Maserati Ghibli Hybrid

Maserati is looking to the future with its first ever hybrid model – the Ghibli Hybrid. Powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with 48v alternator and an electric supercharger or e-Booster in Maserati speak, offers a total of 330PS and 450Nm delivered from 1,500rpm.

It will accelerate to 62mph in 5.7 seconds and even with the battery mounted in the rear, to benefit weight distribution, it comes in at 80kg less than a Ghibli Diesel.

Another first from Maserati on this model is the Maserati Connect Program, offering over the air updates to keep the car running the latest updates but it also checks the cars and monitors the Safety Security services in emergencies. It also has a new a 10.1-inch infotainment screen fitted with Android Auto.

Maserati is due to release its first all-electric cars, the new GranTurismo and GranCabrio in 2021.

LEARN MORE

Advertisement

Frank Stephenson explains how he designed the Maserati MC12

The Maserati MC12 is a car that is rarely spoken about when talking about the greats of that era – Porsche Carrera GT and the Ferrari Enzo, which the MC12 is in fact based upon.

The MC12 was built to signal Maserati’s return to motor racing after 37 years. Borrowing the Enzo chassis and drivetrain, Frank Stephenson created a completely different car; longer, wider, taller with sharper nose and smoother curves. But why not have Frank, explain it in his relaxed demeanour in his YouTube series, “How I designed…”

Frank Stephenson‘s back catalogue is incredible – McLaren 675LT, BMW X5, BMW Mini, Ford Escort Cosworth, Fiat 500 and many others. His series is one that not only explains the design and some background into his thought process, but it is great to see him actually take pen to paper and sketch those designs we know and love.

Watch more

The best of 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Goodwood is the closest you are going to get to motoring heaven. Music has Glastonbury, Football has the World Cup and cars have Goodwood.

The Journey

The journey to Goodwood was all about car spotting, for the first hour or so not much turned up but once we got within a few miles of Goodwood, some utter beauties were seen flying past. We were even lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Chris Evan’s Laferrari, Aston Martin DB4 Zagato and the FAB1 Rolls Royce.

The Laferrari as most of you already know, is the newest car to come out of Maranello sometimes referred to as the F70. Only 499 examples of this model have been built and we were lucky to catch a glimpse of three throughout the festival. The Aston Martin DB4 Zagato Sanction II is an even rarer breed with only four built and it was just parked up in a hotel car park with no security.

LaFerrari, Aston Martin DB4 Zagato and Rolls Royce

 

The Manufacturer’s stands

This is a petrol head’s dream. Manufacturers let you get up close and personal with their new cars and even show off some concepts. Nearly every manufacturer tried to outdo the other with lavish stands showcasing their best metal. On some occasions the simple stands were the ones that did it best like TWISTED and Ariel. There aren’t as many people around the cars which give you a better opportunity to examine the car and get some great shots. Out of all the stands I visited, I personally loved the McLaren stand. It could be that I have a soft spot for the British marque but they made the stand open more like a marquee with some historical machines as well as the P1 and new 650S GT3 race car.

 

The Hill

Goodwood Hill isn’t a ver long course, a mere 1.16 mile track. Shouldn’t be too hard for professional racing drivers, right?  The track rises by over 300ft from the start to finish and drivers have to deal with tree-lined corners and changes in light and grip. A few drivers got caught out at Molecomb which saw a few exotics crashing through straw bales. This year Sebastien Loeb, in his Pikes Peak winning car tried his best to beat the record  of 41.6 seconds set by Nick Heidfeld but only managed a 44.6 second run on Saturday. John Surtees and Kimi Raikkonen put on a show for the spectators on the last day cruising up the hill in their F1 cars.

 

The F1 Paddock

This where all the cars which have been lusted over on television for years sat all together. A mix of old and new. Formula 1, Le Mans to Pikes Peak. They were all there. At 11am on Sunday, the people were lucky to be in the paddock were treated to some great sounds when most of the cars were all started and revved hard for a minute. Unfortunately the Mazda 767B wasn’t started after blowing its engine at Le Mans.

The Super-car Paddock

This paddock was filled with a number of great super cars, namely the LaFerrari, Porsche 918 Spyder, Mclaren P1 and Koenigsegg Agera One:1 along with many others. There were also some crazy cars in the paddock too including the Aston Martin concept DC100 as well as the Ferrari F12 TRS. Jay-kay’s kermit green LaFerrari was also parked up.

