Well Keith, I was very happy to get back into my hand built out of date GT when I returned the Ghibli this afternoon. I donned my rose tinted specs and was away, driving the best sounding & still one of the best looking cars available. My rose tinted glasses weren't so dark that I could not appreciate the hand built quality of the interior which for me is superior to the Ghibli but then I guess it would be seeing as the car cost almost twice as much as the Ghibli.
Whilst I enjoyed the Ghibli for the day & think it is a very decent & capable car with excellent handling, it is a very different car to the GT which remains such an occasion each time you drive it.
Absolutely right, the GT has a superbly finished cabin, and still after all these years in production head turning looks. However whilst I am not aware of the precise annual sales, I think its somewhere around a similar number of units to vehicles at a much higher price point such as those I mentioned in my previous post. The GT's main rivals are not Bentleys or Aston Martins, they are top end Mercedes SL's or BMW 6 Series. Against which the current model cannot hope to compete in terms of dynamics engineering or technology.
So whilst I use the 'tongue in cheek' expression 'rose tinted...' this was meant to serve as an example that it falls between two stools - the high tech German marques, and the top end prestige marques.
The truth is Maserati is a top end executive brand, which offers a greater degree of hand finish. The Ferrari engine 'thing' is a great selling point, however if you look at the petrol V6, whilst this is manufactured in a Ferrari plant, its design was from Maserati, or more likely from a group of engineers sourced from across Fiat Chrysler, with a brief to produce a unit which could be used by Maserati for their new models, and adapted for use in as many other applications as possible such as Alfa. And I am also guessing the reason why Ferrari produce it, is because Maserati have no engine manufacturing facility of their own. The V8 being already used and readily available from Ferrari found its way into Maserati's for probably the same reason. Likewise the diesel, which the subsidiary, VM Motori, had been producing is such a sensible idea, as with some modification it provides a modern cost effective solution for its requirements in the Ghibli.
Interestingly, in conclusion, I too also feel a sense of occasion when I drive my relatively cheap diesel Ghibli (although for me £68,000 with options is a considerable amount of money), which is probably what the manufacturer was hoping to achieve with this car, which you don't get with a BMW. Perhaps almost the same as you in your double the price GT.
Thanks for the interesting debate, and I am sure we all read these comments in the friendly manner in which they are intended.
Best regards
Keith
