We like us some matte finish here at Autoblog, but we have to admit that the usual smattering of matte black vinyl wraps leave us a bit in the dark. That’s why our eyes pop just a little wider when we see a car that cuts the glare but keeps the palette. That’s also why the storied brands of the Fiat group are getting top marks in our books these days.
At the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, the group’s top brand Ferrari showed off a concept 599 with regenerative braking and a delicious matte green finish. The following year at the same venue, Alfa Romeo lifted the veil on the tempting 4C Concept in a beautiful shade of matte red. And at the Bologna Motor Show earlier this month, their sister brand Maserati showcased this special GranTurismo in matte blue.
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Filed under Maserati 25-10-2011
Expanding an automotive empire is tricky business. You can either pit one brand within the group against another, or you have to differentiate them significantly. Volkswagen has opted for the former, with numerous competitors from different group brands in the same segments, but the Fiat/Chrysler group over which Sergio Marchionne presides is going the other route.
As a result, Marchionne insists that Ferrari isn’t after the same market that the likes of Porsche and Bentley – both part of the Volkswagen group – currently pursue. Ferrari, he says, is in a league of its own, but in fact it plays against the likes of Lamborghini and Bugatti. So what is Marchionne pitting against Porsche and Bentley? Maserati.
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Maserati has done a heck of a job expanding its two model lines to suit a variety of tastes. Say, for example, you’re looking for a two-door grand tourer… then the GranTurismo is clearly your machine. More power? There’s the GranTurismo S. Even more hardcore? The MC Stradale is your beast.
The downside for overseas buyers is that, unlike the GranTurismo MC for the North American market, the European-market MC Stradale ditches the lauded ZF-sourced automatic transmission for the more hardcore yet much-derided older sequential gearbox. So for those looking for something a bit more sporty than the GranTurismo S but one step shy of the MC Stradale, Maserati’s British division has just announced the availability of a new Sport Pack.
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It’s hard to make a car as sinister-looking as the Maserati GranTurismo even more so. Maserati itself managed to do that with the GranTurismo MC Stradale, and now Anderson Germany has taken a crack at it with this new blacked-out GranTurismo S.
The aptly named Superior Black Edition swaps elements like the stock hood and mirrors in favor of carbon-fiber replacements, has an interior dressed in ample helpings of carbon and Alcantara, and is wrapped in matte black vinyl that contrasts the glossy 21-inch wheels. A lowered suspension contributeBacking up the evil looks is a massaged version of the GranTurismo’s Ferrari-sourced 4.7-liter V8, which now belts out 492 horsepower.
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If you’ve been hankering for a new two-door Maserati but the 400-horsepower 4.2-liter V8 in the base GranTurismo and the 434hp 4.7-liter V8 in the GranTurismo S just aren’t cutting it, Maserati North America has good news for you, as a pair of more powerful versions are ready to hit American and Canadian roads. Read More »
If Alfa Romeo wanted to get people talking with the debut of its 4C concept in Geneva, they succeeded. The Internet is abuzz with rumors of its production potential. There have already been reports that the Alfa will spearhead the marque’s full-fledged return to North America, to be followed by both Spider and Abarth versions. Now, word is that Maserati could get a derivative, too. Read More »
At the Paris Motor Show last year, Maserati pulled the veil off the GranTurismo MC Stradale – the fastest roadgoing Trident this side of the Enzo-based MC12. And while Maserati won’t be selling the MC Stradale on the Western shores of the Atlantic, it has done the next best thing. Read More »
