2019 Maserati GranTurismo Review: MC and GranCabrio Sport

Content

Skidpan
Track
- Note. CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, providing transportation and food.
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It's rare to find something that improves with age, and even wine is unlikely to get any better once you're past the 10-year milestone. Thus, the chances of success for the Maserati GranTurismo, which is about to celebrate its 12th anniversary since its first appearance at the Geneva Motor Show, are high.

The fact that the rest of the legendary trident-badged lineup was updated and expanded during half of that period, and the current Levante SUV is not yet three years old, only highlights the graying scalps of the GranTurismo coupe and GranCabrio convertible. That being said, it also forgets that Mazda, at the cheaper end of the price scale, now renews most of its lineup every year.

However, the big Grand Touring coupe and convertible celebrated its birthday last year when the lineup was redesigned into Sport and MC (Maserati Corse) variants. You'll pick the MC for its ventilated carbon fiber hood, vertical gills for the front fenders, and a bespoke rear bumper with center exhaust tips. All of these parts are different from the versions they replaced, with the exception of the side gills, which were removed from the previous MC Stradale.

They've been updated for more than just style: new parts now comply with the latest pedestrian safety regulations and also lower the drag coefficient from 0.33 to 0.32.

The nose and overall proportions haven't aged a day, and it's sure to go down in history as one of the greatest coupe designs of all time, but the taillights still strike me as too similar to a third-generation Impreza.

Both specification levels now feature the same Ferrari-built 338-litre naturally aspirated 520kW/4.7Nm V8 engine and a ZF six-speed torque converter automatic transmission, the last variant of which we also saw in the late Ford Falcon.

Other detail changes included tweaked headlight internals, a new and better integrated reversing camera, but the big news on the inside was their alignment with fresher Maserati models with the upgrade to an 8.4-inch multimedia screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.

They also received a new take on the traditional Maserati analog clock and a Harmon Kardon audio system. The instrument panel has been redesigned with fewer buttons on the center console and a dual rotary controller added for the multimedia system.

So quite a bit of detail to spruce up the aging beauties, but it still lacks the active safety features we've come to expect from new cars, and like all Maserati except the Ghibli, it doesn't have an ANCAP safety rating. or even EuroNCAP.

Plus, it's been over three years since we've sampled the GranTurismo and over seven years between drinks of the GranCabrio, so we jumped at the chance to revisit one of the best designs since the chrome bumper era last week's Maserati Ultimate Drive Day Experience in Sydney.

It might sound like a chance to rub the panels with Fangio himself, and the reality isn't that far off, especially considering it doesn't cost the members a dime. There is a catch though, it's by invitation only, but any new Maserati owner is on the list and they happen semi-regularly.

This event was held in the fast paced Sydney Motorsports Park and provided the opportunity to drive the entire Maserati range on sleds, tracks and off-road to widen the eyes of Levante owners. Since we haven't seen the GranTurismo and GranCabrio for so long, we decided to focus on the $345,000 MC and $335,000 Sport versions, respectively.

Skidpan

There is nothing more pleasant than to roll a rear-wheel drive car on a sled. Full stop. At least when it comes to driving.

Throw in a nearly $400k Italian exotica and it's a rare scenario you're likely to tell your grandchildren about.

Maserati built the GranTurismo MC alongside the Quattroporte GTS GranLusso, giving us a taste of the difference between old and new, two very different wheelbase lengths, but most importantly naturally aspirated and twin turbo.

Describing a simple circle of cones with all traction aids engaged and the throttle to the floor, the Quattroporte just walked along, maintaining its trajectory. This stuff is just idiot proof.

Turn it all off and hold the transmission in a second and you'd expect the long 3171mm wheelbase to help you slide like a big slow pendulum, but the turbo's relative constant power delivery makes it surprisingly hard to set up for constant drifting. Sure, an "eggshell walking" approach to the throttle would have helped here, but it's hard to put together once the red haze has settled.

Switching to the GranTurismo MC, we turned off all traction control again and kept the car in second place. The shorter wheelbase is generally more irritating for this sort of thing, but the 2942mm GranTurismos are still good.

The biggest difference was that you had little mid-range growl in second gear, making it even harder to set up for constant drifting than the Quattroporte.

However, put it back in first place and all the 7500rpm of the old-school naturally aspirated 4.7 linear power makes it a constant drifter on wet concrete, and I had it dangling within one lap of a lap.

Considering we also opted for the sport mode, the active exhaust unleashed the sound of all 460 Italian horses, so as I said, my grandchildren will probably learn about this ordeal on the sled.

Track

The track element used the original 3.93km Gardner GP circuit layout, giving us access to the fastest parts of Sydney Motorsport Park.

I cycled through two Ghiblis, a Quattroporte and a Levante, before effectively stepping back in time on the GranCabrio Sport and GranTurismo MC.

The newer models run smoothly, predictably, and quietly (especially with a helmet), but they are all clearly road oriented, and this is likely how they will spend the remaining 99.9% of their lives.

The GranCabrio Sport feels a bit edgier, even if its naturally aspirated engine does away with the slingshot feel of newer turbocharged models.

However, it's the GranTurismo MC that feels better than any Maserati in these conditions, with its even sharper suspension setup that makes the GranCabrio feel bland by comparison.

An MC is one that feels alive and delivers real thrills to the limit. The liberated exhaust sound in sport mode is also much more "thoroughbred" than on newer models.

We weren't chasing lap times, but this is a must buy if you're interested in riding the track once in a while to let him off the leash.

For thrills, a naturally aspirated V8 is head and shoulders above turbos, and the only real compromise is the limited gear ratios and intelligence of a six-speed automatic. It's hard to imagine that upgrading everyone's favorite eight-speed ZF unit would be too much of an engineering challenge.

Driving each of Maserati's current models up close, it's satisfying and exhilarating to discover that the oldest models in the lineup are the ones that seem to be true exotics - imperfect in some charming ways and exciting in all the right ones.

The new models are clearly much better suited to everyday tasks and represent a unique option among many similar premium German products.

But as Maserati's evolution continues at a rapid pace and adapts to include electric drivetrains, it's hard to imagine how the brand will protect this core experience, but it must.