Add a powerful performance to jaw-dropping good looks and Maserati have a winner with their GranTurismo, writes Kyle Fortune
The day I was getting the Maserati GranTurismo I had to drive 350km before breakfast - perhaps not the best way to build up for a test drive. However, it's not every day you get the keys to a trident badged Italian exotic so I wasn't complaining. But what to do with it? The GranTurismo is exactly as its name suggests - a grand tourer. A quick squirt around the block wouldn't be enough to get a proper impression of Maserati's beautiful four-seat coupé.
So I arranged a lunch date 200km away, jumped in, adjusted the seat as best I could - more adjustment would have been good - and fired up the 4.2-litre V8. This is exactly the sort of driving the GranTurismo is designed for, a 400km round-trip on a mix of motorways and country roads in a short timescale. Did I mention I had to have the car back by 5.30pm and I collected it at 11am? There would be no leeway either, it's a Friday and I doubt Maserati would be impressed if I rock up late.
No matter how often you see the GranTurismo it still warrants a prolonged look. Design is a subjective, personal thing, but I've yet to meet anyone who's not utterly seduced by the Pininfarina-penned lines of the GranTurismo. Being hyper critical, the rear lights are perhaps a bit too reminiscent of those on Ford's Mondeo, but you can only mention that if you are really trying to find fault. Otherwise it's absolutely gorgeous, a beautifully proportioned machine that blends elegance and purpose perfectly. The GranTurismo is one of those rare cars that'll draw admiring glances from everyone, without it ever turning to the sort of scornful envy you might attract with its rivals.
Yet Maserati has done this before, building cars that treat the eye but are compromised everywhere else. This is where the GranTurismo is different - there's real substance to back up the jaw-dropping styling. This is a Maserati you can buy for more than its aesthetic appeal.
Based on the Quattroporte saloon, Maserati has packaged the GranTurismo with the engine mounted as far behind the front axle as possible. This gives it a near perfect 49 per cent, 51 per cent front to rear weight bias. The engine itself is something special too, a high-revving 4.2-litre V8 that delivers 400bhp and 460Nm of torque. It's mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, Maserati sensibly opting for a proper torque converter equipped ZF automatic unit rather than the clunky two-pedal automated manual that it has previously championed.
The auto suits the GranTurismo's nature, shifting between its six ratios seamlessly in automatic mode and reacting to driver input via steering its wheel-mounted paddles when the control is overridden or manual mode is selected.
You really need to use those paddle shifters to get the best from the GranTurismo. The V8 might deliver 400bhp, but it is produced just 150rpm from the lofty 7,250rpm maximum engine speed. Peak torque arrives at 4,750rpm, the difference in pace when pushing above 4,000rpm obvious as that torque makes its presence felt. The numbers say 100km/h can be achieved in 5.2 seconds but, although unquestionably rapid, the GranTurismo never feels quite as quick as the numbers suggest, even when you press the sport button that quickens the shifts and throttle response.
But then the GranTurismo's relaxed nature is key to its appeal, if there were ever a car that lives up to its name this is it. You get in the GranTurismo knowing that it'll transport you quickly, comfortably and with the minimum of fuss. There's no fanfare or histrionics, even the exhaust note is kept dignified; it's there when you want to hear it, but it's never boisterous. It's comfortable too, the optional Skyhook active dampers managing to juggle the tricky balancing act between poise and agility. It's unusual to criticise a car for having steering that's too quick, but the GranTurismo's wheel is very fidgety at speed and oddly heavy when travelling slowly. It's rather at odds with the car's otherwise excellent GT credentials.
As is the frustrating sat-nav system, which will have you reaching for a map rather than attempting to work out how to operate it. More galling though is the fact that it's the same system you'll find in Peugeots and Citroëns where it costs tens of thousands of euro less.
However, these are small complaints in Maserati's finest car to date. And speaking of dates, I made it to mine in plenty of time and got the car back to Maserati too. But I didn't want to give it back, and that's something I wouldn't have said with Maseratis of old. Style with substance, and about time too.