Maserati: The Italian Grand Tourer Reborn for a New Generation of Luxury Drivers

In the landscape of Italian luxury automobiles, Maserati occupies a position that is both historically significant and emotionally distinct. The Modena manufacturer — founded in 1914 by the six Maserati brothers and now part of the Stellantis group — produces vehicles that combine the Italian grand touring tradition with a design sensibility and a brand character that are entirely its own.

In 2026, following the most significant product renewal in the company’s modern history, Maserati is producing a range of vehicles that finally delivers on the extraordinary promise of the Trident badge — and doing so with the confidence of a brand that knows precisely what it stands for.

The Maserati Heritage

The Maserati brothers — Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ettore, Ernesto and Mario — founded their company in Bologna in 1914, initially as a racing team and tuning workshop before producing their first complete car in 1926. The A6GCS Berlinetta of 1954, the 250F Grand Prix car that Juan Manuel Fangio drove to the 1957 World Championship, and the Ghibli, Quattroporte and Bora of the 1960s and 1970s established Maserati’s identity as a manufacturer of beautiful, fast and occasionally temperamental Italian cars that rewarded their owners’ devotion with experiences that more reliable alternatives could not provide.

This reputation — passionate, emotional, occasionally impractical — has been both Maserati’s greatest asset and its greatest commercial challenge. The brand renewal of recent years has addressed the commercial challenge without compromising the emotional asset.

The GranTurismo

The Maserati GranTurismo is the most important car in the company’s current range and the most direct expression of the brand’s grand touring heritage. The current generation — available with either a twin-turbocharged Nettuno V6 or a fully electric Folgore powertrain — represents a complete reinvention of the model that established Maserati’s contemporary identity.

The GranTurismo’s design — executed by the Centro Stile Maserati team in Modena — is among the most beautiful of any production car in 2026. The long bonnet, the sweeping roofline and the muscular rear haunches reference the great Italian GT cars of the 1960s and 1970s while feeling entirely contemporary — a balance that Maserati’s designers have achieved with unusual confidence.

The Trofeo variant, with its 550 horsepower twin-turbocharged V6 and its sport-focused chassis tuning, delivers the dynamic engagement that the GranTurismo’s visual promise demands — a car that is genuinely fast, genuinely involving and genuinely beautiful in a combination that very few manufacturers can achieve.

The MC20

The Maserati MC20 — the company’s mid-engined supercar, introduced in 2020 — represents Maserati’s most ambitious engineering project in decades. The 630 horsepower twin-turbocharged Nettuno V6 engine, which incorporates Formula One-derived pre-chamber combustion technology, was developed entirely in-house — the first Maserati engine designed and built without Ferrari involvement since the 1950s.

The MC20’s combination of genuine supercar performance, Italian design excellence and a brand story that connects directly to Maserati’s racing heritage makes it one of the most compelling propositions in its category. The MC20 Cielo — the open-top variant — extends the model’s appeal with a glass roof that transforms between transparent and opaque at the touch of a button.

The Quattroporte

The Maserati Quattroporte — the company’s flagship saloon, whose name translates simply as “four doors” — has been the reference point for the luxury performance saloon category since its introduction in 1963. The current generation, with its twin-turbocharged V6 and its long-wheelbase option for rear-seat passengers who want the Maserati experience without driving themselves, provides the most direct expression of the Italian grand tourer philosophy in a four-door format.

For the high-net-worth buyer who wants a daily driver that combines genuine performance with Italian design excellence and a brand character that is entirely distinct from the German luxury saloon alternatives, the Quattroporte remains the most emotionally compelling choice available.

The Grecale

The Maserati Grecale — the company’s mid-size SUV, introduced in 2022 — provides the brand’s most accessible entry point and its highest-volume model. The Grecale’s combination of Italian design, the Nettuno V6 in Trofeo specification and the Folgore electric powertrain option makes it the most versatile and the most commercially significant vehicle in Maserati’s current range.

The Folgore Strategy

Maserati’s commitment to full electrification — expressed through the Folgore sub-brand that appears across the GranTurismo, Grecale and Ghibli model lines — reflects the company’s understanding that the transition to electric powertrains is both an environmental necessity and a genuine opportunity to enhance the brand’s performance credentials.

The GranTurismo Folgore, with its three-motor electric powertrain producing 760 horsepower, is the most powerful road car Maserati has ever produced — a demonstration that electrification enhances rather than compromises the Trident’s performance ambitions.

The Verdict

Maserati in 2026 is the Italian luxury automotive brand for the buyer who wants emotion, beauty and a grand touring character that the German and British alternatives cannot provide. Its combination of the GranTurismo’s design excellence, the MC20’s engineering ambition and the Quattroporte’s saloon tradition makes it one of the most distinctive and most rewarding propositions in the global luxury automotive market.

Explore Maserati’s current model range and discover Italian grand touring luxury at its most emotionally compelling.