Maserati Gransport - the practical car
Discussion
I was in the market for a four seat car as I have young children: my CLS AMG is a great car, but at town speeds, you could almost be driving its diesel cousin, and I wished to go back to a car that is an event. I was looking at Ferrari FFs, but realised that in London and the south east, such a car is so big, so fast and so capable that it would almost never be driven t its potential. It would, in fact, be bought for the pose, not the drive given my expected useage.
I then looked at 991 Series 911s. Very good - bit the cooking one is just not very special at below 30mph, which is where I would spend so much time.
So what happened? Impulse bought a GranSport LE with a couple of local mates sharing it so that it would get some regular use, and share the costs. As a Dad of two young children in London, shared ownership makes real sense.
Spent more money than average finding the best one we could (comprehensive service history, beautiful colour combo, and a very naughty sports exhaust are all welcome). We had it inspected and then major serviced and the two tiny faults found rectified by a highly respected specialist (with whom the car has a comprehensive history).
To drive? Delicate controls. Airy cabin and large side windows give a very classic feel. Small, intimate cockpit but good room in the back for this type of car, weirdly. The F1 box is surprisingly useable and nice in traffic (I don't use auto as it kills the clutch), but very much an automated manual - which actually adds to the engagement whilst saving your left leg.
Very light steering that is not the very last word in feel, but suits the car. It feels unflappably stable at motorway speeds, even in wet weather (I had a full set of modern day Eagle F1 Asymmetrics put on it as I hate the original spec Pirelli ditchfinders). Sport mode actually means it - the whole car suddenly feels harder and more connected, the nose more darty and the gearchanges much faster.
The seats are awesomely comfortable. Lack of central arm rest is annoying on long trips. Engine note on sports exhaust with an X-Pipe is all baby Ferrari - angry, yowly, with no burble at all, and crackles on downshift/overrun. the V8 revs, but not with the frenetic urgency you might expect - clearly Maserati's take on the F430 block is mellower, as well as lower powered. The car "settles" at a very nice 75mph - as opposed to my CLS which always feels like it wants to be doing 120.
A Porsche 997 has more precision, more feel. But this has more character - flawed but rewarding, a generation older (which of course it really is).
And the looks. This is a Guigiaro design that looked a bit old fashioned for a while, but now really is ageing well. Pumped up, but a classic coke bottle and very reminiscent of a 1960s aesthetic. Flattered by the colour combination, no doubt. I had thought that my V8 Vantage was the prettiest car I have ever owned, but I am genuinely not so sure. This car looks a bit weird in photos. In the metal, it is so, so pretty - one of 7 in this colour in the UK. It seems tiny. It is not huge, but the styling further disguises its size. When I picked it up, there was later GranTurismo next to it and it dwarfed this car. The GranSport is also rare which helps. People give you thumbs up as you drive past, a bit like in my Morgans, when I had them.
Sitting a bit high at the front (or low at the back), but I had a full suspension setup and geo done, and the handling is faithful and safe, so I'm not going to mess with it - and it copes with London's speedbumps well, so...
The interior is crazy, too; very, very special. This is an LE so has the extended leather; the stitched leather headlining is a work of art. Every surface is covered in thick, high quality hide, and the carbon fibre console and wheel are gorgeous, which makes the parts-bin Fiat switchgear you see laughable. This is a car that needs some turned aluminium switches and stalks. If it stays, this may have to happen.
It feels like a great deal of car for the money. Mid twenties for a superb one, serviced, sorted and delivered. But we all know that bad one would have cost a lot to rectify. It will give bills. I hope it also gives joy.
(excuse my driveway - have some building work going on).
IMG_20210214_123513 by baconrashers, on Flickr
IMG_20210215_102843 by baconrashers, on Flickr
IMG_20210215_102935 by baconrashers, on Flickr
IMG_20210215_102859 by baconrashers, on Flickr
I then looked at 991 Series 911s. Very good - bit the cooking one is just not very special at below 30mph, which is where I would spend so much time.
So what happened? Impulse bought a GranSport LE with a couple of local mates sharing it so that it would get some regular use, and share the costs. As a Dad of two young children in London, shared ownership makes real sense.
Spent more money than average finding the best one we could (comprehensive service history, beautiful colour combo, and a very naughty sports exhaust are all welcome). We had it inspected and then major serviced and the two tiny faults found rectified by a highly respected specialist (with whom the car has a comprehensive history).
To drive? Delicate controls. Airy cabin and large side windows give a very classic feel. Small, intimate cockpit but good room in the back for this type of car, weirdly. The F1 box is surprisingly useable and nice in traffic (I don't use auto as it kills the clutch), but very much an automated manual - which actually adds to the engagement whilst saving your left leg.
Very light steering that is not the very last word in feel, but suits the car. It feels unflappably stable at motorway speeds, even in wet weather (I had a full set of modern day Eagle F1 Asymmetrics put on it as I hate the original spec Pirelli ditchfinders). Sport mode actually means it - the whole car suddenly feels harder and more connected, the nose more darty and the gearchanges much faster.
