Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo – Brief Road Test

Kim Henson test drive’s Maserati’s all wheel drive supercar coupé…

(All words and photographs by, and copyright Kim Henson).

Maserati… This famous name evokes thoughts of sleek Italian design, high performance and sophistication. All these aspects are neatly brought together in the current two door, four seater coupé GranTurismo Trofeo, which recently I was able to sample during a brief road test (as part of a driving day including a variety of makes and models).

Maseratis have always scored highly in visual terms, and the GranTurismo does not disappoint in this respect, with a ground-hugging sporty appearance, highlighted by flowing body lines and accentuated by large diameter sports wheels. I feel that it’s a joy to behold, and my view was echoed by many other motoring writers in attendance on the day of my test drive.

The curvaceous bonnet hides a glorious 3 litre V6 twin-turbo Nettuno petrol engine, in the Trofeo version delivering 542 hp plus 650 Nm (479 lb.ft) of torque, so there’s performance-a-plenty. Maserati figures advise that the standing start sprint to 62 mph takes just 3.5 seconds, with a top speed of 199 mph available (where legal and safe of course).

The twin-turbo motor takes advantage of patented pre-chamber combustion technology and features twinned spark plugs, these aspects developed to help win races but applied by the makers to provide ‘extraordinary performance’ on the road too.

In fact there are two versions of the engine, which made its debut in the MC20 super sports car. In Modena form it develops 483 bhp, but in the Trofeo, as tested, the output is 542 bhp.

Power is delivered to the road via an eight speed automatic transmission and an all-wheel-drive system.

(I should add that there is also an all-electric Folgore variant, developed using 800 volt technology and incorporating three 300 kW permanent magnet motors).

The car is, by design, low to the ground and with a low centre of gravity; Maserati has also striven to provide perfectly balanced weight distribution.

There is a limited edition ‘Primaserie’ version of the GranTurismo available too, celebrating 75 years of Maserati grand touring.

GranTurismo Trofeo prices start at around £160,000, although our test car carried a total price ticket amount of £184,880. This includes extras such as the wonderful ‘Blu Maserati- Fuoriserie’ paint finish, costing £15,120, the Pegaso Design Glossy Black diamond cut forged wheels (£480), the headrest-stitched Maserati ‘trident’ (£600), and a series of other packages.

The reality on the road…

Settling into the accommodating front seats, my co-driver and I agreed that the interior treatment was not only beautifully detailed, but well thought-out and carefully put together. Our similar thoughts applied to exterior bodywork fit, finish and impeccable paint finish quality.

Dynamically speaking, the car accelerated rapidly from rest and on the move, with a glorious yet muted and unobtrusive roar from the V6 engine when accelerating hard. The eight speed auto gearbox worked rapidly and unobtrusively, almost imperceptibly making ratio changes up or down.

Traction was excellent and the car felt entirely safe on the main roads and twisting by-ways that we encountered. Steering, braking, handling and roadholding characteristics were impressive in the dry road conditions experienced on our test run.

Two notable aspects stood out in my mind after a few miles on the road…

First, despite the large diameter road wheels, shod with low profile tyres, the ride quality was generally excellent, with just very large potholes/road surface imperfections making their presence felt within the cabin.

The seats were comfortable too, making travelling in this vehicle a very pleasant experience for the driver and passengers.

The second, and welcome, characteristic that I noted, was the way in which the car could be driven easily and happily in a docile, controllable manner at low speeds. The engine was eager to perform when rapid progress was desired/demanded, but equally adept at tootling along through villages and in heavy traffic at, say, 30 mph.

I found that this Maserati was also easy to manoeuvre at low speeds and to park (a good thing as I wouldn’t want to scratch that beautiful metallic paint finish!).

That said, this car is really all about open road motoring and over long distances its ‘GranTurismo’ designation would be perfectly appropriate.

VERDICT

The Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo is a supercar with a price tag to match. Yet in every way it lives up to expectations of what a Maserati should be, and what a modern grand tourer should be like to drive. The vehicle looks spectacular, is beautifully finished and feels well put together. It’s bristling with modern technology and safety systems galore, and the gem of a 3.0 litre V6 engine is a delight. I loved it.