Maserati puts coupe on a diet, aims it at Ferrari

MILAN -- Maserati is counting on a lighter, more tech-focused iteration of GranTurismo to continue the success of a body style the Italian brand has offered for seven decades, while making it a tougher challenger to Ferrari.

The automaker’s first four-seat coupe, the A6 1500, debuted in 1947, and the new car’s predecessor accounted for 28,805 global sales during its production run from 2007 until 2019.

At 1,795 kg, the V-6-powered GranTurismo will be the lightest four-seat coupe on the market, Maserati says.

The body makes extensive use of lightweight materials such as aluminum and magnesium, together with high-performance steel for the most critical functions. Over 65% of the car is made of aluminum.

The new car weighs 85 kg less than its predecessor, helped by a lighter V-6 engine replacing the V-8 used in the previous-generation car.

The 2+2 seater Ferrari Roma weighs 1,570 kg, making it lighter than the GranTurismo, but it is 305 mm shorter.

Both cars will be in the 200,000 euro price range, which is a 50,000 euro step up for Maserati compared with the previous GranTurismo.

The car’s gasoline-powered variants, called the Trofeo and Modena, will use the brand’s Nettuno 3.0-liter, V-6 engine, which replaces a Ferrari-sourced V-8 used in the previous GranTurismo.

The Nettuno engine debuted in 2021 to power the MC20 supercar. The engine was developed by Maserati and is built at the brand’s home of Modena, Italy. The GranTurismo family, including the full-electric Folgore variant, will be built at the Stellantis subsidiary’s Mirafiori factory near Turin.
 

The 542-hp Trofeo variant accelerates from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in 3.5 seconds and has a top speed is 320 kph. The 483-hp Modena variant reaches 100 kph in 3.9 seconds and has a top speed of 302 kph. Both cars have eight-speed automatic transmissions and all-wheel drive.

Unlike other models in the Maserati range, there is no mild-hybrid variant.

New platform

The GranTurismo sits on a new platform that will underpin future Maserati models, including the Gran Cabrio convertible due in 2023 in both combustion-powered and full-electric versions.

Work on the platform started from a “blank slate” in 2017, Maserati said.

The new underpinnings include a new electronics architecture centered on the Vehicle Domain Control Module (VDCM), which oversees all the car’s driving dynamics systems. Four drive modes are available in the V-6 GranTurismo variants: comfort, GT, sport and corsa (Italian for race).

The new coupe maintained the classic proportions of the brand's GTs, including a long hood and the central body intersected by the four fenders. Maserati said it maintained continuity with the design of the previous generation because it was so widely appreciated by its customers, particularly in the U.S., which was the top market for the previous GranTurismo.

The car is 78 mm longer than its predecessor (4,959 mm vs 4,881) but the height (1,353 mm) and width (1,957 mm) are the same.

The coupe’s two rear seats can comfortably host passengers up to 1.8 meters (6 feet) tall, provided the driver is not too tall. Getting into the back seats is not as easy as in Europe’s popular four-door coupe-styled sedans including the Porsche Panamera and BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe (which are 100 mm to 120 mm longer than the GranTurismo).

The car’s digital interfaces include a 12.2-inch digital dashboard and a double central display that includes a 12.3-inch touchscreen plus an 8.8-inch comfort display. The latter two are the same also featured on the Grecale midsize SUV.

“We had to design the car interior around the displays, and we tried to find the right balance,” Maserati head of interior designer Frederic Latino said.

The digital interface software is based on Android Auto; Apple Car Play and Baidu Car Life are also available.