Photo: Maserati
When the GranTurismo came into this world in 2007, the business end of the 2+2 grand tourer used to be a Ferrari-developed 4.2-liter V8. The naturally aspirated plant then spawned a 4.7-liter variant, which now comes standard on both the fixed-head coupe and its soft-top counterpart.
Following the reveal of the facelifted GranTurismo at the New York Stock Exchange, the House of the Trident took to the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed to show off the redesigned GranCabrio. Like its sibling, the most obvious change is the Alfieri-like grille that Maserati dubs as “sharknose.”
In other places of the exterior, the refresh is far subtler than we were expecting from a model that was launched in 2009. It remains to be seen if this mild makeover will keep sales of the GranCabrio steady, but the truth of the matter is, Maserati needs to replace the model as soon as possible.
The old age of the GranCabrio can be felt even under the skin. The 4.7-liter V8, which pumps out 460 horsepower (343 kilowatts) and 520 Nm (384 pound-feet) of torque, is connected to a six-speed automatic tranny. Can you imagine that? Even your dime-a-dozen BMW 320d sports an eight-speed automatic, whereas the GranCabrio stuck with the ZF six-speeder.
As far as performance is concerned, the Sport variant needs 4.8 seconds to hit 100 km/h (62 mph), onwards to a top speed of 299 km/h (186 mph). The MC Stradale, meanwhile, is 0.1 seconds quicker and one mile per hour faster. And that’s not nearly enough in this day and age. Heck, even the 335d xDrive 8AT can keep up with the GranCabrio Sport in a sprint.
An area where the GranCabrio is definitely better than before is the interior. Here, you’ll find new and improved switchgear such as an aluminum double rotary control knob, driving mode buttons located nearer to the gear lever, and the Uconnect 8.4 infotainment system. That’s right, ladies and gents! Better late than never, the GranCabrio is now capable of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring.
In other places of the exterior, the refresh is far subtler than we were expecting from a model that was launched in 2009. It remains to be seen if this mild makeover will keep sales of the GranCabrio steady, but the truth of the matter is, Maserati needs to replace the model as soon as possible.
The old age of the GranCabrio can be felt even under the skin. The 4.7-liter V8, which pumps out 460 horsepower (343 kilowatts) and 520 Nm (384 pound-feet) of torque, is connected to a six-speed automatic tranny. Can you imagine that? Even your dime-a-dozen BMW 320d sports an eight-speed automatic, whereas the GranCabrio stuck with the ZF six-speeder.
As far as performance is concerned, the Sport variant needs 4.8 seconds to hit 100 km/h (62 mph), onwards to a top speed of 299 km/h (186 mph). The MC Stradale, meanwhile, is 0.1 seconds quicker and one mile per hour faster. And that’s not nearly enough in this day and age. Heck, even the 335d xDrive 8AT can keep up with the GranCabrio Sport in a sprint.
An area where the GranCabrio is definitely better than before is the interior. Here, you’ll find new and improved switchgear such as an aluminum double rotary control knob, driving mode buttons located nearer to the gear lever, and the Uconnect 8.4 infotainment system. That’s right, ladies and gents! Better late than never, the GranCabrio is now capable of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring.
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