► Testing the new Maserati GranTurismo
► We drive new Trofeo V6 super-coupe
► A petrol counterpart to Folgore EV
Four hundred and sixty five kilos. That’s four rugby players, or three MotoGP bikes, or a horse. It’s also the weight difference between the all-electric Maserati GranTurismo Folgore, and the car we’re testing here. This is the Trofeo, the more powerful of the two V6 versions of the new 2023 Maserati GranTurismo, using the Nettuno engine that’s such an important part of the MC20.
Where the Maserati MC20 is a pure sports car, the GranTurismo is a serious effort to make a GT, a car that’s still dynamically thrilling but capable of long, multi-occupant journeys – cars like the Ferrari Roma, Mercedes SL and Porsche 911 Turbo.
Read on for our full Maserati GranTurismo review.
Design and engineering specs
It’s a good-looking piece of kit, the new GranTurismo, no doubt about that. Stance and proportions are spot-on, and the longer wheelbase allows the previously token rear seats to evolve into a perfectly acceptable short-distance accommodation.
The gaping trademark grille shouts Maserati from a distance, the front and rear light signature is pure MC20 but with a twist, and there are plenty of neat details to be discovered. Things like the reimagined clock in the now fully digital instrument panel, and plenty of embossed, embroidered and electronically animated trident logos dotted throughout the cabin.
The old Ferrari-sourced V8 is fondly remembered, but Maserati insists the Nettuno is not only smaller and lighter – allowing a lower centre of gravity and 52:48 weight distribution – it’s also both more economical and brings better performance (although Maserati is being rather reluctant to share the fuel economy figures).
The platform – shared by the electric Folgore and the V6 Trofeo and Modena GranTurismos – is new. In so far as compromises have had to be made, they’ve been made in favour of the petrol cars, whereas the Folgore doesn’t benefit from the low centre of gravity that comes from an EV-only skateboard chassis.
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Maserati GranTurismo review: what’s it like to drive?
On the road, you very quickly notice not only that the Trofeo is lighter but also that it’s nimbler, responds more eagerly to steering and throttle inputs, is better balanced under pressure and feels, in the final analysis, more like a multi-talented near-hardcore sports coupe.
On the same roads on the same day in the same drive mode, the Folgore felt more like it was fighting road and driver, while the Trofeo rode out the vagaries with aplomb and was at the same time the more tactile and communicative. It also happened to be the faster car through most sections, simply because it didn’t need to work its suspension, brakes and tyres quite as hard as the zero-emission counterpart.
The Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo is arguably also the more emotional drive. Redlined at a vocal 8000rpm, the twin-spark pre-chamber 3.0-litre Nettuno engine combines two interacting injection and combustion systems for more low-end torque, maximum high-end power and reduced overall consumption. Tip-in is almost as brisk as in the digital on-off Folgore. The aggressive throttle mapping summons ample grunt at virtually any accelerator position, at most revolutions and in any gear.
The torque graph peaks at a moderate 3000rpm where a beefy 479lb ft is on tap. Press on, and the twist action will sweep you forward with irrepressible cumulative energy accompanied by an increasingly loud, bass-heavy soundtrack which needs no artificial enhancers to roll its phonetic mantra up and down your spine. Did we miss the V8? Not really. Dynamically, the new powerhouse instantly sets itself a monument. It is bound to go down in history as one of the last great high-performance combustion engines, period.
Maserati GranTurismo interior: creature comforts
The 2023 GranTurismo comes with such mod cons as head-up display, voice and gesture control, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, wi-fi hotspot and Alexa, various assistance system bundles, ultra-fast connectivity, an optional 1195-watt sound system with 19 speakers, log-in opportunities for up to five users, four different instrument graphics from coat-and-tie to digital road rage and a large, hi-res 12.3-inch centre touchscreen. Sounds compelling enough? Yes and no.
The digital clock, which doubles as compass, g-meter, smartphone read-out and more, is a neat and clever touch. But the main control unit is overcrowded with tiny icons, the functions outside the main temperature control zone are illogically arranged, there are too many distracting sub-menus yet zero haptic differentiation. Thumbs down also for the confusing array of black buttons which cover the horizontal steering-wheel spokes like a rash.
The regular GranTurismo shines on smooth surfaces and through fast corners. In real life dotted with potholes and constantly varying radii though, its halo pales whereas the Trofeo (along with the less pricey 483bhp Modena) comes into its own. The V6 is not only the more practical and pragmatic choice but also the sharper-edged and more rewarding tool.
With the eight-speed ZF ‘box locked in Manual and the DNA in Sport, the new GranTurismo is awesomely fast, eerily surefooted, perfectly progressive in the way it acts and responds, professionally balanced and yet commendably playful.
The Ferrari Roma feels in contrast less compliant and clumsier over the rough stuff, the 911 Turbo and SL63 AMG are notably more cramped, the Bentley Continental GT and BMW M8 are heavier still and thus dynamically not in quite the same league.
Since the remaining contenders are either less focused or even more extreme in character, the new Maserati seems well prepared to give the high-end 2+2-seater establishment a good run for the money.
Verdict
Hot on the heels of the MC20, the new GranTurismo fuses tradition and future in a stylish and dynamically compelling fashion. Who would have thought that the old-school Trofeo still ticks more boxes than the fully electric, fascinatingly controversial Folgore?
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