Maserati channels MCXtrema for three new facelifts

With the aim of strengthening Maserati’s positioning in the luxury segment, the brand has presented the evolution of the GranTurismo, GranCabrio and Grecale. 

This design update harps back to the MCXtrema – the track-only car that introduced a sharper, more horizontal and aggressive front end. This design language was brought to the road with the GT2 Stradale, refined further with the MCPura and has now been applied to the GranTurismo, GranCabrio and Grecale D-SUV.

The refreshed GranTurismo and GranCabrio have both undergone a complete front-end redesign: air intakes with slots for boundary-layer aspiration (an aerodynamic technique), a development on the external air curtain and an optimised central splitter that increases front downforce. At the rear, the lighting system features new clear lenses, and, within the customisation programme, seven new exterior colours are available – including Green Jupiter Matte and Blu Denim. This is in addition to a new range of coloured badges co-ordinated with the car’s exterior. 

Inside there’s a new Mahogany trim option, as well as a fresh racing-inspired steering wheel with a flat upper and lower sections in addition to dark-stain aluminium spokes. The Maserati digital clock has also been renewed with a metal bezel, octagonal shape, redesigned graphics and a pop-up function for mode changes. Another redesign comes in the form of the graphics on the digital interface, which have been entirely reworked.

As for the Grecale, the exterior design has been adjusted to allow for a more pronounced and lower front fascia, with a horizontal construction that gives it a wider, lower appearance. The front bumpers and grilles are new, and the bumper possesses a more pronounced ‘shark-nose’ architecture in line with MCPura. Also, integrated side air curtains guide airflow along the wheel arches. Inside, the new steering wheel is octagonal in shape with a six o’clock spoke in perforated leather or Alcantara. The digital clock has a mineral crystal dial and metal bezel that echoes the shape of the steering wheel. The redesigned PRND selector features real metal buttons and integrated backlighting.

The use of authentic materials is a big focus with these design updates, with the likes of wood, carbon fibre and leather used throughout the cabin.

CDN posed a few design related questions to Klaus Busse during the global reveal. 

Car Design News: With this redesign referencing one of Maserati’s past icons, how do you balance nods to heritage with creating a new generation of icons through design? 

Klause Busse: Every ten to 20 years, Maserati has completely reinvented itself – the elegant 50s, the Dandy 60s, the provocative 70s – and so on. These changes were driven by both technology and society – with the mid-engine in the 70s completely changing the shape of cars as well as the oil crisis that spanned the 70s and the 80s. But above all this, despite the fact that Maserati dramatically changed its design between those chapters, there’s always a core DNA present. It’s in the proportions, performance and presence, and with these model refreshes we are really adding more attitude to the face. All of these elements are guiding us. The past is emotional, and so is our energy, but it’s really about always finding that next chapter driven by technology and society.

CDN: Can you point out the nods to Maserati’s heritage through the design? Perhaps an element that isn’t normally noticed? 

KB: When we look at these three cars, you see the construction of the main volumes. One of my favourite cars in our history is the 1954 A6 GCS, which is a road-going race car – this is the core of the GranTurismo’s performance and style. To make it road-worthy, they pretty much took a Formula 1 chassis, and they had to cover the wheels and add lights. To do that they added those big volumes to the wheels which also introduced the position for the lights. This is the kind of construction you can see in these three cars. 

CDN: There’s naturally a big focus on performance with these vehicles, how closely did the design team work with engineering? 

KB: I can’t stress enough how important collaboration is with our engineers. I’ve never worked for a company where the mutual respect between design and engineering is so high. In this case, that’s purely down to the idea of the GranTurismo, which is performance and style combined. You cannot have a Maserati that only looks good, and you cannot have a Maserati that only drives nicely. We have a mutual respect. When you look at the MCXtrema, that was a car that was designed and the engineers only had to do a few changes. At the same time, I don’t think you can be an engineer at Maserati without having a deep appreciation for the beautiful things in life. There’s been more than one instance where the engineering team have come to me with a design proposal, so there’s a lot of deep collaboration.