Since 2015, Klaus Busse has been the design director of Maserati, a legendary brand which has just celebrated its 110th anniversary. In December 2024, Busse responded to an interview for ABC Newslooking back on a decade at the head of design at Maserati, with successes, risks and challenges. Here's a look at his thoughts on these transformative years and plans to come.
A career marked by change
Before joining Maserati, Klaus Busse held strategic positions at Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo (2015 to 2021), but also at Chrysler Group where he led the design of the Jeep, Dodge and Ram brands (2005 to 2015). It is this rich and varied background that allowed him to approach Maserati with a global vision, while respecting the fundamentals of the brand: “A perfect balance between performance, style and comfort”, as he describes it himself.
He explains that his first objective in 2015 was to acquire an in-depth understanding of the projects in progress and the team in place, (Editor's note: at that time Maserati had just launched the Ghbili and Quattroporte, unveiled its Alfieri concept and will launch its Levante SUV) while wondering about the future of the brand. “What could electrification mean for Maserati? How can we ensure brand relevance for the coming decades? »
Transform without betraying heritage: the challenge of electrification
With the rise of electrification, Maserati is embarking on a new challenge. “Electricity has changed our design processes, but the goal remains the same: to design cars that deliver sublime performance while reducing emissions,” explains Busse. This transition to electric is accompanied by new ideas, such as the design of the wheels of the Electric Gran Turismo which he says is one of the biggest design innovations for the brand. “For example, we introduced flat wheels for our electric model, which did not exist on the market. It was a bold gamble, but one that paid off,” he explains.
In this digital era and technological innovations, Klaus Busse remains faithful to a human-centered vision. He frequently refers to the driving experience as a hedonistic art, a pleasure that must above all be preserved. “When you are in a Maserati you have to be focused on the road. “That’s why we positioned the screen so as not to disrupt the driving experience,” he explains.
Artificial intelligence: a new creative ally
Klaus Busse makes no secret of the fact that artificial intelligence has changed the game in the creative process. “When I started, it took me a day to prepare a rendering. Today, AI accelerates this task, transforming a simple sketch into a 3D model in just a few hours,” he says. However, he emphasizes that AI is only a tool: “Design evolves while respecting heritage, AI only accelerates this process. »
The future of Klaus Busse: what horizon after 10 years at Maserati?
An interesting detail emerges from the interview: Klaus Busse seems to have a habit marked by changes every ten years in his career. After ten years at Mercedes-Benz from 1995 to 2005, after ten years at Chrysler from 2005 to 2015, he managed Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati, and here we are in 2025. The question that arises today is as follows: Will Klaus Busse continue to lead Maserati or will he take a new turn in his career? He has yet to answer this question, but his plans for the future of Maserati, such as electrification and continued aesthetic innovation, show that he is far from having exhausted his ideas for the brand at the moment. trident.
