Maserati is one of those classic Italian sports car brands that for some odd reason finds itself perpetually on the verge of collapse, having changed hands in ownership more than once in its 110 years as a performance brand. That said, the period of twelve years between early 2007 and late 2019 was a period when the brand was at its most stable. Thanks in no small part to what would become the brand's signature vehicle, the iconic GranTurismo grand tourer. Over 28,000 of these cars were sold in the course of just over a decade, leaving the brand with more financial stability than it ever had before it. It's safe to say that without the GranTurismo, there may not be any Maserati brand at all in 2021
Twelve years is a long time for any model of car to be in production. But in that time, Maserati found more than a few ways of making unique and memorable cars. Whether you were a well-to-do business executive looking for their next plaything to cruise continents in, or a power junkie in search of their next track and drift mach9ine, the GranTurismo appealed to many people for many different reasons.
Let's look in-depth at how the GranTurismo took the Maserati name and dragged it kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
A Brave New Tomorrow For A Legacy Italian Automaker
You can't talk about the recent history of Maserati without first talking about its only recently broken relationship with another world-famous Italian sports car brand, that, of course, being Ferrari. Before the brand's sale to the Fiat-Chrysler group in the 2010s, Ferrari and Maserati were two companies more or less joined at the hip.
In this partnership, Ferrari would provide drivetrain components like engines and transmissions for Maserati vehicles, Maserati would conduct research and development to create vehicle technology that Ferrari could then use for its own creations.
This partnership is the genesis of the GranTurismo as we know it. First unveiled at the 2007 Geneva motor show, the GranTurismo wowed audiences as soon as it arrived. Sporting a Ferrari-derived 4.2 liter V8 and six-speed automatic transmission, much of the same technology can also be found in other Ferrari-Maserati partnership vehicles like the Ferrari California and the Maserati Quattroporte V.
While no slouch by any means with 399 horsepower on tap, this original run of GranTurismos was staunchly focused on being the best grand touring car possible. This is an attribute that is somewhat lost on later models which put a greater emphasis on-track performance, a move that would lead to some mixed opinions in later years.
Gradually Adding More Power
Only a year after the original GranTurismo's debut at the very same Geneva Motor Show, Maserati was ready to unveil the next evolutionary step for their flagship grand tourer. This time, sporting an even bigger and more powerful 4.7 liter V8 is shared with the difficult to drive but objectively beautiful Alfa Romeo 8C and a six-speed automated manual transmission derived from the mid-engined Ferrari F430. This GranTurismo S model had 36 horsepower more than the previous model year, it also pushed the car past the zero to 60 in under five-second threshold with a top speed of just over 180 miles per hour.
That wouldn't be the end of gradually tuning more and more power out the GranTurismo. By late 2010, the GranTurismo MC Stradale was ready to hit the streets with even more power (444 hp) and weighing in 110 kilograms (242 pounds) lighter thanks to lightweight carbon fiber replacing traditionally metal pieces of bodywork. Some journalists of the period, like Jeremy Clarkson for example, complained that adding all this power and racing suspension compromised the GranTurismo's ability to function as a comfortable GT car. This philosophy ultimately led him to choose the Mercedes C63 AMG over the GranTurismo GT Stradale as his bonkers front-engined sports car of choice.
Time To Let The Top Down
Dubbed the GranTurismo Convertible in North America, the GranCabrio took everything that people liked about the GranTurismo and added the open-air feeling only a drop-top convertible can offer. First shown at the 2009 running of the Frankfurt Motor Show, the same 4.7 liter V8 from the GranTurismo is in tap with the convertible.
Two years later, the GranCabrio Sport was unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, this model would see the GranTurismo line of cars all the way through to the end of production in 2019. An all-new Maserati grand tourer called the Alfieri was unveiled as a concept car in 2014 and is expected to enter production sometime in late 2021 or early 2022. With Maserati now under the control of the Stellantis group, it'd be in the brand's best interest to feature a GT car on the same level as the GranTurismo. By some estimations, Maserati wouldn't be around today without it.
Sources: Maserati