Maserati GranCabrio: New Fiat No Porsche Panamera, FWIW

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

PRESS RELEASE

THE NEW MASERATI GRANCABRIO TO PREMIERE IN FRANKFURT



The Maserati GranCabrio, the first four-seater convertible in the Trident carmaker’s history, will make its world wide debut on September 15 at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show. The introduction of the GranCabrio – the Trident’s third prong – completes Maserati’s product line-up that now consists of three different families of models: Quattroporte, GranTurismo, GranCabrio.

The GranCabrio represents the very essence of Maserati in terms of open-top cars. It’s a Maserati in the purest sense of the word: from the unmistakable style by Pininfarina to the spacious interior, from the craftsmanship of each detail to the driving pleasure and performance. The Maserati GranCabrio enriches all five senses in a shared open-air experience, without sacrificing comfort and performance. A dream car designed and built for men and women who love to live life in an understated – though sophisticated – manner. Like all the made in Maserati open-top convertibles: special cars aimed at refined connoisseurs.

In fact the GranCabrio is continuing the Maserati tradition in open-top cars, joining models that have played such an important part in the Modena carmaker’s history such as the 1950 A6G Frua Spyder, 1960 3500GT Vignale Spyder, 1964 Mistral Spyder, 1968 Ghibli Spyder and 2001 Spyder designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the car that marked Maserati’s return to the United States. In the footsteps of tradition, the GranCabrio opens a new chapter, because never before have four-seater top-down models ever been produced at the Viale Ciro Menotti Maserati factory. Four proper seats, so that the rear passengers are not merely supporting actors, but co-stars of the journey.

The GranCabrio is powered by a 4.7 litre V8, 323 kW engine and is the convertible with the longest wheelbase on the market. The GranCabrio’s roof is strictly canvas-made, emphasizing the link with the Maserati tradition.

The Maserati GranCabrio will be marketed starting next winter, and experienced by customers the world over from the following spring.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Alex Nigro Alex Nigro on Aug 24, 2009

    "New Fiat No Panamera"? The Maserati Quattroporte is like the anti-Panamera. Just sayin'.

  • Sfdennis1 Sfdennis1 on Aug 25, 2009

    This beauty is so much more attractive than the fat*ss, hideous (by Ferrari standards) California, and will probably cost much less as well. Truly rare is the 4-place hardtop convertible that doesn't sacrifice waaay too much style to make room for the folding metal roof...some 2 place roadsters can carry off the look, but go bigger, and styling always suffers. Sure, the GranCabrio's ultimate performance will be lower than the Ferrari's, but anyone who's driving these cars 100% flat-out and/or fast enough to notice a substantial difference in performance, won't have their license long anyway.

  • Doc423 Rolling Coal is not a bad thing either.
  • Ajla In high school I really wanted a yellow GTO.
  • Lou_BC Sweet car.
  • FreedMike With 157K miles, that's basically a beater that looks good. Plus, I heard Honda CVTs turn dicey with age. I'm a "no" at $12,500, but someone's heart will go all aflutter over the J-vin (Ohio-vin?) and pay up. With a manual in the same shape, I'd be in for a LOT less.
  • EBFlex More proof the EV world is crumbling. In a market with supposedly “insatiable demand”, these kinds of things don’t happen. Nor do layoffs.
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