Tuesday 26th November 2013

Maserati GranTurismo 4.2: YKYWT

MC Stradale out of reach? The plain old 4.2 GT is a worthy used substitute

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So it appears you're all rather keen (mostly) on the GranTurismo MC Stradale Dan reviewed yesterday. In less than 24 hours, it's been described as 'pure automotive timeless art', 'a great way to go broke' and a 'wonderful car'.

First to say Mondeo or Impreza gets barred

But there's one comment that stuck out and prompted this YKYWT on a temptingly affordable 4.2 GranTurismo. It reads as follows: 'Fantastic looking thing - will be awesome when it hits £30K - which won't take as long as it should'.

So 405dogvan, this is for you. Alright, this 2007 GT isn't quite £30K yet, but £33,990 isn't too far off. It's the car we linked too in a recent blog also, the cheapest GranTurismo available by dint of its 52,000 miles. That's by no means a huge mileage, there are services to support it too, it's just more than GranTurismos of a similar age.

And what a fabulous thing in which to cover just over 8,000 miles a year in. Black with red leather is classy, timeless colour combo and still looks in decent condition and the 19-inch wheels are the ones you want for the best ride. Our ideal car wouldn't have the Skyhook dampers, but they could be left out of Sport quite easily.

Not quite as beautiful inside, but what is?

The common criticism of the early GranTurismos as grand touring cars was a torque deficit. Where you would want to leave the car in sixth and use the torque to undertake your touring, the V8 would demand revs to make real progress. 340lb ft for a 1,880kg car isn't an awful lot when you consider a BMW 650i makes 479lb ft to haul a similarly-sized car. Yes, it's turbocharged and nowhere near as covetable as the Maser, but it's a big gap nonetheless.

Maserati addressed concerns that the GT's operatic mouth couldn't live up to its very dapper trousers with the S in 2008. The additional swept capacity of the 4.7 meant an extra 35hp and 21lb ft of torque; it's still an engine that thrives on revs, but it's arguably the better GT if it's within reach.

But they start at £40,000, still a fair chunk more than the 4.2 car here. As the slightly less desirable GT (if such a thing exists) with a few more miles than usual, there may well be some negotiating room. 405dogvan, the £30K GranTurismo is close! Just don't ever drive a 4.7, right?

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MASERATI GRANTURISMO 4.2
Price: £33,990
Why you should: A beautiful, capable Maserati for the price of a TT
Why you shouldn't: Later GTs are better all-rounders...

See the original advert here

[Contigo]

Lovely Motor!

Harry Metcalfe's has just sold too.

[dlockhart]

the interior seems to have taken a dive, wasnt the clock in the 3200 and the 4200 surrounded by leather. There seems to be too much plastic on show for my liking

[TNH]

But, how does it compare to the similarly priced M135i?!

In all seriousness though, i'd love to be able to justify my 30k on this but I dont think my man maths is quite good enough

[devnull]

it drives me nuts when you have a lovely car like that and the owner jams a silly looking bluetooth unit in the dashboard. Surely there was an OEM option that could have been selected or retrofitted?

[DUMBO100]

What is the going rate for a kidney these days? I might have one for sale

[elephantstone]

[Andy ap]

DUMBO100 said:

What is the going rate for a kidney these days? I might have one for sale

Go away! i cant do that! and trust me you dont want to loose a Kidney.

Anyway. A pall is looking to get a V8 Vantage and they go for similar money SH but this wins hands down for me for that price.

[only1ian]

Think Id save myself 10 grand and have this for a mazza... the grandsport. Same style, more power, less weight, more exclusive, better looking and less miles... did i mention its 10 grand less!?



http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...

Edited by only1ian on Tuesday 26th November 16:07

[j_s14a]

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/j...

That would be my choice at £33k.

[BlackPorker]

WANT!

The Mazzer that is... not the Jag!

[Contigo]

Or do like I did and just buy a 3200 for under 10k!!! Looks as good as the GranSport and has forced induction, bonnet vents and those awesome boomerangs.

[Bargenosenti]

only1ian said:

Think Id save myself 10 grand and have this for a mazza... the grandsport. Same style, more power, less weight, more exclusive, better looking and less miles... did i mention its 10 grand less!?



http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...

Edited by only1ian on Tuesday 26th November 16:07

+1

Contigo said:

Or do like I did and just buy a 3200 for under 10k!!! Looks as good as the GranSport and has forced induction, bonnet vents and those awesome boomerangs.

+10

[macdeb]

Beautiful. Always thought if I had £34k to spend on a car it would be An Aston V8 vantage, now I'm not so sure think of the exclusivity.

[djt100]

devnull said:

it drives me nuts when you have a lovely car like that and the owner jams a silly looking bluetooth unit in the dashboard. Surely there was an OEM option that could have been selected or retrofitted?

I agree, I'm not botherin with BT in my car just for this reason.
I;m sure someone like parrot could do a aftermarket bluetooth system that fitted into a spare iso mount so just a faceplate.

[Lordbenny]

How you can possibly compare the XKR or Gransport with the Gran Turismo? The Turismo has 10 times more presence than the other two and is so much more classy. I've been lucky enough to spend some time in a Spider (including some laps of Monza) and (with the possible exception of the DB9)they're arnt many GT that can touch the Turismo for the price.

[macdeb]

Lordbenny said:

How you can possibly compare the XKR or Gransport with the Gran Turismo? The Turismo has 10 times more presence than the other two and is so much more classy. they're arnt many GT that can touch the Turismo for the price.

^^^^ This. Or the 135i mentioned before, point missed I think. The more I look, the more I want.

Edited by macdeb on Tuesday 26th November 17:41

[Veeayt]

Contigo said:

Harry Metcalfe's has just sold too.

He sold an S model, with which he was disappointed compared to normal 4.2. He's said as an every day car the 'base' model was miles better in many departments.

[Hamsternator]

Does the rear ride height and overhanging arch bother anyone else? I don't know if the back needs to be lower, the wheels bigger, the track wider, or all of the above, but the rear of the car has never looked right.

[swisstoni]

I normally like Maseratis but there's something disproportionate about these that spoils the looks IMHO. Probably the massive grille.

[DUMBO100]

Ok I'll keep my Kidneys and sell my Mrs instead

My mate has just bought a Vantage Roadster and the V8 with the roof down is a lot of bang for not too much buck

That Grandsport is beautiful but the Maser still gets my vote