Maserati has brought a powerful beauty to this year’s Geneva Motor Show, called Gran Turismo S, which sports Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione’s engine. The 4.7 liter C8 produces 440hp and the power is distributed through an MC-Shift gearbox rear transaxle mounted that improves shifting time and weight distribution.

Fortunately this car isn’t only based on power, acceleration and speed, but also on stopping and it features an upsized Brembo brake package, that is already used on the Quattroporte Sport GT S and do a really good job.

Along with it’s great performances, the Gran Turismo S also has stylish wheels, badges and leather interior, that makes it a luxury sportive car. Maserati has done a great job again and unveiled a great car, from every point of view. Visit our gallery to understand what are we talking about.

Press Release

World début at Geneva for the Maserati GranTurismo S

In the wake of its impressive financial and sales results, Maserati will be present at the Swiss motorshow with a new sports model and the latest versions of its award-winning Quattroporte.

Modena – 4 March 2008. A year after the unveiling of the GranTurismo, Maserati is back at the Geneva International Motorshow with yet another world premiere, the GranTurismo S, the ultimate expression of the Marque’s sportiness. The new interpretation of the perfect balance between sportiness and comfort shifts the emphasis onto performance and driving enjoyment.

The new 440 HP V8 4.7 engine, with a maximum torque of 490 Nm at 4750 rpm, electro-actuated gearbox with fast MC Shift, Transaxle layout, sporty exhaust and brakes made with dual-cast technology make the GranTurismo S the new flagship for Maserati sporting flair, with acceleration from 0 to 100 Km/h at 4.9 seconds and a maximum speed of 295 Km/h, the highest ever reached by a production Maserati.

The compact and lightweight 4.7 liter V8 engine develops maximum power output of 440 HP at 7,000 rpm and peak torque of 490 Nm at 4,750 rpm, and ensures high specific power output and more torque at lower speeds as well, without affecting the capacity to up the revs quickly, typical of racing engines. The increase in power output and torque has not affected the versatility of the power unit, which continues to be readily harnessed even during everyday use. It sounds deep and throaty, but the exhaust valve pneumatic control can also be activated to make it discrete.

An electro-actuated 6-speed gearbox is paired with the 4.7 liter V8 engine, and has MC-Shift software which harnesses the new engine’s power output, ensuring new unbeatable gearshift performance in terms of the whole sports car range.

The gearshift solution known as MC-Shift is the most important innovation of the electro-actuated system on the Maserati GranTurismo S: this includes management software and special hardware components which give top performance in terms of gearshift times.

In conventional electro-actuated systems the three shift phases (cut in torque and opening of clutch; gear disengagement, selection and engagement; closing of clutch and restoration of torque) are carried out sequentially.

On the Maserati GranTurismo S the shift phases are partially overlapped: gear disengagement and engagement take place in advance of clutch opening and closing; this means that the shift time, interpreted and calculated as the break in acceleration, drops to 100 ms, whilst the single gear engagement phase reduces to 40 ms.

The fast MC-Shift is available only when shifting up and in Manual Sport mode, provided that the transmission control unit recognizes when given parameters relating to engine and transmission temperature are achieved: the quick shift is possible above 5500 rpm and with the throttle at 80%.

Once these parameters have been achieved, the system enables fast shift and warns the driver through the MC-S indicator on the dashboard display, which lights up and stays on.

The engine and gearbox on the Maserati GranTurismo S are arranged in the Transaxle layout, typical of high-performance sports cars and representing the technological DNA of Maseratis. The front-mounted engine, and the gearbox, located to the rear, are rigidly connected by a tubular element containing the driveshaft. This solution gives excellent weight distribution, 47% over the front axle and 53% over the rear axle, which translates into excellent dynamics and top performance.

Looking through the spokes of the new 20″ rims on the GranTurismo S you can see the high-performance brake system developed in collaboration with Brembo.

The system features front brake discs made with dual-cast technology – a dual casting of cast iron and aluminum, paired with aluminum mono-bloc 6-piston brake calipers.

This technology, introduced for the first time in the automotive field on the Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S, optimizes the braking system’s performance, by emphasizing pedal feel and increasing fatigue-resistance in the most extreme conditions.

At the wheel, the Maserati GranTurismo S is more rigid and compact, thanks to the suspension layout developed specifically to support the new weight distribution. Vehicle roll has been reduced significantly as a result of the modified springs, bars and dampers, and this has benefited handling and performance.

What would you do if you were an Arab sheik with literally unlimited funds and also a car fanatic ? Well, in a specific case, a Middle Eastern sheik ordered a custom estate wagon version of Maserati Quattroporte. The result is called Cinqueporte and it’s modified by StudioTorino and StudioM, for an unknown definitely not low price. This client has also ordered a few custom estate wagon Ferraris and the reason we say it didn’t go cheap is that he wants luxury and a StudioM’s previous project only for the interior of Maserati Quattroporte went to a whopping €350,000.

Click on the photos to visit the gallery, where you can see more pictures with the so-called Maserati Cinqueporte.

Two students from the Instituto Europeo di Design, Dmytro Zyubyairov and Oscar Palladino, are the winners of a design contest. At the contest participated 17 teams which have displayed their concepts to a jury composed from Maserati and Fiat AG chief designers.

Their concept named The Chicane will be unveiled next month at the Geneva Motor Show and is based on the Maserati GranTurismo. The 2+2 concept is powered by a V8 through the rear wheels and is sportier than the GT because it’s shorter with 400mm and the fierce chrome is there to scare its rivals.

Maserati presented GranTurismo last year at Geneva Auto Show and we were all wondering when they will get into production. The convertible is a “mini-version” of the Quattroporte and we predict that is going to be a soft-top, not a hard-top. The Trident company hopes that GranTurismo will be a success and they are expecting an increase of their sales. Currently we have no technical details, but we hope to get back to this sports-car soon.

As we were accustomed, at Detroit Auto Show we can see the most spectacular cars. This time, it’s the latest version of Maserati Quattroporte the “Collezione Cento”. Also as we were accustomed, the Italian manufacturer will assemble and sell only 100 cars for this edition, every car with an unique number identifier. This sportscar is also a luxury car, the interior covered in a Cuoio dark tan leather with an ivory hue, the multimedia system includes iPod and USB port, web access and 10.4-inch touch screens positioned in the front seat-backs. The Internet can be accessed from a keyboard implemented in the armrest. We were impressed by this car, but we are waiting for the price.

Maserati has signed a partnership with Ferragamo for it’s new luxury GranTurismo, that will sport a luggage built from high-quality stylish materials. The luggage is designed for those that want luxury at no cost and every part of the set will  be embosed with “Salvatore Ferragamo for Maserati”.

If you live in London or visit it until Monday 24th December, this year, you can view the complete set in the window of Ferragamo’s store at 24 Old Bond Street.

via Autoblog

Maserati announced the new Quattraporte Sport GT version to be launched in 2007. The Quattraporte will have improved the clunky six speed transmission, which is both manual and automatic. Now it will shift 35% faster than the old version. The 2007 Maserati Quattraporte Sport GT will also come with suspension tweaks, interior design of carbon fiber and 20″ wheels.

The car will be released in Los Angeles, Maserati’s biggest market in California.