There are few places where heritage and horsepower collide quite like the Goodwood Festival of Speed. On the narrow ribbon of tarmac carved into the West Sussex hillside, every manufacturer arrives hoping to steal a few headlines. Maserati, however, showed up in 2026 with something bigger than another product refresh. The Italian marque arrived determined to remind enthusiasts—and perhaps itself—that the Trident still belongs among performance motoring’s elite.

Marking 100 years of the iconic Trident emblem and a century of Maserati’s racing history, the company transformed Goodwood into a showcase of its past, present, and future. The updated GranTurismo, GranCabrio, and Grecale made their public debuts, while an all-new Project GT4 race car hinted that Maserati’s motorsport ambitions are only just getting started.

Familiar Faces, Sharper Attitude

Sometimes a facelift is just a facelift. This isn’t one of those cases.

The redesigned GranTurismo and GranCabrio adopt a noticeably more aggressive front fascia inspired by Maserati’s recent halo machines. The styling evolution traces directly back to the wild MCXtrema track car before filtering through the GT2 Stradale and MCPURA, creating a more horizontal, purposeful nose that gives the grand tourers considerably more presence.

The Trofeo versions displayed at Goodwood certainly weren’t shy about grabbing attention. Finished through Maserati’s bespoke Fuoriserie program, the GranTurismo wore a striking matte Green Jupiter finish, while the GranCabrio appeared in elegant Blu Emozione. The Grecale Trofeo completed the trio in vibrant Orange Devil—a color as dramatic as its name suggests.

The interiors receive equally thoughtful refinements, but the real story remains under the hood.

Nettuno Still Leads the Charge

Power continues to come from Maserati’s charismatic 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged Nettuno V6, an engine that remains one of the more technically fascinating powerplants in the performance luxury segment.

Producing up to 590 horsepower in GranTurismo Trofeo specification, the V6 propels the coupe beyond 320 km/h while delivering 650 Nm of torque. More importantly, it does so with a soundtrack that’s now amplified thanks to a standard sports exhaust system fitted to every Trofeo model.

Like its exotic sibling, the MC20, the Nettuno benefits from Formula 1-inspired pre-chamber combustion technology—a rare example of genuine racing engineering making its way into a production grand tourer.

Standard all-wheel drive and adaptive air suspension remain key ingredients, allowing the GranTurismo and GranCabrio to perform the balancing act that defines great GT cars: capable of crossing continents in comfort while still attacking mountain roads with confidence. Four genuine seats only strengthen that everyday usability, making these among the few high-performance machines that don’t require compromise.

Grecale Grows Into Its Role

Luxury performance SUVs have become unavoidable, but Maserati continues refining the Grecale into something more distinctive than another fast crossover.

The updated Grecale Trofeo aims squarely at buyers wanting the space of a larger SUV without sacrificing the sharp responses expected from the Trident badge. Authentic materials, improved cabin refinement, multiple drive modes, and the familiar twin-turbo V6 combine to create what Maserati believes is its most complete luxury SUV yet.

It’s a formula that blends practicality with genuine driver engagement rather than relying solely on outright performance figures.

Racing Returns to Center Stage

While the production cars attracted plenty of attention, the real headline from Goodwood sat under camouflage no longer.

Project GT4 represents Maserati’s next major motorsport chapter.

Built directly from the new GranTurismo platform, the purpose-built racer is designed for one of the fastest-growing categories in global GT competition. Unlike many race cars that share little more than a silhouette with their road-going counterparts, GT4 regulations require significant production-car DNA—a philosophy Maserati has fully embraced.

The same Nettuno V6 sits behind the front axle, though its development potential is enormous. Maserati says the engine has already exceeded 700 horsepower in specific racing configurations during development, demonstrating considerable headroom beyond its road-car output.

Weight has been reduced by roughly 400 kilograms compared with the production GranTurismo through extensive use of lightweight components and a stripped competition interior. Adjustable suspension, bespoke brakes with dedicated cooling, rear-wheel drive, FIA-homologated safety equipment, and GT4-specification 18-inch wheels complete the package.

Equally significant is Maserati’s objective.

The company plans to return to GT4 competition in 2028 with a factory-developed contender capable of fighting for victories, building directly on the experience gained from the successful GT2 program. Development has also benefited from input by Maserati Corse and legendary chief test driver Andrea Bertolini, whose decades of racing expertise continue to shape the brand’s competition cars.

A Rolling Tribute to 100 Years

Goodwood also introduced one of Maserati’s most striking commemorative liveries in recent memory.

Dubbed “100 Trident,” the special design celebrates the centenary of the brand’s famous emblem with a dramatic oversized Trident graphic stretching from roof to tail, accompanied by one hundred subtle blue Trident motifs integrated throughout the bodywork.

A white stripe across the nose recalls Maserati’s historic racing machines, while blue and yellow accents pay tribute to Modena—the city where every Maserati continues to be designed, engineered, and assembled.

It’s a fitting reminder that even as the industry changes, the company’s identity remains firmly rooted in Italy’s Motor Valley.

Supercars Take the Hill

No Goodwood appearance would be complete without a few outrageous machines tackling the famous Hillclimb.

Maserati brought three.

The road-legal GT2 Stradale serves as the bridge between championship-winning GT2 race cars and everyday driving, translating competition engineering into something owners can actually register.

Alongside it sat the breathtaking MCPURA Cielo, showcasing Maserati’s latest thinking in open-top supercar design.

Then came the showstopper.

Limited to just 62 examples worldwide and legal only for circuit use, the MCXtrema remains the most extreme Maserati ever built. Its Nettuno-derived twin-turbocharged V6 produces a staggering 740 horsepower, while its exclusive blue-and-yellow Modena-inspired livery made it one of the Festival’s undeniable visual highlights. Beyond participating in the Hillclimb, the MCXtrema also entered Goodwood’s prestigious Timed Shootout, placing Maserati’s ultimate track weapon directly against some of the fastest machinery in attendance.

More Than a Celebration

Manufacturers often use anniversaries as opportunities to reminisce.

Maserati used Goodwood to look forward.

The refreshed GranTurismo family demonstrates that grand touring remains central to the brand’s identity. The Grecale continues expanding Maserati’s relevance in the luxury SUV market. Project GT4 signals a renewed commitment to customer racing, while machines like the MCXtrema and GT2 Stradale ensure the Trident’s motorsport DNA remains unmistakable.

At a time when much of the automotive world is focused on electrification and digital transformation, Maserati’s message from Goodwood was refreshingly clear: emotion, performance, and Italian character still matter.

If this festival was meant to celebrate a century of the Trident, it also served as a convincing preview of what the next hundred years could look like.

Source: Stellantis