The seats are awesomely comfortable. Lack of central arm rest is annoying on long trips. Engine note on sports exhaust with an X-Pipe is all baby Ferrari - angry, yowly, with no burble at all, and crackles on downshift/overrun. the V8 revs, but not with the frenetic urgency you might expect - clearly Maserati's take on the F430 block is mellower, as well as lower powered. The car "settles" at a very nice 75mph - as opposed to my CLS which always feels like it wants to be doing 120.
A Porsche 997 has more precision, more feel. But this has more character - flawed but rewarding, a generation older (which of course it really is).
And the looks. This is a Guigiaro design that looked a bit old fashioned for a while, but now really is ageing well. Pumped up, but a classic coke bottle and very reminiscent of a 1960s aesthetic. Flattered by the colour combination, no doubt. I had thought that my V8 Vantage was the prettiest car I have ever owned, but I am genuinely not so sure. This car looks a bit weird in photos. In the metal, it is so, so pretty - one of 7 in this colour in the UK. It seems tiny. It is not huge, but the styling further disguises its size. When I picked it up, there was later GranTurismo next to it and it dwarfed this car. The GranSport is also rare which helps. People give you thumbs up as you drive past, a bit like in my Morgans, when I had them.
Sitting a bit high at the front (or low at the back), but I had a full suspension setup and geo done, and the handling is faithful and safe, so I'm not going to mess with it - and it copes with London's speedbumps well, so...
The interior is crazy, too; very, very special. This is an LE so has the extended leather; the stitched leather headlining is a work of art. Every surface is covered in thick, high quality hide, and the carbon fibre console and wheel are gorgeous, which makes the parts-bin Fiat switchgear you see laughable. This is a car that needs some turned aluminium switches and stalks. If it stays, this may have to happen.
It feels like a great deal of car for the money. Mid twenties for a superb one, serviced, sorted and delivered. But we all know that bad one would have cost a lot to rectify. It will give bills. I hope it also gives joy.
(excuse my driveway - have some building work going on).
IMG_20210214_123513 by baconrashers, on FlickrIMG_20210215_102843 by baconrashers, on FlickrIMG_20210215_102935 by baconrashers, on FlickrIMG_20210215_102859 by baconrashers, on FlickrEdited by Harry Flashman on Monday 15th February 21:50
I thought so! Flattered by the colour combination and the later GranSport addenda - the earlier 4200 didn't appeal to me in the same way.
Road salt water after a long, high speed motorway drive made these patterns all over it, from the aero flow. Giugiaro knew his business! Sadly I cleaned them off immediately, from above and under the car, for obvious reasons. Italian machine and road salt? No thank you.
IMG_20210214_172319 by baconrashers, on Flickr
Road salt water after a long, high speed motorway drive made these patterns all over it, from the aero flow. Giugiaro knew his business! Sadly I cleaned them off immediately, from above and under the car, for obvious reasons. Italian machine and road salt? No thank you.
IMG_20210214_172319 by baconrashers, on FlickrYes, its a great colour combo, and the wheels are very tasty too.
I was tempted by a cheap 2003 4200 (£10k), but decided against it, it wasn't a particularly loved example and potential repair costs worried me a bit. The engine was a peach, so free and fast revving.
The Gransport looks notably sharper, very nice indeed.
I was tempted by a cheap 2003 4200 (£10k), but decided against it, it wasn't a particularly loved example and potential repair costs worried me a bit. The engine was a peach, so free and fast revving.
The Gransport looks notably sharper, very nice indeed.
That is absolutely stunning. I agree that the Gransport styling changes make a huge difference. Those wheels and the little side skirts really make all the difference, great colour combination here too. Any photographs of the inside that you can share with us?
I had a facelift 4200 for about a year or so which prompted the purchase of a QP to go alongside it a short time later. I was really impressed with it, they are so much car for the money. It was perfectly reliable and sounded utterly incredible with Larini sports back boxes.
Not sure I’d have another though, if only because the styling was neither beautifully elegant, nor was it particularly menacing. In person they can look a little heavy handed in standard guise, in particular the rear three quarter view. The Gransport really corrects that, a huge improvement.
I had a facelift 4200 for about a year or so which prompted the purchase of a QP to go alongside it a short time later. I was really impressed with it, they are so much car for the money. It was perfectly reliable and sounded utterly incredible with Larini sports back boxes.
Not sure I’d have another though, if only because the styling was neither beautifully elegant, nor was it particularly menacing. In person they can look a little heavy handed in standard guise, in particular the rear three quarter view. The Gransport really corrects that, a huge improvement.
Hi mate - was thinking of you guys the other day actually, as we would normally see you at some point during this season!
I do have the AMG but it will probably go as it's just too much car for London. Too big, too fast, not really special enough at town speeds, but all the running costs of a performance car, without most of the benefits given the driving I do. You just need to be travelling so very quickly in order for it to really come alive, i.e. not live in London. If I lived out in Surrey, where I am from, it would be great. But as it takes me 45 minutes to even get to the M25 from where I am, on a light traffic day, it is wasted on us. The Maserati, on the other hand, is fun and an event at t20mph - which is of course the speed limit on most of our roads in the capital, these days.
