It appears Maserati’s mystery teaser for this month’s 2013 Shanghai Auto Show was in fact depicting the automaker’s upcoming Ghibli sedan, which has already been spied in prototype form for several months and was rumored to be debuting at the Chinese show.
After an early leak, Maserati has now revealed its Ghibli and provided some initial details. These images, plus our own spy shots, confirm that Maserati designers have gone with a coupe-like profile for the latest Ghibli.
This coupe styling, plus the long hood, is reminiscent of the original Ghibli, which was a sporty, two-door GT.
The powerful rear fenders of the car, on the other hand, look similar to those found on the latest 2014 Maserati Quattroporte, while up front, the nose and grille section appears to protrude much farther than on Maserati’s bigger sedan.
The interior has also been revealed; it exhibits a sporty, distinctly Italian design, with some elements also borrowed from the more upmarket Quattroporte in addition to plenty of carbon fiber to denote its sportier positioning in the Maserati lineup.
Sales of new Maserati sedan will commence late in the year, making the Ghibli a 2014 model. The reason for the speedy rollout is due to Maserati’s ambitions growth plans, with the automaker hoping to boost its annual sales almost 10-fold to as much as 50,000 units per year by the middle of the decade.
To speed up development, the Ghibli shares most of its underpinnings with the Quattroporte, including engines, transmissions and Maserati’s available Q4 all-wheel drive system. In fact, the two cars were largely developed side by side.
At launch, the Ghibli will be available with two turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 engines, the more powerful of which will develop 404 horsepower. Overseas, the car will also come with a 3.0-liter V-6 turbodiesel option, likely to be the same VM Motori unit fitted to a number of Fiat and Chrysler vehicles. This makes the Ghibli the first production Maserati to feature a diesel engine.
Stay tuned for more details following the car's world debut at the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show, which will take place on April 20.
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