Maserati celebrates V8 engine with special Ghibli and Levant

As per its earlier announcement, Maserati is (sadly) retiring production of the hallowed, Ferrari-sourced V8 engine in its cars. Now, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, it has officially revealed the two special edition cars that will sacredly see the engine out. Only 103 units of each car will be produced.

The first of the pair - the Ghibli 334 Ultima - is named after the top speed it can achieve in kilometres per hour: 334km/h. With this achievement, the car is also the fastest internal combustion engine sedan in the world currently.

The Maserati Ghibli 334 Ultima, out at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed completing its hillclimb 

The 334 Ultima also holds a not-insignificant 0.4s lead over the Trofeo in shredding up the century sprint - it does so in just 3.9s, rather than 4.3s.

To help it achieve this, Maserati fitted the car with new performance tyres created using a special compound. The special edition sedan also has 21-inch Orione rims and a rear carbon fibre spoiler, for improved aerodynamics. A full carbon exterior kit is standard.

'334' denotes the top speed achievable by the Ghibli 334 Ultima, which incidentally, makes it the fastest internal combustion engine sedan in the world currently 

To pay homage to the first V8 Maserati - the Maserati 5000 GT Scia di Persia - the Ghibli 334 Ultima is finished in a Scia di Persia paintwork with Rubino accents. It also gets '334' accents all over: Not just externally on its front fenders, but also within the cabin, on the front headrests and central tunnel. 

The second car, as noted previously, is a V8-powered twin to the Levante Trofeo that Maserati has taken to naming the Levante V8 Ultima.

Like the Trofeo, the V8 Ultima gets a full carbon exterior kit as standard, but is once more given special edition treatment with its name painted onto the front fenders.

Both the Ghibli 334 Ultima and Levante V8 Ultima continue their homage to their forebears with the use of Pale Terracotta leather inserts (meant to reference the Senape leather of classic Maseratis) on their seats. To denote their exclusivity, a distinctive 'una di 103' (one of 103) signature can also be found on their interiors. 

The Levante V8 Ultima also gets Pale Terracotta leather inserts on its seats, as well as its special name embossed into the front headrests

V8 engine-powered grand tourers have effectively become synonymous with the House of Trident over its multi-decade history. Since the Maserati 5000 GT in 1959, the firm has sold over 100,000 units of its V8-powered grand tourers. It has already designated the two cars above as future collector's items.

In place of eight cylinders, Maserati has recently shifted to the newly-developed V6 Nettuno engine, which powers the MC20 and MC20 Cielo, as well as the GranTurismo Trofeo, which also took part in the Goodwood hillclimb.

The latest Maserati GranTurismo is available as both the V6-powered Trofeo, as well as the tri-electric motor Folgore 

The firm is, however, ultimately aiming to go fully electric by 2030, and the GranTurismo is also offered as an all-electric, tri-motor grand tourer for the first time in the form of the Folgore (meaning 'lightning') variant.

While delivering over 740bhp and 1,350Nm of torque, the car's 800V, Formula E-derived technology also gives it rapid charging capabilities, as well as the range to go up to 450km on a single charge. Full electrification is set to hit the Grecale - Maserati's first mid-sized SUV – next, in the form of the Grecale Folgore.