Revealed: 2014 Maserati Ghibli

Yes, it’s got a name that sounds like one of the dwarves from the Lord of the Rings, but there’s nothing small or ugly about the new Maserati Ghibli.

Ferrari’s sister company has issued just three photos of its star car for 2014, which will be officially unveiled later this month at the Shanghai Motor Show, and what they show is an extremely sporty looking new variant, much more aggressively styled than its big brother, the Quattroporte rich-family car.

Under its impressive bonnet Maserati has revealed that the Ghibli will use a pair of 3.0-litre turbocharged engines, a petrol and – whisper it – a diesel, both running through eight-speed flappy-paddle transmissions to the rear wheels. A Q4 all-wheel-drive variant will also be an option.

The Ghibli marks a new and more volume friendly direction for Maserati, in which it will take on more mainstream cars like the Mercedes-Benz E Class and the BMW 5 Series. It’s all part of the company’s master plan for world domination, under which it will sell 50,000 cars a year by 2015.

Seeing a few more Maseratis on the road sounds like a good thing for those of us who will get to see them drive by, particularly if they all look as good as the Ghibli.