Maserati’s Trofeo Range Review: Like Flying First Class… Low-flying down the straight of a race-track at 220km/h in a hulking and hugely expensive SUV feels slightly less hilarious than you might guess. Indeed, putting a car like Maserati’s $336,990 Levante Trofeo on a race circuit seems something akin to riding an ostrich in the Melbourne Cup. Yes, it’s fast enough to compete with a thoroughbred, and it’s inarguably as exotic as a fine-feathered non-flying bird, but it just feels entirely out of place. Inappropriate, even.
Maseratis, after all, are bought by people who’ve “graduated” – in taste and bank balance – from the German premium brands and want something a little more “exclusive”. And Italian. Glen Sealey, CEO of Maserati Australia, describes his customers as “a little bit older, and certainly a lot wiser”, which makes the brand’s Trofeo range seem a little out of character – like Mattel making a sex doll.
Putting the Trofeo (or “Trophy”) badge on a Levante turns it from a beautifully appointed luxo barge into a monstrous SUV. Maserati also offers a Trofeo version of its stately saloon, the Quattroporte, which transforms into a slavering lunatic, and its mid-sized premium sedan, the Ghibli, which now resembles a leather-lined race car.
Race track luxe: the three Trofeo models.
All three Trofeo Maseratis share the same 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8, which is sourced from another Italian company you may have heard of: Ferrari. As such, it is louder than a million ostriches honking at once, but far more enjoyable, and hugely powerful, making 433kW and 730Nm.
Each of the Trofeo-badged variants is also covered in enough carbon fibre to build a Space Shuttle, upgraded with huge brakes and adorned with styling touches such as sexy red gills on its cheeks and sculpted bonnets with giant nostrils. Unusually, these bonnet vents point towards the driver so that you can always see them when you’re driving and are thus reminded that you have chosen a truly wild car, which may or may not have a massive cocaine problem.
Being all-wheel drive, and SUV-shaped, the Levante seemed a little too easy to drive for a Trofeo fan, so we tried the truly gorgeous Quattroporte next.
With its lush red interior, this vast and comfortable luxe long-distance tourer would be a suitable place for a sultan to sit in the back while being hurled around a track. And with all of its loud power going to the ground via the rear wheels and a body that is well over five metres in length, it’s like driving an amusing handful of firecrackers around the track. It is so big, in fact, that it sometimes feels like you get to enjoy the slower bends twice, first with the front end, then again with the slip-sliding rear.
Slick interior
This left us with the Goldilocks Ghibli Trofeo, which is shorter (4.97m vs 5.26m), sharper and yet no less lovely than the Quattroporte inside. It, too, benefits from swathes of red Pieno Fiore natural leather – “some of the best leather the world has ever seen” – plus plenty of polished carbon fibre and a feel that is distinctly more mellow than Monaco. Out on the track, however, that engine – the first time the baby Ghibli has carried a V8 – turns it into a snarling beast of a thing. No vehicle that feels this expensive, and heavy (a sniff under two tonnes), should be this aggressively enjoyable on a race circuit.
Styling detail
Yes, there was still a sense of the absurd in throwing the Ghibli Trofeo down the straight at 240km/h plus, and then pasting it through the always scary Turn One at Sydney Motorsport Park at well above 160km/h, but the car didn’t seem to know it was doing something strange. It was too busy having fun, and making loud noises of enjoyment. The shorter wheelbase of the Ghibli made it more fun, and more natural, to corner hard than the big-dog Quattroporte, while its obvious beauty makes it a winner over the more egg-shaped Levante.
Out on public roads, the Ghibli Trofeo felt like almost too much car, if you were silly enough to select its more sporty modes, but in its most comfort-focused setting it reverted to being a Maserati – comfortable, commanding and effortlessly powerful.
While the $265,000 price tag for the Ghibli is large, it’s significantly cheaper than the less-awesome Levante and the bigger and harder to handle Quattroporte ($376,900). It’s also a bit of a bargain, really, when you consider how much this awesome V8 engine would cost you in a Ferrari with fewer doors and no back seats.
The Trofeo range would seem to appeal to only a tiny niche within what is a fairly limited range of buyers: Maserati fans who feel that they are frustrated racing drivers. And yet the company says it has been inundated with interest and the cars, available in limited numbers only, are selling like hot cakes with ostrich feathers on them.
Maserati Ghibli Trofeo
ENGINE: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 (433kW/730Nm). Average fuel 12.3-12.6 litres per 100km
TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
PRICE: $265,000
RATING: 3.5 stars out of 5
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