Maserati faces two-year gap without sports car

Maserati is considering more powerful versions of its Levante, Ghibli and Quattroporte to bridge the gap when production of the GranTurismo and GranCabrio ends in 2017.

The embarrassing delay for the fast coupe and convertible comes after a last-minute decision within the sportscar-maker to postpone the introduction of the Porsche 911-rivalling Alfieri to prioritise the all-new replacement for the GranTurismo.

According to Car magazine, this decision means the big GT-replacement arrival has been pushed back to 2019, at the earliest, with right-hand drive versions following on in 2020 - the same year the Alfieri is due.

This means in some markets, like Australia, Maserati will not have a sports car in its range for almost three years.

In the meantime, the Italian brand says it is considering introducing plug-in hybrids and 48-volt hybrids to its range of cars.

The current platform that underpins the Ghibli, Quattroporte and Levante was originally developed for a hybrid application, so it shouldn't pose a problem but, according to Autocar, yet more delays have meant Maserati can no longer introduce the more efficient hybrids next year, as originally planned.

Instead, the new hybrid will now follow later on in 2018.

In the meantime, the Italian car-maker says a new more powerful version of its petrol twin-turbo 3.8-litre V8 that produces around 390kW/650Nm will power both the Quattroporte and Levante to satisfy enthusiasts desire for more performance.

Under the Levante's bonnet this should mean the large SUV will hit 100km/h in less than 4.5 seconds.

The faster Quattroporte and Levante are both expected to arrive in late 2017.