The Maserati Ghibli is one of the Italian marque’s most famous production cars, and one of the most sought after grand tourers in the world. It’s been more than a decade since the Ghibli name has been bestowed upon a car, and the announcement of a 2013 release has drawn considerable attention.

Maserati Ghibli

This week has seen some shots released of the car in winter trials, though of course the car was mostly concealed by panelling, making it almost impossible to speculate on the car’s appearance, aside from the overall body shape. What’s immediately obvious is that the Ghibli looks very much like its bigger brother, the Quattroporte. There is a large grille, small aggressive headlights, and the traditionally large rear quarter.

This is a sports car of course, so we can expect the Ghibli to look more performance-oriented than the luxurious Quattroporte.

Specification wise, several details have already been released. While the Maserati will indeed be built in Modena, Italy, as is tradition, it will be based on the Chrysler LX platform.  This framework is the one used by the Chrysler 300C and Dodge Charger. In reality however, this doesn’t tell us much, as there will be significant enhancements compared to these models. The Ghibli is likely to cost more than twice either of these cars.

Under the bonnet, the Ghibli is going to feature a twin turbo V6, developed by Ferrari, and also the V8 that’s used in the current range. The V8 is expected to produce around 550hp, keeping it in line with the fastest saloons from BMW and Mercedes, such as the M5 and E63. What is a real surprise is that there are hints that Maserati will offer a V6 diesel in the range, suddenly opening things up for an entry into the company car market. The Quattroporte will remain petrol only.

Maserati have extremely ambitious plans to up sales to 50,000 by 2015. This would be an unprecedented figure for the luxury car shop, but it is believed that the Ghibli will have competitive pricing to help meet this target. Expect it to rival prices offered by BMW. The 2014 Maserati SUV is also likely to help boost sales.