RE: Maserati GranTurismo S | Spotted

RE: Maserati GranTurismo S | Spotted

Wednesday 13th November 2019

Maserati GranTurismo S | Spotted

Everyone knows how good Maserati's just-departed GT sounds, but it offers plenty more besides



Yesterday brought news that production of Maserati’s long-lived and much-loved GranTurismo had ended. During its 12-year run the car became one of the brand’s most iconic models, consummately fulfilling the role which its name suggested, that of the sports GT. Having sold nearly 30,000 examples of the 2+2 coupe (as well as almost 12,000 units of its cabriolet equivalent) the GranTurismo can well be claimed to have kept Maserati afloat over the past decade, during what could otherwise have been a very difficult time for the historic marque. 

Now it’s watch has ended; its load-bearing duties taken on by the Levante and its GT remit soon to be filled by a forthcoming, electrified replacement. But that doesn’t mean it can’t still do a job for anyone looking for a practical, family sportscar. No, those words aren’t ones commonly associated with V8-powered Italian exotics, but they are appropriate in this case nonetheless. 

The GranTurismo was not only quick and comfortable, but its rear seats were genuinely usable, as was its relatively capacious boot. Its classically proportioned, sharp-yet-elegant design was penned by Pininfarina, remaining one of the key reasons why the model was able to persist for so long. And for under £20,000, today’s Sport variant makes for an even more appealing prospect still. 


Alright, so it does have an attention-grabbing 92,000 miles on the clock, a figure which looks to be straying dangerously close to Brave Pill territory. For only another £3,500 you could instead buy a standard model with nearly a third of the mileage. But there are several good reasons why you shouldn’t do that.

You see the GranTurismo S wasn’t merely a lightly breathed upon trim level, as is so often the case these days. It boasted an extra half a litre of displacement within its Ferrari-derived V8, offering 440hp (up from 405 in the standard car) and 361lb ft of torque, for far more mid-range oomph. Such performance far better delivered on the model’s fantastic potential, particularly when paired with the rear-mounted automated six-speed manual - a transmission which replaced the regular, engine-mounted auto ‘box and in doing so not only improved gear changes but weight distribution, too. 

Despite its mileage, today’s Spotted looks to fall only into the category of long-legged, while avoiding that of ‘leggy’. Described as being “in lovely condition inside and out,” with bodywork and alloy wheels “free from dents or scratches” the car also seems to have a thorough service history, with regular check-ups all the way from 3,000 miles into its life until just 1,000 miles ago. With a near perfect spec of blue on cream with silver wheels, it still more than looks the part. In fact, thanks to the GranTurismo’s lack of significant facelifts during its time, even keen observers may not be able to separate it from a far fresher example. What could be a better sign of a future classic than such incredible powers of rejuvenation?


SPECIFICATION - MASERATI GRANTURISMO S
Engine:
4,691cc V8
Transmission: 6-speed automated manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 460@7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 383@4,750rpm
MPG: 19.6 (NEDC combined)
CO2: 337g/km
Recorded mileage: 92,000 miles
Year registered: 2009
Price new: £110,110
Price now: £19,925

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Author
Discussion

V12GT

Original Poster:

314 posts

89 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
Looked good... until I saw who was selling it. I might be wrong, but don't expect too much documentation or warranty.

A Brave Pill. Spend an extra £5-6k and get a lower mileage S elsewhere.

EC2

1,447 posts

252 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
Lots of value out there for these cars if you look around.

Engine was not just Ferrari derived but it was actually Ferrari built. As was the body which Ferrari then painted before they were taken to the Maserati factory in Modena for assembly.

They are easy cars to drive - long wheelbase, no turbos, only six gears - and look and sound great. I drove mine as a daily driver for the first few years but now only use it on nice days. Worth a look instead of a DB9, 6 series, XK etc.

cerb4.5lee

30,189 posts

179 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
Very nice and in my favourite colour combination too. Love these. Auto only is my only reservation, but because it is a GT car I'm happy to not hold it against it!

Ed Straker

221 posts

142 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
There is no good reason to run one of these with a manual box.
Lots of other cars do that better.

Forget the 0.5 litre, get an auto and waft around as intended, with enough change in your pocket to run it for 2 years.

EC2

1,447 posts

252 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
My auto is a 4.7, you can get it with both gearboxes.

It’s the automated manual that comes only as a 4.7.

TREMAiNE

3,904 posts

148 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
One of the best sounding cars of modern times IMO.

