Maserati’s Ghibli offers a direct challenge to high-end sedans from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes

Maserati has long supplied exotic—and expensive— rides to the rich and super-rich. Now the 99-year-old sports car maker is shifting its focus to the merely wealthy.


In September the Fiat subsidiary plans to introduce the Ghibli, a midsize sedan starting at $65,600 that it hopes will present a direct challenge to German models such as the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and Audi A6.

Maserati is betting it can offer something the Germans can’t: Italian sex appeal backed by the power and cachet of engines from sister brand Ferrari. “We have to steal buyers from the Germans,” says Benedetto Orvietani, a product development manager at Maserati.

“We are going after their most demanding customers, the ones that are bored with their Audi A6 and want to stand out.” The Ghibli—the name is taken from a 1960sera model and stems from an Arabic word for a hot wind from the Sahara—is a critical part of Maserati’s plan to boost sales eightfold, to 50,000 vehicles, by 2015.

While that wouldn’t be much for the German carmakers, which each sell more than 1 million cars a year, it marks a threat because Maserati is targeting buyers of the most expensive high-horsepower vehicles, which typically yield the greatest profits.

The Germans “are limited in how well they can satisfy customers’ desire to be different,” says brand chief Harald Wester, a German engineer who worked at Volkswagen and Audi before taking charge of development at Fiat in 2004.

The four-door Ghibli exudes sportiness with glaring headlights, a low-slung front end, and high rear haunches. The base version features a 330-horsepower V6 engine by Ferrari, and its interior is accented with leather from 101-year-old Italian furniture maker Poltrona Frau.

Maserati is counting on such luxurious touches to convince buyers to pay roughly 20 percent more than they would for similarsize German sedans.


The top-of-the-line Ghibli S Q4 pushes performance with a 410-hp engine and a top speed of 285 kilometers (177 miles) per hour. The $75,700 all-wheeldrive model can accelerate to 100 kph in 4.8 seconds, beating the $61,400 402-hp Mercedes E550.

“I’m a believer” in Maserati’s strategy, says Max Warburton, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein. “While the plan is clearly ambitious, there is room in the highend sedan segment for something different, and with the right quality and distribution network, Maserati can reach its goal.” Maserati, which has been part of Fiat since 1993, aims to deliver at least 20,000 cars this year, more than triple last year’s total.