(6.8 out of 10)
REVIEW DATE: 31 Jul 2006
Forget Any Notions Of Octogenarian Olympics; The Maserati GranSport Coupe Is Anything But Wrinkly. Andy Enright Reports
What does the engine in your car sound like? This might seem a bit of a daft question as, by and large, engine sounds have largely been legislated out of existence. They're muffled under layers of sound insulation, reduced to a background thrum that's subservient to the sound of the wind or the rumble of rubber on tarmac. Unless, that is, you drive a Maserati. You see, Maserati drivers have a very good appreciation of what their engine sounds like and if the driver in question is at the wheel of a Maserati GranSport coupe, they can illustrate rather graphically by planting the throttle and sharing the good news with everybody within a half mile radius. You have to applaud their generosity as well as their taste in cars.
This £66,645 GranSport represents one of Maserati's periodic attempts to keep Ferrari honest by offering a rather more focused version of their Coupe model (Plus there's a Spyder convertible version offered at a £3,000 premium). True anoraks may well remember the Assetto Corsa version of the 3200GT Coupe and the GranSport follows a similar philosophy with more power, less weight and an all round sharper driving experience. The unusual sill extensions worn by the GranSport aren't the most elegant pieces of body addenda I've ever seen but they help give the car a more planted, pugnacious look than the standard Coupe. A subtle boot spoiler, a jutting front bumper assembly, a mesh front grille and some very attractive trident-themed nineteen inch wheels help the GranSport justify its £10,000 premium over the standard Coupe model but the changes don't stop with mere styling accessories.
With 400bhp on tap, power creeps up by 10bhp. The power comes courtesy of Maserati finessing the inlet manifold and cylinder head union, the introduction of more aggressive cams and a reduction in exhaust gas back pressure. The ride height has been dropped by 10mm and the improved aerodynamics see lift reduced by 12 per cent. Couple this with the standard fitment of uprated Skyhook electronic dampers and that should spell a car that handles a fair degree better than the standard Coupe.
"This is a car that can make the hairs on the nape of your neck stand on end from half a mile away"
Some may say that this isn't a big ask. The Coupe is a difficult car to pigeonhole, being a fair bit more focused than cars like the Jaguar XKR but not anything like as track oriented as cars like the Porsche 911 GT3. The Maserati GranSport finds itself up against track day heroes like the GT3 and on that basis it's tough to see it matching the all-conquering Porsche in terms of outright ability. Yes, the changes wrought do shave two seconds per lap off the Coupe's time around Maserati's sometime test facility at Varano but with the same springs and anti-roll bars as the standard car, its body control can't hope to match ever more hardcore rivals.
At this point it's probably germane to take a step back and ponder the GranSport's raison d'etre. As a car that can be driven primarily on the road with the occasional track day thrown in, it makes a lot of sense. It certainly offers up a far greater sense of occasion than any equivalent Porsche and a cross Continentalblast to, say, Le Mans or Monaco would be far more enjoyable in the leather-lined sumptuousness of the Maserati than the rather functional German car. Suddenly the GranSport starts to add up.
The resculpted front seats of the GranSport offer a good deal more support and elsewhere around the cabin are a number of other refinements. Some rather unusual interior finishes are offered. As well as the now rather cliched carbon fibre trim inserts, there's a material enigmatically dubbed 'High-Tech' that's quite unlike anything I've ever seen in a passenger vehicle. Its fire retardant properties may well generate a few electrical fire jokes kept in storage from the Biturbo days of the eighties, but it looks very hardwearing and offers a decent degree of grip. Maserati chief designer Frank Stephenson - a man so disgustingly well groomed this should come as little surprise - is said to have discovered the fabric when attending an Italian fashion show.
Performance has taken a dolly step forward with the top speed inching up to 180mph although the sprint to 60mph remains pegged at 4.8 seconds. That 4.8 seconds will live with you for some time should you ever attempt to ape a Maserati test driver. Only one transmission is available for the GranSport and it's a sequential manual six-speed paddle-shift system. With the transmission switched to Sport mode, the Maserati can swap cogs with astonishing brutality, smashing through the gears far quicker than a human hand could guide a gearstick around a gate.
In standard manual mode, the software ensures that you can't engage a gear that will damage the gearbox, will auto-upshift when the car reaches the redline or downshift when the 1200rpm stall point is reached. Should you merely wish to waft around enjoying the ambience, the automatic mode does a passable imitation of a proper torque converter-equipped slushbox but you suspect you're missing the point. It also makes some curious rattling noises on low-speed downshifts. Best to flip it back to manual and enjoy zipping up and down the gears just for the sake of it, relishing the engine's delicious throttle blip as you knock the gearbox down a couple of cogs as you enter your favourite hairpin. Bystanders may attribute the perfect 'heel and toe' downchange to you by the bark from the engine, although the speed of the subsequent upshifts may betray your electronic assistant, especially if you switch to Sport mode.
As an all round package aimed at the sporting road driver and occasional track day participant, the Maserati GranSport gels very nicely. The changes to the suspension, the bigger rubber and the aerodynamic advantages make it an car to drive quickly, the chassis engendering more confidence to explore the limits of its capabilities. And then there's that intoxicating engine note. There are details that niggle but when a car can make the hairs on the nape of your neck stand on end from half a mile away, those issues are soon forgotten. Maserati has once more given us an object lesson in the meaning of exotica.
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| OVERALL | 7.0 OUT OF 10 | |
| Performance |  |
9 |
| Comfort |  |
8 |
| Handling | |
8 |
| Economy |  |
5 |
| Space / Versatility |  |
6 |
| Styling | |
9 |
| Equipment | |
9 |
| Build | |
6 |
| Depreciation | |
5 |
| Insurance | |
5 |
| Value |  |
7 |
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