhile, the rest of its portfolio worth mentioning is comprised of four-door saloons.
There is, of course, a the pair of two-door V8-powered sports cars that, for some, have escaped memory for a long enough while to preclude their shortlisting on many a buyer’s mind. The GranTurismo and GranCabrio were solid offerings for their time, but 12 years on, they pale in comparison to the much newer and more advanced offerings from the competition.
In short, one must really be set on owning one to put your name down, especially while new. First introduced in 2007, the GranTurismo rests on fairly dated underpinnings and has not made too many core changes to adapt to the changing times after first being tasked with supplanting the Maserati Coupe.
The GranCabrio as well, which came along in 2011, did boost the range, is a spring chicken no longer. For a long time now, the sentiment has been consistent in that Maserati needed a new flagship sports car (or two). In 2014, the rumours were quelled somewhat when the company brought the Alfieri concept to the Geneva Motor Show.
Named after one of the brothers that co-founded the company, there seemed to be plenty of internal momentum behind the initiative. Many expected more news to follow an largely positive audience response, both at the event itself and around the world.
However, the tidbits of information which did surface about the project did not appear promising, seemingly being pushed further down the order as corporate priorities were shuffled to accommodate various new directions that demonstrated a likelier, and quicker, possibility of return (such as the Levante).
That said, Maserati’s most recent 2019 quarterly earnings report did include a few slides that detail the automaker’s roadmap over the next few years and did specify an all-new sports car that is due out in 2020, going so far as to call out the Alfieri by name.
Whether or not this is the much anticipated Alfieri as we've seen it before or another car entirely to sit alongside the GranTurismo and GranCabrio is unclear, but it does look as though this new car will not supplant the longtime Maserati two-door flagship. Instead, the ‘All-New Granturismo’ and GranCabrio are separate projects that will come to fruition in 2021 and 2022, according to the timeline shown.
A likely scenario is that Maserati is planning to offer a smaller and more compact sports car to combat newer entrants such as the BMW M4, Audi RS5, Jaguar F-Type, and Aston Martin Vantage. It would be luxurious as a car bearing the trident badge should, but also more agile and thrilling as opposed to the touring-oriented GT and GranCabrio.
By that same timeline, it also looks like we can expect a next-generation Quattroporte to appear somewhere in 2022 and an all-new Levante in 2023. By that point, Maserati is believed to prepare a newer line-up of powertrains that include plug-in hybrids or some other kind of electrification.
For more on Maserati cars, check out our Showroom.
