Friday 4th October 2013

Maserati Ghibli Preview Night

If you missed the cut for our Ghibli evening, here's what happened

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Recently we invited you to apply and join us at a special Maserati Ghibli preview evening, with over 250 of you doing just that. It seems the new ‘baby’ Maserati is a car of huge importance to PHers.

On the night we invited 40 guests to join us for an evening of champagne, canapes and the chance to explore the new car after an intro from the Maserati UK team. Our group comprised some guests who drove competitor cars and some who were just Maserati enthusiasts.

Reaction to the car was universally positive, with many preferring the looks and dimensions of the Ghibli to those of the latest Quattroporte. Aesthetics were the talk of the night with the styling (inside and out) drawing particularly high praise. The introduction of a diesel engine to a Maserati saloon will likely see the Ghibli appearing on company car lists, surely meaning there will be plenty on the road soon. Our hunch will hopefully be supported by many 530d-driving guests keen to get their hands on a Ghibli.

The format worked well and we hope to host more of these events more regularly in the future; the views of PHers are clearly very important to manufacturers when launching a new car!

For those that missed the cut, or who simply want to see the car, here is a short video from the night. What do you think?

 

We extend our thanks to all who turned up and especially to Maserati for making it happen. When can we drive one?

[will261058]

That looks fantastic. At first I thought the headlights looked a bit small though now Im not sure. look forward to seeing one, or lots, on the road.

[TheBigUnit]

Beautiful. Deserves to sell on looks alone.

[Ex Boy Racer]

I was there and it was a great night. Car looks good, with a lovely interior.

[V6Alfisti]

I am not 100% on this car, I see many of the stunning Maserati elements but the boot to me looks like an MG6 Magnette.

Hope to be proven wrong when viewed in the flesh.

Edited by V6Alfisti on Friday 4th October 13:22

[BRMMA]

I prefer this to the new QP and to most other cars in that class/sector but it doesn't excite me like a Maserati should

[edinph]

I agree that this is better looking than the new QP which looks bloated already.Years ago, manufacturers styled cars for the American market, and we got dull, bland cars. Now the Chinese call the shots and we're getting droopy, bloated cars!

[Amirhussain]

TheBigUnit said:

Beautiful. Deserves to sell on looks alone.

I think it looks pretty decent, but IMO the F10 5 series looks miles better

[RJO]

Not a bad looking car, though sad it takes the Ghibli name. It's even a bloody auto. That takes half the fun out of driving on the road.

[Oddball RS]

Given a blank starting point I think is looks very bland, especially inside, more E Class than CLS as it were.

[LordPetroleum]

Have to agree with Oddball here. That is one dull rump for a Mazza. Are they trying to break in to repmobile market? Looks much like alot of the other faceless commuters

[Swoxy]

I saw one on the road in Dubai last week.

[405dogvan]

Please say one of the PHers drove a rusty Cortina to the event!?

It's great being the odd-one-out at those events, I once won a competition in Autocar to drive some Porsches, the day itself was clearly a marketing exercise aimed at people driving comparable cars with the other attendees sporting high-end BMWs, MBs, Lotuses and the like - they did stare when I parked my company car Cavalier 1.8 next to them

I think someone asked me what I drove about 20 times in the course of the day - their reaction was priceless EVERY SINGLE TIME.

I also took to gatecrashing dealer launches for a while, there's nothing quite like the faces of the other guests when they realise that their 'patronage' of the dealership really meant nothing because we proles just drove-up in something appropriate (Beetles worked well for MINI events, for example) and got the free booze and grub anyway

Champagnes and Canapes tho - really - how about, and this is a bit of a leap perhaps, something Italian?

[Davismatt]

I currently drive a Lexus IS-F, my second, and if the Ghibli drives as well as it looks, and goes like stink, then it will be my next car. Can't wait to test drive one.

[R400TVR]

Id like to have seen this with the lovely old V8 and a manual box but there we go..............
Theres a vid on YouTube with the diesel engine shhoting an advert and I have to say it sounds great.

[R400TVR]

Id like to have seen this with the lovely old V8 and a manual box but there we go..............
Theres a vid on YouTube with the diesel engine shhoting an advert and I have to say it sounds great.

[deltashad]

Her indoors thinks it looks like a Mondeo, says, 'that's a Maserati'? A Maserati is meant to stand out and that doesn't'!

I disagree from the front nose, I like the bonnet line. But the rest of it could be from Kia.

Bit of a let down, she's right, a Maserati should be more exiting for better or worse and this is a little too restrained.

[swisstoni]

Bit of a thread resurrection but I'm starting to see a few on the road now. They look so much better in the flesh and have a subtle exotic look that the puts them a cut above their, frankly, common as muck competition IMHO.