THIS OLD ITALIAN SPORTS CAR STILL HAS PLENTY OF BITE
Maserati GT not as fast as its competition, but it looks and sounds a whole lot better
Only in Italy would an automaker even consider completely closing off a public road to traffic so a rag-tag ensemble of journalists — foreign journalists at that! — could strafe down a major via provinciale at speeds that would challenge Indy’s main banking.
Only in Italy would the police condone, nay encourage, such festivities, blocking the major thoroughfare between Bianzano and Valle Rossa to all traffic for two hours.
Only in Italy would the inconvenienced travellers get out of their cars and, instead of expressing their anger, rejoice at the prospect of being able to take photographs, observe and in some cases record the sound of the high-revving V-8 delaying their journey.
Indeed, only in Italy, would your driving instructor, Andrea Fausti, ex Sport Prototype European champion, faced with the twin dangers of guardrails and errant pedestrians — not to mention some ominously precipitous drop-offs just the other side of those guardrails — encourage you to drive faster.
Benvenuti, then, to Italy and the press introduction of the 2018 Maserati GranTurismo, a familiar face but one nonetheless worth abusing on public streets any time the opportunity presents itself. Especially if it’s all perfectly legal, completely condoned and, praise be, even encouraged.
To be truthful, this could all have been much ado about nothing. Maserati’s GranTurismo — and its ragtop kissing cousin, the convertible GranCabrio — are relatively old beasts. The years since it was introduced in 2007 have seen all manner of new technologies — nine- and 10-speed transmissions, drive-by-wire throttles and, of course, turbocharging — that have “advanced” the species. And yet Maserati, like Ferrari with its 812, makes a good case that looking back is, if not quite more efficient, certainly more engaging.
The reason is simple. Unlike the rest of the GT field — Porsche’s 911, Mercedes-Benz’s GT and most others — the GranTurismo has not yet succumbed to turbocharging, Modena’s finest coupe is powered by a good old-fashioned, naturally aspirated V-8. Not just any V-8, but one based on a Ferrari engine. Maserati’s 4.7-L engine can trace its roots back to the 360, manufactured by Ferrari, and even imbued with Ferrari’s famed cross-plane crankshaft.
It is this last feature — along with the lack of a turbocharger — that is the heart and soul of the GranTurismo. As beautifully sculpted as it is and as wonderfully as both the GranTurismo and GranCabrio dart from apex to apex, the reason someone rich — Maserati’s two-door starts on the north side of $150,000 and can stretch to $200,000 in fully optioned convertible MC model trim — will opt for the Maserati will be the soundtrack: part Ferrari bite, part North American V-8 bark and just a soupçon of Ride of the Valkyries mixed in for drama. Compared with the Maserati, Ferrari’s own California T sounds like its pistons are made of marshmallows and Porsche’s latest flat six as convincing as underwater flatulence.
At the 2018 GranTurismo’s coming out, Maserati’s public relations staff didn’t bother waxing lyrical about its horsepower (454) or detail its performance (4.7 seconds to 100 km/h in MC Sport Line guise) but simply started up the engine right in L’Albereta’s courtyard and revved the snot out of it in neutral like a 16-year-old driving his dad’s Corvette for the first time.
Juvenile? Yes. Wasteful? Most certainly. But the message was received: Maserati will refuse to turbocharge the GranTurismo for as long as the EPA and chief executive Reid Bigland (probably in that order) will allow, even if its internal combustion is less efficient.
Certainly, there are drawbacks: 454 horses sound like plenty if you’re driving a Toyota Camry, but compared with the California T and other turbocharged beasts that rule the segment, it’s about 100 hp shy of competitive. Ditto for that 4.7-second zero-to-100 km/h time. Heck, the S-Class Benz I tested last week could do it in 3.5 seconds.
Nor is the fuel economy anything to write home about. Combining the big displacement V-8 with the GT’s relatively heavy curb weight — 1,880 kilograms for the GranTurismo coupe, an extra 100 kg in GranCabrio guise — because it uses older chassis technology, extracts a non-trivial fuel-economy penalty.
But from behind the wheel, the GranTurismo drives anything but “old.” Besides the Wagnerian exhaust music, the big Maser has much going for it: excellent turn-in despite its relatively rangy 2,942-millimetre wheelbase, unshakable stability even over rough roads, and enough grip, thanks to its next-generation 20-inch Pirelli PZeros, to pull almost a g through corners.
Even more impressive is the sportier MC trim’s stiffer singlerate suspension (base Sport models get a variable damping system) rode impressively well over potholes and heaves and should have no problem coping with Canadian motocross tracks, er, pavement.
Inside there is much to rejoice as well. Along with a two-tone leather and wood cabin design Maserati claims is inspired by the 1957 3500GT, there’s an all-new infotainment system almost assuredly based on Chrysler’s Uconnect system and an improved navigation system that actually navigates. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also part of the new telematics package. Throw in rear-seat accommodations surprisingly roomy for a 2+2 and the Maserati is a surprisingly competent sports tourer.
But you don’t spend the better part of 200 large for competent ($152,600 for the base, $172,950 for the MC). For that much moolah, you demand drama and, even if its bite isn’t as ferocious as it bark, one never gets tired of the GranTurismo’s theatrics.
So, yes, the Maserati coupe/ convertible is an aging design. No, it doesn’t make as much power as some of its competition. But it’s gorgeous, it’s Italian and, most importantly, it sounds exactly like a supercar should.