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“This is the sexiest, most desirable, most fabulous-looking car you can buy today”. This is how Fifth gear start by describing the Maserati Granturismo and for the most part we agree. The whole focus of the Maserati GT is on comfort, with ample passenger space and an extremely quiet engine on the inside. However, in a world where the BMW M3 offers much more engine power with a much lighter body resulting in greater performance for a lower price, the Maserati seems to be outdone. I know we are talking about a GT but the balance between driving pleasure and driving comfort is perhaps weighted a little too much towards the latter. At the end of the day the Trident shows itself off proudly on the Maserati’s body leading us to expect a bit more pep in what instead feels more like a lumbering cruiser – powerful, yet unable to perform when needed and rather emotionally unsatisfying. To be precise, it has the feel of a 4-door car that is missing two doors. However, if it is more pep you are after...
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The road is littered with the hood ornaments of once-inimitable car marques that champion the past while artfully dodging the present. After decades of corporate upheaval, Maserati appears to have finally outrun that fate and, with its 2008 GranTurismo, rejoined the pantheon of Italian masters. Behind the masterstroke is renowned Italian design firm Pininfarin a—they of Maserati's reputation-forging hit, the sinuous 1946 A6 1500, among others. The GT's fluid yet muscular body, arching from its intimidating oval grille and low-sloping hood to its triangular taillamps, blends the allure of Maserati's racing history with the lithe curves of its recent Quattroporte sedan. But this is not just eye candy; Maserati wants the GT driven often, and to extremes. Its partnership with Ferrari means that the recessed, low-displacement, high-revving 4.2 V8 (quiet, but with an enticing hum) are nearly identical to those sported by its crosstown cousin in Modena, Italy. With supercar weight...
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What We Know The 2008 Maserati GranTurismo , a two-door coupe to complement the Quattroporte sedan, is yet another Italian beauty, this one penned by Pininfarina's Jason Castriota. Successor to Maserati's Guigiaro-designed coupe and spyder, the upcoming GT is built on a shortened version of the Quattroporte's chassis. The GranTurismo is powered by a 405-horsepower version of the same Ferrari-sourced 4.2-liter V8 found across the Maserati range. In a nod toward the crucially important American market, where Maserati hopes to achieve significant sales gains with the GT, power is sent to the rear wheels through the ZF-built six-speed automatic transmission that just became available in the Quattroporte. With a platform converted from the rear-transaxle configuration necessary for the automated manual gearbox to the front-mounted automatic transmission, the GranTurismo should provide enough rear-seat space to make it something more than a cramped 2+2. Nevertheless, we expect a weight distribution...
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