Currently, the market is awash with all-electric start-up car brands, and this Swiss-built GT car could be the latest addition to the flood. Called the Piech Mark Zero, it’s an electric sports car built by a new company fronted by the son of Ferdinand Piech, the former head of Volkswagen. These leaked teaser images preview the car’s design ahead of its launch at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Full performance specifications for the Mark Zero are yet to be announced. The battery packs are mounted in the car’s transmission tunnel and on the rear axle, which Piech states will provide a driving experience closer to that of an internal combustion-engined car. The Swiss start-up also claims that the Mark Zero’s architecture will be modular, allowing its battery packs and hardware to be replaced as technology advances. Potentially, Piech’s modular architecture could offer buyers a range of powertrains, including internal combustion engines, various hybrid systems and even a fuel-cell driven option. In addition, the Swiss firm plans to make its platform available to other manufacturers. For the next few years, Piech has planned a range of cars, consisting of a two-seat sports car, a four-seat saloon and a sporty SUV, built on the Mark Zero’s underpinnings. Release dates for these upcoming Piech models are yet to be announced.
The Ghibli’s three ground-breaking engines will be fitted into a wheelbase that, at 2998 mm, is 173 mm shorter than the Quattroporte’s wheelbase and an overall length that is, at 4.97 metres, 29cm shorter. It is also 20 mm lower than the Quattroporte but the measurements that cement its visual stance as one of the most aggressive in the E-segment are its front and rear tracks. Its 1635 mm front track is actually a millimetre wider than the Quattroporte’s, while it 1653 mm rear track is six millimetres wider. It is also 50 kg lighter than its larger sibling, with the Ghibli S weighing 1810 kg. It carries a 500-litre luggage capacity, as well as class-leading front legroom. Maserati has continued its long association with Brembo on the new Ghibli and all models feature fixed-caliper braking technology. The brakes on the Ghibli S models are 360 mm x 32 mm ventilated and cross-drilled Dual Cast brake discs and six-piston fixed alloy Brembo calipers on the front axle. It carries over the Quattroporte’s four-piston, fixed alloy Brembo rear brake caliper. Its brake discs continue with the Dual Cast technology pioneered by Maserati.
However, it can also act as a safety device when driving. In this case the system communicates with the stability control ECU and decelerates the car at 0.5g in full safety until released. The brakes also operate as part of the Ghibli’s automatic hill starting system. The on-board sensors detect the vehicle's tilt when parked facing uphill, then lock the brakes for a few seconds; this gives the driver’s foot time to move from the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal without the vehicle rolling back. Besides being effectively strong, Maserati brake calipers have also always added a significant stylistic effect. This continues with the Ghibli, with the front and rear brake calipers available in the standard classic black form, with the Maserati name in white. These are also available in the aggressively sporting red colour, Maserati blue to lend an air of elegance, luminous silver grey. This allowed Maserati’s suspension engineers to deliver extreme precision combined with the steering sensitivity needed for turning into corners at high speeds.