Cartier Style-et-luxe concourse d’Eleganze 

The Style-et-Luxe pavilion was where pretty cars in seven different classes were to be judged by a number of honourable guests. The beautiful Maserati A6GCS which the Alfieri concept took design cues from, won ‘best in show’ and you can see why. it is absolutely marvellous.

Maserati Centenary 

Celebrating Maserati’s Centenary, Goodwood house set up a little area in the courtyard solely for the Maserati brand. Some of the top-selling cars were on show including the good-looking Maserati Alfieri concept. let’s hope that they put that stunning machine into production and we can wait for it start winning Concourse d’eleganze shows in years to come like its older siblings.

I didn’t manage to find time to head up to the Rally stage or go on any of the experiences that the manufacturers were offering, but that just gives me more of a reason to head there again next year. Take a look at the additional gallery below

additional gallery

PREVIEW: Goodwood Festival of Speed 2014

June 26th to June 29th are the dates to save in your calendar. Forget everything else for those few days as nothing even comes close. It is the Goodwood Festival of Speed. This year’s theme is based around ‘Addicted to Winning – The unbeatable Champions of Motor Sport’. 2014 also marks the centenary of the brand with the trident badge aka Maserati with some of their most successful racing cars being showcased along with some new concepts. Mercedes-Benz are the featured manufacturer this year with Lord March will celebrate the Silver Arrows on his now famous sculpture outside Lord March’s house. The manufacturer will be celebrating 120 years of achievement in Motorsports along with their 100 year anniversary since gaining a 1-2-3 finish in the 1914 French Grand Prix.

What to expect?

Sebastien Loeb is looking to be the quickest up the hill in the Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes peak car trying to beat Nick Heidfeld’s 1999 record time of 41.6 seconds in the McLaren MP4-13 race car.

Michelin Super car Paddock

Four hyper-cars that have been the talk of the motoring world since they were announced are going to be together.  The McLaren P1, Koenigsegg Agera one:1, Porsche 918 Spyder and the Ferrari LaFerrari will all be at the festival. The beauty of it is, they will all be running up the hill, definitely not to be missed.

The amount of cars on display will be unbelievable, forget any car show you have ever been to, this will top it. Elemental RP1, a new British brand to compete with the likes of BAC, Ariel and Caterham will be revealed at the festival for the first time. Cartier Style et Lux 

Celebrating its 20th appearance at the Festival, The Cartier Concourse D’Elegance will be showcasing beautiful engineering spread over seven different classes.

Class 1-  junior pre-war sportscars from long-lost brands

Class 2- dedicated to the Mercedes 500K

Class 3- Maserati

Class 4- ‘Mad Men’ aspirational 1950s American two-seaters

Class 5- Mid-engined masterpieces such as the Ford GT40 and McLarenM12GT

Class 6- ‘Pony Cars’ inspired by the 50th anniversary of the Ford Mustang

Class 7- front-engined supercars of the 1990s

Judges include the likes of Rowan Atkinson famous for playing Mr Bean and being a true petrol head and Sir Jonathan Ive Senior Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple.

The Hill

The main attraction at the Festival of Speed is the 1.16 mile hill climb running through the southern part of the Goodwood estate Three manufacturers from this year’s Le Mans will be attacking the hill, one of Audi’s winning R18 e-tron, Mark Webber in his Porsche 919 Hybrid and the Toyota TS040 which led for 13 hours this year.

Skoda Rally Stage

The Rally stage is another one not to be missed, with rally legends of Group B. Rauno Aaltonen and Paddy Hopkirk get back into their Mini Cooper S’, 50 years after winning the Monte Carlo Rally stages.   GAS arena

The GAS arena also known as the Goodwood Action Sports arena will host some awesome Dirt jumping BMX with freestyle Motocross with riders hailing from America, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic and the UK.

Racing Heroes 

Damn Hill, 1996 World Champion is among the many F1 title winners who will be present throughout the weekend with some taking old winning cars up the hill. Felipe Massa will be taking Damon Hill’s Williams winning FW18 car, Kimi Raikonnen, Lewis Hamilton, John Surtees and Emerson Fitipaldi are just a few of the names to look out for.

This is only a little snippet of what can be seen at the Festival of Speed so get there early and remember to pack enough batteries for your cameras. Tickets are still available from the website here with prices starting at £27.

Hint

Give yourself enough time to walk around the car park, as you will find many exotics just sitting around.