The end of Maserati’s V8: a fitting farewell

Do you know that feeling when you are about to say goodbye to something that made you so happy? Little love of holidays, home, work. That it’s not quite here yet and you don’t want to be sad about it yet, but that you already fully realize – with a lump in your throat and a stone in your stomach – what’s about to happen.

This is how we feel when we enter the ski resort of Livigno in the Italian Alps. We are in the Maserati Ghibli, a car that has been around for almost ten years and will soon be retired, along with the bigger Quattroporte and the only slightly smaller Levante. All three are still beautiful. Outdated, that too. But their farewell still has something. A concept that has made every lover’s arm hair stand on end for 65 years, with more than 100,000 units produced: the ‘Maserati with a V8 engine’.

Into the snowy mountains with a Maserati V8

The Ghibli we’re driving is a Trofeo: a 580 hp beast that moves like a fire brigade and roars like a lion biting its little toe. But at the moment it is slow and sounds good, because snowflakes are flying from the sky, a thick layer covers the village and the road is brown and muddy. In ideal weather, this 5-series competitor is capable of insane speed, a fact that the brand reinforces by launching the latest version that they call the Ghibli 334 Ultima. Lightweight features, special blue color and a top speed of 334 km/h: a road-legal sedan record.

103 Ghibli Ultimas will be built – the same number as the first eight-cylinder Maserati, the 5000 GT from 1959 – as well as two 103 copies of the Levante Ultima, in blue and black. After that, not only these models are made; these will be the last V8 cars to roll out of the Maserati factory. The time for mourning is appropriate.

Soon all Maserati will be electric

Like other automakers, Maserati must move away from the era of unregulated CO gasoline gurgles₂leave dirt behind. They’ve sniffed at the mid-range hybrid, but now focus on fully electric models, with the new Nettuno V6 engine as the bridge. The brand also has a glorious and sweet history in the field of six-cylinder engines, so combustion enthusiasts can still be happy in the near future. By 2025 there should be an EV version of every model, and by 2030 plug-in vehicles will be all that can be found in showrooms and trident.

But that is later, this is now. We arrive at a small glacial and hilly field, just outside of Livigno. A few days ago it was still a water ballet here, we are told, but we are lucky – the weather and temperature could not be better. The track is white, the coffee is hot, the various Trofeo models are hot. We want to have fun without restriction, but come on, we’re professionals.

Beware, here is a slip

The colleagues from the Japanese press who are the first to run the track make a few mistakes and leave big angry marks on the snow bank. It’s tempting to laugh, but we know: there’s a lot of speed or bravery on a track like this, and there’s no stopping it, even with clean Pirelli winter tires. Spikes, that would be a different story. However, whenever things go wrong, Maserati’s emergency services rush out in their Levante to help the stranded driver back on track. It is not a punishment at all to listen from the sidelines.

We’re trading our Ghibli for a dark red Quattroporte. A long wheel is what you want on ice, for maximum stability. The idle of the engine gives us a vibration, the exhaust pipes envelop the car in a fairy tale mist as we adjust everything to our liking.
ESP is off, drivetrain is off. Manual distribution. Driving mode in Sport, but with the suspension in a soft setting. Two hands on the wheel, look ahead, breathe deeply. This is it: our ultimate splurge in a Quattroporte with eight cylinders. There are very memorable situations.

Neptune punishes immediately. Or maybe it’s the ice cold counterpart. Eagerly rushing towards the Ghiacciodromo, we drift aimlessly towards the dividing wall between the circuit and the street. We had warned ourselves a lot. But then: the Quattroporte lands from the ice surface on a load of fresh snow, where it gets a grip and will still be able to make a corner. Heart in throat and all that. We’re definitely missing out on the Most Embarrassing Entry of the Day trophy.

Big boys also have fun in the snow

But it doesn’t make much difference. Moreover we have been very careful that we take the slope at a very low speed and remain helpless against it with the rear wheels spinning. Enter the heroic, four-wheel-drive Levante, tossing huge white rooster tails as it gracefully arrives at the side. Well done Boysrub in. ‘You’re TopGear-ah?’ asks one of the assistants. Um, no, you’re confused.

All beginnings and endings are difficult. But when we force ourselves to forget why we should appreciate this event and just focus, we quickly find ourselves dancing from bend to bend in the Quattroporte. In Sport mode, the accelerator pedal is sensitive and you can set the bodywork with your fingers. Slow down into the bend, slow down, tackle, hold and build, to go straight into the decision of an angry Bond chaser.

It remains surprising how fast and playful a car of this size – 5.26 meters – can feel. The ride is sharp and the interior enveloping, which may no longer be appropriate for a limousine in this day and age. But would you rather have a rotating home theater or a big car in a tuxedo?

The end of Maserati’s V8 is a bitter pill to swallow

Yes, that engine. It is essential, inseparable from this experience, like the voices of Hans Zimmer The Lion King that you feel your chest pounding and your throat tighten. It screeches and crackles, rolls and hammers. And while we can’t touch his performance here in any way, that doesn’t stop anything.

This is the type of machine that excels in every possible situation. Performance at its peak, at rest, everything in between: man has created beautiful things, but this V8 made by Ferrari is all about emotional art. He knows how to convince you in such a way that you will happily deposit your savings account in his tank between jobs. Imagine this kind of emotional connection between people and cars being struck again in the age of e.

The Quattroporte is still buzzing as we pick up the keys to one of the 103 Blu Royale Levante Ultimas to escape this pool of warm emotions. Maserati are also good at traveling and flying kilometers. The Levante was controversial when it was introduced, but we’ve now accepted it as one of the best-looking large SUVs you can buy – even after all these years. It’s always driven well, and in these conditions all-wheel drive provides all the peace of mind you could ever need.

The eight pistons chatter quietly in the background as we leave Livigno. From here it doesn’t matter if you go north or south: within 20 minutes you will meet Switzerland, harsh and hates speed. Like the V8 itself, we’re in a bind. But like the V8 itself, we will continue as long as we can.

Driving in the tunnel before the end of the Maserati V8

No one had told us this, but on the way to Ponte del Gallo, the bridge over Lake Livigno that crosses the Swiss border, you drive through a series of long semi-open tunnels. A mountainside on the left, a lake on the right, in front of you nothing but a dry, open road surface and – now look – no other traffic. Naturally we access the window controls. Then to the left paddle shifter. Five, four, three. Foot down: this is a farewell song.

Divine sound waves hit the wall of the tunnel and echoed in the lake. It’s like they’re leading us, like we’re sliding into a symphony. Everything clicks: this is one of those moments we will never forget. This engine is an experience that we would like to last forever, but it has an end – for our own good, so it is said. That doesn’t make the disappointment any less painful.

I don’t know how long the Swiss in the border hut had heard us approaching, but it was clear that he couldn’t laugh at our sudden spectacle. We wave amicably and turn the Levante to a reasonable, safe distance. We started the journey back to Livigno, where we will return the car and go home – our lives are better, but our hearts are a little broken. The time has indeed come, but we must not think about it yet. We don’t want to get out of this tunnel.