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262<br />
we are in italy, a few kilometres from siena, on<br />
the state road travelling gradually in a seaward<br />
direction. this is the site of the wonderful resort<br />
borgo la bagnaia which was the backdrop to the<br />
presentation and road trials of the new Maserati<br />
ghibli. it is a sort of oasis set deep in the green<br />
senesi hills, ideal for any wine and food tour and<br />
equally perfect for any sort of test drive because<br />
of the morphology of the terrain and the splendid<br />
panoramas which all of the many state roads<br />
in this wonderful part of tuscany offer us around<br />
every bend.<br />
now that we’ve looked at the backdrop of our trials,<br />
let’s move on to analysing in more detail the<br />
house of the trident’s newborn which, although<br />
it is related to its elder sister the Quattroporte to<br />
some extent, is totally original in the context of<br />
the Maserati range. echoes of tradition - apart<br />
from its name - are only there in certain style aspects<br />
such as, for example, the classic front radiator<br />
grill incorporating the trident and part of the<br />
back busbar which gives the ghibli that sporty<br />
coupé look which is such a feature of the trident.<br />
but let’s move onto the key technical character-<br />
istics that mark out this newborn immediately<br />
and the first of these is its new diesel engine<br />
consisting of a V6 3 litre engine capacity single-turbo<br />
capable of producing 275 hp and as<br />
much as 600 nm of torque enabling the ghibli<br />
to get up to 250 km/k and reach 100 kilometres<br />
an hour in only 6.3 seconds from starting position.<br />
whatever its performance, it is interesting<br />
to note that, in order to maintain the charm of<br />
the trident’s sound characteristics, a sound actuator<br />
has been added to the exhaust pipe called<br />
Maserati active sound which is easily up to the<br />
classic tone standards of the petrol engine. petrol<br />
engines with two different units - both direct<br />
fuel injection twin turbo (once again six cylinder<br />
and 3 litres engine capacity) - used to equip, respectively,<br />
the basic version, the s and the sQ4<br />
with power levels varying from 330 to 410 hp.<br />
and all this for absolutely top performance (especially<br />
for the sQ4 version accredited with 0 to<br />
100 km/h in just 4.8 seconds from starting position)<br />
combined with top level quality guarantees<br />
ensured by engine assembly on site at Ferrari’s<br />
Maranello factory.<br />
in the ForegroUnd,<br />
the aggressiVe Front<br />
oF the sQ4 and its Maserati<br />
toUCh Control with<br />
the Central tUnnel whiCh<br />
Contains its new aUtoMatiC<br />
zF eight speed gear box.<br />
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