Finally, Maserati has a car that can go from zero to 60 mph in under 5 seconds. This would be the 2008 Maserati GranTurismo S unveiled in Geneva today. Noting the crowd's fatigue at this late afternoon press conference, Maserati CEO Roberto Ronchi took a simple tack for his speech.

"People have been asking me, 'What does the S stand for,'" he said. "First of all, it stands for 'sport' because there is the new 4.7-liter V8 engine." That engine makes 440 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 361 pound-feet of torque at 4,750 rpm -- significant gains over the 405 hp at 7,100 and 339 lb-ft at 4,750 in the regular GranTurismo.

"'S' also stands for 'speed,'" he continued, "because this is the fastest Maserati we've ever built." The GranTurismo S has a top speed of 295 km/h, he said, which is 183 mph.



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Maserati may not be a high-volume automaker today, but who knows what the future holds. As announced during the L.A. Auto Show, Quattroporte numbers are up 49 percent this year, and all 2007s are officially sold out. The company is already taking orders for 2008, so if you want your bespoke Italian exotic break out those order guides and fire up your checkbook.

The Gran Turismo coupe is cool, and we appreciate its sleek, Pininfarina styling, but we'll take ours in Quattroporte Sport GT S form. The lowered ride height and chrome mesh grille really cap off an otherwise seductive exterior. The 393-horsepower V8 now hooks to a proper automatic transmission, so there's nothing left to complain about.

Plus Maserati always knows how to keep your attention during its press conference...even if I can't remember what was said. -- Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief, Edmunds.com

It was difficult not to feel slightly sorry for Maserati. While noisy crowds besieged the Ferrari stand in search of a glimpse of Michael Schumacher and the 430 Scuderia, Maserati quietly got on the with the business of unveiling its own new pretender, the Quattroporte Sport GT S.

In essence, this is an uprated version of the deliciously beautiful, Pininfarina-styled Quattroporte. It blends the flexibility of a fully automatic, six-speed gearbox, with a suspension setup tuned for the enthusiast. The car has been lowered by 10mm at the front (0.4 inch) and 25mm at the rear (1.0 inch), with uprated springs and dampers and new bespoke Pirelli tires. Also new are "dual-cast" Brembo brakes, which mix aluminum and cast iron. The use of lightweight aluminum has allowed Maserati to increase the size of the front discs to 360mm (14.2 inches) without increasing the car's unsprung mass.

We'll wait until we've driven it to comment on the dynamic merits of these changes, but there can be no denying the lowered stance and new 20-inch wheel rims lend the car a more hunched, athletic pose. And it's a look amplified by the new black mesh front grille, body color door handles and black detailing. This car looks terrific and Maserati also enhanced its appeal by draping it in some of the Frankfurt show's best-looking models - very Italian.

Inside, carbon-fiber detailing is introduced together with lashings of leather and Alcantara. The front seats have also been redesigned to offer increased support.

These changes might yet transform the Quattroporte from an intriguing if eccentric alternative, into a genuine rival to the German sport sedans. -- Alistair Weaver, Contributor

 

Edo Competition modified a Maserati MC12 Corse racing car and made it street-legal.

Can you imagine commuting to work in a 755-hp vehicle with a top speed of 242 mph?

Read the Maserati feature on Inside Line.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Inside Line Contributor Ken Gross drove the new Maserati GranTurismo through the Italian Alps.

Fast, powerful, comfortable and designed by legendary Pininfarina. She's a real beauty.

I'll take mine with the optional Salvatore Ferragamo luggage.

Read the Maserati GranTurismo First Drive on Inside Line.



More photos after the break...

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These are the first spy photos of the upcoming 2010 Maserati Spyder. It's based on the recently introduced Gran Turismo coupe and it appears as though the Spyder will switch to a hardtop configuration. We never liked the odd proportions of the previous Spyder, so this revised version should offer a significant improvement in the styling department. The new roof should help it to maintain the GT's lines despite its shorter, two-seat configuration.  Expect to see the same 405hp V8 used in the Gran Turismo under the hood of the Spyder when it goes on sale in 2009.

The Pininfarina-designed GranTurismo is the first Maserati in a depressingly long time that one could legitimately call sexy. It looks good even in the dark blue paint Maserati showed it with here at New York. In case you needed proof of how far Maserati has come since the darkest days of the 1980s, have a look at the photos above and below. --Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

 

We won't classify these as spy photos since the Maserati GranTurismo already made its world debut at the 2007 Genevea auto show, but we thought it was worth showing you what this beautiful coupe looks like on the road anyway.  

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As soon as the wraps came off Maserati’s new GranTurismo coupe at this year’s Geneva auto show, we realized the preview photos didn’t begin to do full justice to the gorgeous car we saw in the flesh. The graceful Pininfarina-designed GT, with styling inspired by the Pininfarina Birdcage 75th concept car, even managed to steal everyone’s eyes away from the sexy models perched around Maserati’s show stand. The GT is scheduled for launch in Europe and America in September, and though pricing hasn’t yet been determined, we’re told the GT’s cost in Europe should fall somewhere between 110,000 and 115,000 euros. Only 1,500 GTs are due to be built in the first, short year of production, but Maserati expects to build around 7,000 GTs in 2008.

Although fashioned around a shortened version of the Quattroporte’s chassis, the GT is a generously proportioned two-door with a 192-inch overall length and 115-inch wheelbase. Power comes from the same Ferrari-sourced 4.2-liter V-8 that’s fitted in the Quattroporte, but output has been increased to 405 horsepower and maximum torque is 339 lb-ft, of which 75 percent is available as low as 2500 rpm. Maserati says the GT will accelerate from zero to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds and achieve a top speed of 177 mph.



Power runs to the rear wheels through a ZF 6-speed automatic, the same transmission that has also found its way into the Quattroporte Automatica. Gear selection is either with the console shift lever or standard steering-wheel-mounted paddles. In contrast to the former coupe’s rear transaxle design, the GT’s transmission is placed conventionally, just behind the engine, which helps free up rear-seat room and elevates the cabin beyond a 2+2 configuration and into a genuine four-seater, with enough room to haul two adults in back without complaint. Weight distribution remains a sporty 49 percent front and 51 percent rear.



As with the Quattroporte, the GT’s interior is straightforward, free of gimmicks, and as comfortable as your own living room — that is, if your living room was pulled straight out of a designer’s showcase home. The soft Poltrona Frau leather (we don’t know what "Poltrona" means, either, but it’s obvious only the best cows were recruited for the hides) is to complement the GT’s atmosphere of haute couture, Maserati is offering a five-piece luggage set designed by Salvatore Ferragamo to fit snugly in the trunk.

It was appropriate that Maserati chose Geneva for the debut of the new GranTurismo. Sixty years ago, Geneva was also used to launch another Pininfarina classic, the A6 GranTurismo, the first Maserati built for public roads. Ten years later, in 1957, Maserati again used Geneva to present its first standard gran turismo, the 3500 GT, the car that transformed the small Italian company into a fully fledged carmaker, with road-going cars taking priority for the first time over racing machines.

The GT’s combination of sex appeal, performance and luxurious cockpit should go a long way toward making the Maserati badge a much more common sight on American roads. -- Greg N. Brown, Contributor

Pixs and info on the Maserati Gran Turismo Coupe, which will debut at the Geneva Motor Show have surfaced. This car is designed by Pininfarina, and is flat out gorgeous.

Somehow, on this model, the '50s-era Buick Super ventiports look right here, whereas on the Quattroporte they look silly. Anyone think the rear hints somewhat of Aston Martin?

Full story here and here.