Maserati's Iconic V8 Officially Discontinued; Special Edition Ghibli And Levante Coming Soon
It’s the end of an era, sadly.
Maserati’s value proposition and market position may be a bit dubious, but we can’t deny the fact that it’s consistently created some truly special engines. No matter what body they’ve found their way in, whether it is a coupe, sedan, or crossover, Maserati’s engines sound and perform like no other. Sadly, one of the greatest engines of the brand, the Maserati V8, is going out of production. Maserati chose the Motor Valley Festival in Modena to announce the news.
Like most other automakers of the modern era, the V8’s death is directly due to commitments to further electrify the brand. Maserati is pushing hard on its new Nettuno V6 engine to pick up the slack where the full EV models and the old V8 can’t. The forthcoming GranTurismo Folgore and Grecale Folgore will be the brand’s first two pure EVs. It will also use the Nettuno V6, for vehicles in non-EV form. Maserati calls this the Dare Foreward 2030 plan, with the goal of each of its offerings having an ICE and full EV variant by 2025, with the brand being EV only by 2030.
The twin-turbo V8 made a fierce 572 horsepower and saw service in the hot Trofeo and Modena versions of the Levante, Ghibli, Quattroporte, and older GranTurismo. By comparison, the new Nettuno V6 can produce 550 horsepower in the GranTurismo, technically down, but still very strong. The EV GranTurismo produces a whopping 818 horsepower, well over the numbers the old V8 produced. The V8 may have been fierce, but it looks like the V6 and electric powertrains will be able to carry the torch just fine.
The final engines will be produced until late 2023, with the supply of V8-equipped cars to dry up in 2024. Two special editions commemorating the engine, Ghibli 334 Ultima and Levante V8 Ultima, will be unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July 2023.
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Kevin has been obsessed with cars ever since he could talk. He even learned to read partially by learning and reading the makes and models on the back of cars, only fueling his obsession. Today, he is an automotive journalist and member of the Automotive Press Association. He is well-versed in electrification, hybrid cars, and vehicle maintenance.
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