We leased a Leaf on a cheap lease as a city runabout. Will treat it as what it is - an appliance and utility bill for transport, rather than something to enjoy. Maser fills the petrolhead hole.
I do have the AMG but it will probably go as it's just too much car for London. Too big, too fast, not really special enough at town speeds, but all the running costs of a performance car, without most of the benefits given the driving I do. You just need to be travelling so very quickly in order for it to really come alive, i.e. not live in London. If I lived out in Surrey, where I am from, it would be great. But as it takes me 45 minutes to even get to the M25 from where I am, on a light traffic day, it is wasted on us. The Maserati, on the other hand, is fun and an event at t20mph - which is of course the speed limit on most of our roads in the capital, these days.
We leased a Leaf on a cheap lease as a city runabout. Will treat it as what it is - an appliance and utility bill for transport, rather than something to enjoy. Maser fills the petrolhead hole.
- nice to share the bork potential between three 
That's beautiful in that colour combination. I owned one for 5 years and ever since selling it I've always kept hankering to own another. I never had any major problems with it but when things did need replacing it wasn't cheap, still though I think I only lost a couple of grand in depreciation over the 5 years so overall was probably the cheapest car I've owned
I honestly can't think of a car that combines practicality and specialness as well for such a low price, a 997 drives better when really pushing on i'm sure but the Maserati feels special on every journey
I honestly can't think of a car that combines practicality and specialness as well for such a low price, a 997 drives better when really pushing on i'm sure but the Maserati feels special on every journey
Harry Flashman said:
Hi mate - was thinking of you guys the other day actually, as we would normally see you at some point during this season!
I do have the AMG but it will probably go as it's just too much car for London. Too big, too fast, not really special enough at town speeds, but all the running costs of a performance car, without most of the benefits given the driving I do. You just need to be travelling so very quickly in order for it to really come alive, i.e. not live in London. If I lived out in Surrey, where I am from, it would be great. But as it takes me 45 minutes to even get to the M25 from where I am, on a light traffic day, it is wasted on us. The Maserati, on the other hand, is fun and an event at t20mph - which is of course the speed limit on most of our roads in the capital, these days.
We leased a Leaf on a cheap lease as a city runabout. Will treat it as what it is - an appliance and utility bill for transport, rather than something to enjoy. Maser fills the petrolhead hole.
I ca see the reasoning, plus I love the Maserati!I do have the AMG but it will probably go as it's just too much car for London. Too big, too fast, not really special enough at town speeds, but all the running costs of a performance car, without most of the benefits given the driving I do. You just need to be travelling so very quickly in order for it to really come alive, i.e. not live in London. If I lived out in Surrey, where I am from, it would be great. But as it takes me 45 minutes to even get to the M25 from where I am, on a light traffic day, it is wasted on us. The Maserati, on the other hand, is fun and an event at t20mph - which is of course the speed limit on most of our roads in the capital, these days.
We leased a Leaf on a cheap lease as a city runabout. Will treat it as what it is - an appliance and utility bill for transport, rather than something to enjoy. Maser fills the petrolhead hole.
The CLS needs open space, up here it was fantastic open roads and little traffic, sitting in the London Traffic jams just drove me insane(Although that was more the fact I never see traffic).
You guys will have to come and stay in Les Gets when we are allowed back out. Those slopes need some punishment!
We've not set foot in the place since January last year!
Blib said:
This thread reminded me of the day the clutch of my 4200CC gave out on the Brent Cross flyover. I made Capital radio's traffic news. 
Lovely car, OP. Especially the interior. I can't be doing with a dark cabin.
Enjoy!
Totally agree. A light cabin may be my mort important cosmetic requirement on a car.Lovely car, OP. Especially the interior. I can't be doing with a dark cabin.
Enjoy!
I think I looked at your old FF, before deciding that a Ferrari in London was madness for me. It was being discussed as "The Blib car" on here I think...
OscarIndia said:
I ca see the reasoning, plus I love the Maserati!
The CLS needs open space, up here it was fantastic open roads and little traffic, sitting in the London Traffic jams just drove me insane(Although that was more the fact I never see traffic).
You guys will have to come and stay in Les Gets when we are allowed back out. Those slopes need some punishment!
We've not set foot in the place since January last year!
Cannot wait to be on the slopes with you lot again. Feels like a long time ago, now.The CLS needs open space, up here it was fantastic open roads and little traffic, sitting in the London Traffic jams just drove me insane(Although that was more the fact I never see traffic).
You guys will have to come and stay in Les Gets when we are allowed back out. Those slopes need some punishment!
We've not set foot in the place since January last year!
Harry Flashman said:
Totally agree. A light cabin may be my mort important cosmetic requirement on a car.
I think I looked at your old FF, before deciding that a Ferrari in London was madness for me. It was being discussed as "The Blib car" on here I think...
That wasn't my car. I've not owned a Ferrari. I wonder who it was? I think I looked at your old FF, before deciding that a Ferrari in London was madness for me. It was being discussed as "The Blib car" on here I think...
Edited by Blib on Tuesday 16th February 15:02
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