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I can simply pass, as so many authors try, from the lyrical to the protrusions of its extra-humpback wings; the drooping nose reminiscent of the marvellous Maserati beyond; and a roofline so biological, you’d swear it sprang directly from Ferrari’s famous GTO. No, not this one. The genuine.
I could, but I won’t. I’ll just conclude that I’ve spent many hours walking around the J. Lo-style exterior of the GranTurismo (oops, I’ve almost started over) and haven’t found anything I’d change. Not a curve, a shovel angle or even the depth of the hood trim door. It’s not a simple thing. There are no flaws to be discovered. If you’re rich enough for the $202,500 Maserati Canada is asking for the Modena, it will be the nicest (new) car in what, I assume, will be a multi-car garage.
3. 38
of 5
MSRP from $202,500 to $261,000
One of the disadvantages of Maserati is that you pay a considerable price for what is a kind of “bitsa” – loosely explained as a car or a motorcycle, built from “parts” or “bitsa”, among others – with the use they make of them. Stellantis infotainment systems, Chrysler platforms, and Ferrari engines.
Well, while the infotainment is still stolen, the GT’s chassis and engine are new logos. With three liters of turbocharged V6, it also powers Maserati’s world-speed MC20 supercar and remains the only internal combustion engine, as far as I know, to incorporate the same layered-charge combustion chambers that drive Formula 1 engines to the maximum. Plenty of time for Maserati to launch its own powertrain (maybe too long), but, like the GT’s exterior, it’s a thing of beauty.
In its full-foot form (the MC20 and Trofeo edition of the GranTurismo offer more punch), the Nettuno makes 483 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 443 pound-feet of torque at 3,000 rpm. It’s the latter that dominates Modena’s sense of speed.
At low revs, the “small” 3. 0-litre engine doubles in size, capable of gurgling at 1,500 rpm at the most sensible speed for around twenty euros and still performing well above its weight when maximum power is needed. it’s been compromised: the MC20 has 621 hp at its peak and the Trofeo about 542 hp; But for less than $4,000 or so, you might not notice the difference.
And if you’re really lacking that extra power at high revs, you’re somewhere on a closed race track, because you’ll exceed speed limits anywhere in the world except Germany. For the record, even the smallest Modena edition of Gran El Turismo, the one I was testing, can travel up to 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) in less than four seconds.
Like I said, the Nettuno V6 makes a menacing noise at low speeds, like any smart supercar sound. Oh, in Comfort mode there’s extra-long, more indirect travel through the dual mufflers, reducing that hum to a mere whisper, but in GT and Sport they become more authoritative, with the lineage of the aforementioned F1 and Maserati supercars becoming well known. I’ve got it perfect.
But if you insist on making a bigger entrance, you should know that the toughest edition of the Trophy has even more rumble in its jungle. For all the more superficial (you know, the guys who just want to impress the valets), the Modena is more than enough.
The GranTurismo is a big car. From bumper to bumper, it measures 4,959 millimeters (195. 2 inches); From the middle of the wheel to the middle of the wheel, there are still plenty of 2,929 mils (115. 3 inches). Those two numbers would make a great four-door sedan. It also measures 2,113 mm (83. 1 inches) wide and 1,353 mm (53. 6 inches) high, not insignificant figures.
And yet, it’s small. On my incredibly winding control road near Santa Barbara, California (called Stagecoach Road, I’m guessing no local CHiP is reading this article), jump a bit from top to top and, like any sleek Italian supercar dressed in Pirelli PZeros, 265/35ZR20. at the front and 295/30ZR21 at the rear; The front part sticks together like glue.
It’s also (and perhaps most surprising, given the above dimensions and the fact that it weighs some 1,795 kilograms (3,957 pounds)) “movable,” with the Modena changing direction in the stagecoach’s many “S’s” without that feeling of heaviness. be controlled.
No, it’s not as fast as a Ferrari GT through the bumps and bumps of Santa Barbara’s windiest back road, but it’s faster here than any other GT coupe I’ve tested in California. And yes, that includes a lot of Porsche 911s, but not the Big-Daddy Turbo S, which isn’t anyone’s grand touring concept.
After all, it took Maserati a long time to build its own powertrain, but this one, like the GT’s exterior, is a thing of beauty.
And, like Porsches, the Modena also features all-wheel drive, which a) helps it exit corners without skidding; and (b) it does, at least in theory (see the next segment with the long, low nose), capable of withstanding a Canadian winter. If you’re looking for an exclusive high-performance GT that combines a top-throttle engine with similarly turbulent handling, there are far worse possible options than this Maserati, and few better.
The only flaw about this excellent, fast, and well-handling car is that it’s hard to park. In fact, the GranTurismo has caused me more parking problems than almost any even lower supercar I drive.
There are many reasons for this. First of all, like I said, it’s big. More importantly, that front overhang that looks astonishingly impressive in photographs is highly visible, and Maserati’s front-facing camera/caution beep is rarely as accurate as it might be needed in a car that costs more than $200,000. Even worse, the value of leftover portions is probably a warning to Warren Buffet.
Even worse, the incredibly low seats (the best for controlling the car, it must be said) are paired with bulging front fenders that I’ve called so painfully beautiful. Combine those two things with a front hood that rises sooner. tapering down into that bulging mouth of a grid and, believe me, your visual belief of your landscape is very compromised.
Added to that are some probably huge A-pillars, and I was constantly swaying a bit on the sidewalks of the road because I had no idea where my car ended and where its cement daggers began.
And finally, said front bumper was incredibly low, which meant it scraped steep roads. The Maserati is well-equipped with air suspension, but unlike most supercars that face the same problem, it didn’t have a quick “lift” feature that allowed it to overcome obstacles. [See correction at the end of this article. —Ed. ] Browsing the Maserati forums, this would seem to be a not unusual problem, enough for kits to exist for the first GranTurismo cars to load a front-end stripe system.
Parking would likely have been tricky due to the Maserati’s girth and styling, but that wasn’t compromised in any way. For example, the rear roofline is significantly sloping, the Gran Turismo’s rear seats are, if not really spacious, at least oddly accommodating. I’m five feet 11 inches tall and I settle in without too much trouble. I don’t even try to ride in the back of a 911 or at most other GT “2 2”.
The same applies to the trunk. Officially indexed at 11 cubic feet (311. 5 liters), it can accommodate an unexpected variety of luggage. We managed, for example, to have compatibility with two handbags, a sports bag and two motorcycle helmets without having to weigh any of the Elle. Toiletries. The fact that the GranTurismo can accommodate so much and yet, as I said, driving so small is its biggest appeal. I don’t know of any other GT that combines such diametrically opposed attributes so well.
A Maserati representative was in touch to make the following correction: “Both the new GranTurismo and the GranCabrio have a lift mode as a component of the air suspension. The verbiage in the owner’s manual explains: “This device acts on the suspensions and raises the car by approximately 0. 98 inches. (25mm) for easy access to garages or steep ramps and prevent damage to the car. Each time the lift is activated, the headlights automatically point downwards. The formula can be activated when the engine is running and at the speed of the vehicle. at less than 50 km/h, by briefly pressing the convenient button on the rear bar of the comfort screen (rear).
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