And I genuinely think that the design still looks pretty fresh and elegant, however, the interior hasn't aged quite as well but what do you expect for such an old design when the last decade has probably seen some of the most rapid advances in car interiors than ever before.

A car I really admire but don't think I'd ever want to own, I just feel that I'd be a bit underwhelmed by it (and probably bankrupted by it). It was a car I'd genuinely considered initially, man maths convinced me that it would make a suitable daily driver. But I ended up going for a more 'safe' choice instead.

Gameface

16,565 posts

76 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
Are they ruinously expensive to run then?

I know a fella with one. He has an indy look after it and I've not heard any horror stories from him.

I've used it for airport runs. Sounds ok but it's not fast.

cib24

1,115 posts

152 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
Apparently they are quite reliable and consumables outside of brake discs and tyres aren't even that expensive.

BigGingerBob

1,700 posts

189 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
I drove one once and was pretty disappointed TBH. It felt like a very nice sounding 5 series to drive.
Looks great though.

cerb4.5lee

30,189 posts

179 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
BigGingerBob said:
I drove one once and was pretty disappointed TBH. It felt like a very nice sounding 5 series to drive.
Looks great though.
Quite a few described the previous generation Aston Martin V8 Vantage to be a bit like that as well. I haven't driven either but I'd love the chance though!

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
Somehow I managed to get invited to a Maserati Driving Day at Millbrook back in 2008, so drove one of these on the handling circuit and just loved it!

It was a normal Auto but I also got to drive a couple of Quattroportes, one auto and the other the automated manual, and I thought the regular auto suited them better.

My lasting memories are of how great that V8 sounded and how beautifully trimmed the interiors were.

Driving home in my 123d was something of an anti-climax. rolleyes

I'd still love to have one some day - fantastic cars that somehow go under the radar. cloud9

ITP

1,996 posts

196 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
On paper, using common sense, you would probably not buy one. You wouldn’t buy any ‘exotic’ car though if common sense was involved.

High running costs, although these are very reliable, obviously quick with well over 400bhp, but would, in the real world, probably be a bit stretched to stay with an M140i under 100mph for example, as they are quite heavy and need revs to access all the power (no hardship there!), unlike modern turbo cars.

Who cares though, it’s plenty fast enough for a road car and to compare these to more modern cars using stats alone is completely missing the point.

The reality is, for someone who really like cars, is none of the number crunching matters in the end, they are just awesome cars to own.
Great styling inside and out, and the noise just can’t be beaten at any price. A special car. (Mine is a QP GTS 4.7 smile)

JTvipergts

1 posts

96 months

Thursday 14th November 2019
quotequote all
V12GT said:
Looked good... until I saw who was selling it. I might be wrong, but don't expect too much documentation or warranty.

A Brave Pill. Spend an extra £5-6k and get a lower mileage S elsewhere.
Agree 100% - Look elsewhere

Steve Morse

22 posts

124 months

Saturday 16th November 2019
quotequote all
I had a 4.2 and now have a 4.7 GTS with the Sportpack.

I use it as my daily driver and the looks and sound alone make it an epic experience every time.

Fast enough for me and the Sportspack provides MC Shift software for very fast gear changes and an unbelievable exhaust note (especially if you drive it in sport mode)

Not the perfect car but I genuinely can’t think of another car I’d prefer to own. (then again I love beautiful, sonorous Italian GTs!)

Pvapour

8,981 posts

252 months

Saturday 16th November 2019
quotequote all
Steve Morse said:
I had a 4.2 and now have a 4.7 GTS with the Sportpack.

I use it as my daily driver and the looks and sound alone make it an epic experience every time.

Fast enough for me and the Sportspack provides MC Shift software for very fast gear changes and an unbelievable exhaust note (especially if you drive it in sport mode)

Not the perfect car but I genuinely can’t think of another car I’d prefer to own. (then again I love beautiful, sonorous Italian GTs!)
Same, had the 4200 Cambio and now the GTS, after trying the updated cambiocorsa box in the gt i decided in the auto, you still get the blips but only six gears which makes the gears too long imo, perfect scenario would be the zf8 box..

Thats my only quibble though, achingly good looking, comfortable on the skyhook and the noise doesnt get better imo, maybe the r8 v10 or murci v12..

Its GT ability is so much better than the DB9 with proper rear seats, reliability is as before in the 4200, brilliant.

I had to have LHD so price way higher than RHD unfortunately, but worth it, plus it’ll loose little because of lhd so a nice place to leave some money

7A94F594-2DB0-4F8D-9F12-8E569EFF561F by pvapour, on Flickr


Edited by Pvapour on Saturday 16th November 06:58