My Maserati goes (less than) 185

Find Ferraris just a little too pretentious? How about a Maserati with a Ferrari engine whose interior looks like it stepped right out of the Saville Row for cars?

The 2008 Maserati GranTurismo had its North American debut at the New York Auto Show on Thursday. While Maserati will say otherwise, this car is more about speeding in style than those into down and dirty performance.

(Credit: Maserati)

The car takes 5.1 seconds to go 0 to 60 and has a maximum speed of 177 mph (notably not 185). The car has a 405-horsepower 4.2-liter V8 engine mounted in a front-mid-engine layout (low and behind the front axle) as on the Quattroporte (four door), so its weight is more evenly distributed in a 49 percent to 51 percent split front to back, according to Maserati. The transmission is a 6-speed automatic with optional paddle shifter mounted on the steering column.

The car was styled by design company Pininfarina and it shows.

(Credit: Candace Lombardi/CNET Networks)

With Ferragamo luggage designed specifically to fit in the trunk and a Poltrona Frau leather interior, sitting in the Maserati GranTurismo is like sitting in a finely appointed fashion showroom.

If only I could find an Italian tailor as good as the Italian upholsterer that did this interior.

A Maserati representative said that the company expects the car to be available in the fourth quarter of this year. Of course, 20 have already been ordered and the company plans to limit production to far fewer than the Quattroporte.

And yes, don't know if you can see it in the picture, but the car show models did sport tattoos of Neptune's trident, the Maserati logo, on their shoulders. Pretty cool.

(Credit: Candace Lombardi/CNET Networks)

[Holly Garfield]

Maserati GranTurismo test drive

I test drove a GranTurismo on the first day it was available, November 1. I have one currently on the assembly ine. The car is the only 2+2 sport coupe I found in the $100K US price class. It is a cross between a BMW/Mercedes and a 911 in general, with the distinctive Italian styling. The car handled beautifully. The throttle-by-wire gave instant response at US city/highway speeds and shifting was almost unnoticeable once the gearbox auto-adjusted to my style. I am not a performance driver myself, and will use this as my everyday car. Turning for passing and off ramps was like a video game. You turn the wheel and see the scenery move, but feel little side force. The seats are very soft Italian leather with good padding and shape. This smoothed out the little roll there was. The engine was a pleasure to hear with the sound system off. Steering and acceleration were very easy to this driver. Comfort mode should allow the common driver to enjoy this car, and sport mode adds enouugh pep for all but performance drivers to enjoy. I was driving on a busy US Interstate in manual/sport mode in a couple of minutes with no problem.

The body is at least stunning and the interior is pure luxury of hand-crafted leather, metal and wood. Controls are all very straightforward and well placed. The console shift is a standard automatic setup, just a push toward the driver sets manual shifting. The paddle shifters are Ferrari style with leather inserts for comfort. There should be almost no learning curve for anyone who has driven a couple of US automatics.

I am a long-time techie and broadcast engineer. This is one of only about 4-5 technical products of any kind I have used that does exactly what it is supposed to do exactly the way it should be done and with the highest level of quality of workmanship and design built in. There is enough performance and features for it's target user with no quirks or unnecessary complexities in the controls. The engineering is as superb as the Pinninfarina styling.

This is a 'big' car with a smooth, well proven engine. It is not a highly responsive sports car, but it is close. The rear seats are as well appointed as the front. Legroom may be a bit tight with the front seats back, but much more roomy than a sports car. This car is made to be driven long distances with ease and little fatigue. It is tailor made for US Interstates and city streets. It can be driven easily by someone with no performance car experience, yet with enough power to make most drivers very happy. This car can be driven to Lincoln Center or any of the grandest venues and still turn heads. It can drive 2 people cross country, a family of 4 to the mall or 4 Fortune 100 CEOs to a board meeting.

Websites maserati.com or granturismoisback.com will take you to the online configurator. This will give you a dozen different views, inside and out, of the configuration of your choice. The configuration choices are very extensive. You can then save or even email that configuration directly to a dealer. All dealers currently have a demo car. Check with a dealer for availability. My car was ordered in August, confirmed construction in November, started on the assembly line in mid-December, should finish in mid-February and be delivered in early March. That's the result of the customizing, hand crafting and numerous quality checks. The car is worth it and then some.