All images courtesy of Maserati
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A Trident missile from Maserati
By Russell Bray
'Awesomely fast, easy to drive, sexy and half the price of a Ferrari
...It's the supercar you can actually live with'
This article first appeared in the Motoring section of the Financial Mail supplement in The Mail on Sunday - May 1st 2005.
Published on this site with the kind permission of the DAILY MAIL
The Germans have become the main players in the European motor industry and it's not hard to see why. They make excellent cars that are well-engineered and generally good to look at in a tidy, modern sort of way.
But the whole operation, though very efficient, is somehow a bit soulless, a bit clinical.
If you like your motoring with a touch of passion, a hint of romance, a dash of verve (and I must say I do) then you have to look further south to the more exotic Mediterranean climes of Italy.
Few Italian marques stir up the senses more than Maserati, with its distinctive trident badge. It's one of those brands your heart longs to own. Until recently, however, while your heart was shouting `Yes', your head would be screaming `No'. Issues such as reliability, resale values and driving dynamics ruled out Maseratis for all but the most serious of devotees.
Now, thankfully, the firm has turned it round and begun producing cars that are seriously alluring to all areas of your anatomy, a process that has culminated in the new GranSport.
This is the best, and possibly the last, incarnation of the Maserati Coupe, the model that put the Modenese company back on the highways of Europe.
You could reasonably argue Maserati didn't need to sex up its gorgeous four-seater Coupe - but that's exactly what it's done to create the GranSport.
Just as BMW did with its exotic, limited-edition M3 CSL, Maserati has drawn on racing technology to produce an even more thoroughbred car.
But while the GranSport is blisteringly quick, it remains usable every day. And at £66,600, it is also very good value for a supercar (with 0-125mph in 17.4 seconds you get Ferrari performance for less than half the money).
Just 70 are earmarked for these shores, so you're also guaranteed exclusivity - they'll be about as common as a correctly positioned speed camera.
For well proven aerodynamic reasons, the GranSport gains odd-looking sill extensions under its doors, a boot-lid spoiler and extended front bumper with a spoiler of its own.
A larger front grille in chrome or black also helps feed air to the engine. Lashings of expensive carbon fibre have been used to reduce weight and allow the fitting of bigger Trident-spoked wheels without a weight penalty. The GranSport also sits on lower-profile tyres to drop the car's centre of gravity for greater agility.
Under the bonnet, the power of the 4,244cc V8 engine has been boosted by just 10bhp to a nice round 400bhp.
Appropriately only the Cambiocorsa (Maserati's name for its racing gearbox) is available on cars ear-marked for Britain.
Gear changes are carried out using little paddles behind the steering wheel and, with no clutch pedal, you can keep your left foot braced when cornering. The system offers low-grip, normal, automatic and sport modes to suit road conditions and driver mood.
In sport mode the gear changes are 35% quicker, the suspension is stiffened and the traction control Threshold widened to allow a skilled driver to slide a car out of a corner before it intervenes.
You have six forward gears to choose from and, with a slightly longer sixth gear than the Coupe, the top speed has risen to 180mph.
Exploring the GranSport's limits is not a task for the road and Maserati wisely laid on a track to allow us to play around safely.
Here you can instantly feel the car's improved responsiveness and better bite into corners but its precision makes it feel safer and more predictable.
On long straights, the high-speed stability was impressive and the car felt pressed to the ground.
But so intense are the demands of a - race circuit that even a car like this feels happier on the road and in many ways you will get a more involving drive on the Queen's tarmac.
And believe me, the GranSport is a great way to get around.
The engine can scream round to 7,500rpm, sending the hairs on the back of your neck into orbit, or it will happily trickle along in traffic in automatic mode, though you still need to anticipate the gear changes for real smoothness.
Even at town speeds you can enjoy the basso profundo, beat of the four exhausts if you want. In normal mode the car is rigged for silent running. But press the sport button and you open the exhaust by-pass valves to release the best in Italian automotive music.
I'm sure that it's safe to say there has never been a car with an interior like this. It's a bit fancy but also elegant with a real sense of occasion.
The steering wheel is unusual: chunky, squat and leather-bound from the 2pm to 10pm positions, while the top is carbon fibre.
Carbon fibre is also used around the heating and ventilation controls, the radio and the centre console.
Much of the interior can be trimmed in a new material, Bright-Tex, never before used in cars.
It looks like a shiny net in one colour on top of other colours and may appear a bit fragile.
But Maserati insists it is hard-wearing, with the bonus that it helps grip driver and occupants during cornering.
Best of all, though, is the beautiful trademark Maserati tear-drop shaped clock.
Give this Maserati its head on the open road and few cars can stay with it. But it also has a sensible cruise-control system to keep your speed down on motorways.
Like the Coupe, the GranSport remains surprisingly practical. The boot is a good size and the back seats can accommodate adults for short journeys.
Now the nitty-gritty question people always ask. Is a Porsche 911 quicker, more tactile, better built?
The answer is `Yes' times three, but this Maserati is the best I have ever driven and comes with a standard feature Porsche can never hope to offer: smouldering Italian passion.
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