MASERATI GRANTURISMO TROFEO

‘THE TROFEO CORNERS WITH A VERVE AND BALANCE THAT BELIES ITS SIZE AND WEIGHT’ – DAVID VIVIAN

MASERATI’S TAIL REMAINS UP FOLLOWING its unexpected 2022 evo Car of the Year triumph, and 12 months on it returns with another new car, albeit a very different one to the MC20.

The GranTurismo arrives as an underdog, but this is down to the sector it operates in rather than the car itself: great GT cars, in isolation, offer some of the most satisfying driving experiences you can have as they immerse you into their world of glorious travel with effortless performance and rarefied luxury. When thrown into the eCoty deep end they need their A-game. Or more likely A* game.

There’s plenty the Trofeo has to bring, most notably its MC20-sourced V6 engine. It may not possess the same feral edge to its power and torque delivery as you’ll find in the supercar, but it remains a powertrain to engage with rather than one to leave to its own devices.

A four-wheel-drive system that’s unobtrusive and a chassis that’s not trying to mimic a mid-engined supercar add to the mix of all-round capability and the sense of a GT at the top of its game, which isn’t something we’ve been able to say about its predecessors for quite some time.

During eCoty week, though, the GranTurismo Trofeo will need to step out of its comfort zone. It must get stuck into the roads we have planned for it and demonstrate that, regardless of the genre the Trofeo was designed for, it remains, like great Maseratis should, an inspiring driver’s car. There’s also the sub-plot of the DB12 staring it down and going for eCoty GT honours. Plenty of intrigue, then.