The current state of the automotive market remains heartily in love with trucks and SUVs, and we still have a massive amount of faith in the traditional sedan’s stance and delivery here at Jim Butler Maserati of St Louis. The Car and Driver staff agreed right off the bat that the 2021 Ghibli Trofeo may come with a bit of risk, but is well worth the leap of faith. The Maserati namesake has long commanded a high amount of reverence, and the Trofeo is very understandably Italian for “trophy”.
The Ghibli begins with a Ferrari-derived twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8 with 580 horsepower, and 538 lb-ft of torque. Power is then sent to two wheels, and a launch-control system is on deck to go to work with the excellent ZF 8-speed automatic transmission. One simply selects the “Corsa” driving mode and releases the brake, and the car races forward in an all-out frenzy that reaches 60 mph in just 4 short seconds. This form of launch control allows for a bit of wheel spin, and as you progress you will hit (not that we recommend it!) 203 mph as an enthralling top speed.
Right on par with the lofty claims for the massively-powered Charger Hellcat Redeye, the Ghibli Trofeo is a means of achieving the same speed results with a decidedly-higher luxury factor. The Car and Driver test crew took their borrowed Ghibli to the high-desert Willow Springs Raceway outside of Los Angeles, where it was noticeably adept and relatively easy to plant at the ideal point of each corner. While engaged in Corsa mode, the stability control does not have as controlling a grip, and the thrust out of corners leads to insanely-fun and borderline-vicious thrills.
For the 2021 model, a restyled grille and brand-new boomerang taillights added a new sense of flair, as well as some carbon fiber pieces and a few red accents that visually make way for the massive V8 residing under the hood. There is now a larger 10.1-inch touchscreen inside including Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and shifting is done from large-sized paddles on the steering wheel. The analog gauges are a pleasant change in an era obsessed with overly digital displays, and we firmly believe that this addition to our fine marquee that has proven to be ultimately resilient and deeply character-driven.
The Trofeo models are by all means the most powerful and stunning in the Maserati lineup, and slalom courses, hard launches, and laps around wonderfully-oversized tracks are all in order with such an aggressive and fine-tuned sedan. With the incoming batches of all-electric cars soon making their permanent mark on dealers everywhere, the entire automotive world will see massive change, and the Ghibli remains as one of the last remaining sentiments of the most exciting connection to the road that can be found. A word that only comes with proximity to the Alps or Mediterranean, all of us at Maserati are churning out the best and most jaw-dropping models of our career!
Connect with us
Recent Blog Entries
- Tuned, Tweaked, and Turbocharged: The 2026 Maserati Update Drops
- Precision, Passion, and Praise: Maserati Sweeps 2026 Editors’ Choice
- A Supercar Fairytale: Carbon Fiber, Butterfly Doors, and MCPURA’s Big Moment
- Alpine by Nature, Urban by Commute: Maserati’s Grecale Trofeo Has Range in More Ways Than One
- Practical, But Make It Italian: The Maserati Grecale Proves Passion Belongs in an SUV