Maserati GranTurismo S
Just one year after unveiling its new GranTurismo, Maserati will be upping the ante at the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show by introducing an ‘S’ variant.
With the standard coupé having the ‘Stunning’, not to say ‘Sexy’ bases covered, we can only assume that the suffix stands for ‘Sharper’ or ‘Swifter’.
The naturally aspirated V8 at the heart of the car receives a half-litre capacity increase, taking it to 4.7-litres and boosting power from 399bhp to 440bhp. To make the most of the increased urge, the automatic gearbox has been dropped in favour of the Maserati Cambiocorsa robotised manual gearbox, which is mounted at the rear for better weight distribution. This could be enough to drop the 0-62mph time to below five seconds while slowing down is taken care of by the dual-cast iron and aluminium brakes with six-piston callipers first introduced on the Quattroporte Sport GT S.
The original GranTurismo is unveiled in Geneva last yearExternally there has thankfully been little alteration to the Pininfarina penned design; the changes limited to a revised grille, new alloy wheel design in a menacing powder-black finish, side skirts, a rear diffuser and small bootlid spoiler. The four tailpipes of the base model are replaced with a brace of oval exhausts. Inside the car is trimmed in a mixture of Poltrona Frau leather and grippy Alcantara while new seats promise to keep driver and passengers firmly in place. Expect a £5,000 plus increase in price.
