When it comes to Italian cars, Ferrari and Lamborghini have it all wrapped up as far as brand recognition is concerned. This makes it a little difficult for an equally iconic name like Maserati, especially in a market like India (where brand value is everything), but don’t for one moment think that its cars are any less beguiling. Quite on the contrary – Maserati makes some of the sexiest, most desirable cars on the planet, and if you were to set aside any biases for a moment, you would find that these cars get the juices flowing just as animatedly. Earlier on, Maserati had attempted a short-lived foray into the Indian market, under the auspices of Ferrari (both brands are owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles), but this time around, it will function separately.
The cars available will be the sensational GranTurismo/GranCabrio (coupe and convertible), the 4-door Quattroporte (a somewhat meaningless description, since quattroporte means ‘four doors’ in Italian), the stunning Ghibli (a competitor for cars like the Mercedes-Benz CLS) and Maserati’s first ever SUV, the Levante (which hasn’t had a global launch yet, but will certainly come to India). A small range of petrol and diesel engines will do duty in these cars – a 530 bhp, twin-turbo V8 (which also features in the new Ferrari 488GTB, in a different state of tune), a 404 bhp, twin-turbo V6 and a 271 bhp V6 diesel. Maserati is likely to formally announce its plans on the 15th of this month, in Delhi – expect prices to begin at Rs 1 crore, ex-showroom.
