There are days, and there are good days, and despite what challenges the handful of waking hours have brought, if you’ve spent any time on a sun-splashed mountain road in the Maserati GranCabrio Sport, it was most definitely good day.
Having a direct relation as illustrious as Ferrari would give anybody a serious inferiority complex, but Maserati has come to make its own mark in the world as the brand with performance and luxury. Seen at parties by Fendi, on the track, and even at sea, the brand makes clear its balance of sport, contemporary style, and affluence. I once again find myself holding a blue key emblazoned with a trident.
While the basis of the GranCabrio has been around for a few years, the GranTurismo, Maserati has further developed the platform to include the GranTurismo S and then opened that intensity to the sky with the Cabrio version. Powered by a 4.7L V8, the GranCabrio Sport has the legs to hit 177mph and sprint off the line from 0-62 in 5 seconds flat. The trampling of all 460hp under the hood roars out the oval carbon fibre tailpipes while the 376 ft. lbs. of torque remain a satisfying treat to a driver’s central nervous system. I power through the first hairpin of a hill climb solely for the selfish indulgence of hearing the exhaust note reverberate off the rock wall to my right and blast into the open cabin I’m sitting in.
Each flick of the ‘Trofeo Design’ paddle shifters invokes an immediate response and an audible reply from its power source. Having driven a then-new Granturismo, I’m pleased to see that the characteristic performance, subtle at a cruise and a beast when coaxed, wasn’t lost or made more raw with the updates. When I’m not planting the pedal, I’m soaking rays in a stunning Italian GT just as comfortably as I’d be sitting in a seaside café, only with more excitement at my finger tips.
Leather surfaces stretch everywhere there isn’t carbon fiber, which is there to remind the driver just what they have in their hands. The blue gauges in the cluster remain, as does the embossed trident logos on headrests. Everything from the standard Granturismo interior design remains, only it’s now accessable to the world around you through the open top.
The improvements that follow the Sport badge includes The skyhook suspension system as standard that processes data from each wheel and instantly regulates aluminum dampers, holding the GranCabrio sport through every winding stretch of the mountain road I take it through. Other cars I’ve taken on this route which I’m particularly familiar with tend to get a little squirrely on the descent, even the more performance focused coupes, but the GranCabrio Sport is still forgiving, even though I feel like the potential for over-enthusiasm is high. She’s nice to me now, but if I try anything too funny, the Maserati will definitely have my head on a plate.
When I make my way back to my initial staging area, everyone looks. They try hide it, but they look. It’s hard not to, even with the base model. Seeing a Maserati Granturismo pull up is like the arrival of the most stunning woman in a club; confident to arrive on her own and serious, but with enough elegance to stand out in a room full of beauties. The GranCabrio Sport hits the same notes, only now, she’s more fun and likely to go topless.
Words By – Alex Kalogiannis
Photos By Victor Kalogiannis
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