Maserati GranTurismo

Italian sportiness and temperament in the new GranTurismo

Maserati’s will and Pininfarina’s experience, united to write a further chapter in the history of GranTurismo cars of the Trident marque. This was how the Maserati GranTurismo was born.

At first glance, the most striking aspect of the GranTurismo is its size. As long as the Quattroporte but with only two doors, a real 2+2 and not just a car with 2 front seats and 2 minimalist r ear seats. It’s so impressive that, looking forward from the front of its imposing nose, the sides, roof or rear end are hidden from view. It skillfully blends a soft, flowing sculpture with sharp, angular details to create the most extreme, luxurious three-dimensional GranTurismo.
“The project stemmed from Maserati’s intention to create a vehicle with great temperament and impact. Initial research considered moving in three directions: evolution of the Quattroporte, the impressive coupé and classy super sportscar. Having decided to take this latter road, the project took into account various factors: size impression, sportiness, elegance, temperament, coherence of the range and with the themes of the Birdcage 75th prototype” states Guglielmo Cartia, Pininfarina Design Vice Director, responsible for this project. “Styling proceeded quickly, spurred by the character of the original design and the courage of maintaining this spirit right through to the end. Design quality in all the ‘stages’ of development was forged by the enthusiasm of all the persons involved in the project”, concludes Guglielmo Cartia.
The GranTurismo is a singular blend of the heritage of the Tridente, of Pininfarina’s great design tradition and a modern look. “It evokes the modern themes explored in the Birdcage 75th concept, which was a futuristic extension of the Maserati marque, continuing its great tradition of advanced technology wrapped in sporty elegance”, stresses Lowie Vermeersch, Pininfarina Design Director.
The basic theme of the design, the tone in which it expresses itself, was the concept of “elegant sportiness”. Pininfarina preferred not to take a too aggressive approach, as elegance is never aggressive but stems more from an impression of natural, never forced internal “energy”. Its volumes are a modern vision of Maserati’s great racing cars of the past, whose body descended from a simple extruded cladding pulled towards the rear by a large oval mouth. Its sculpted muscular exterior has a natural but decidedly soft look, ebbing and flowing to create a dynamic tension that imbues it with a solid but sporting appearance. The result is a shape - both powerful and elegant - pulled tightly on the mechanicals, whose timeless design evokes the spirit of Maserati’s mythical sports cars and, at the same time, an unconfined future anticipated by the Birdcage 75th. Moving around the vehicle, the light caresses the curves and straight lines creating a powerful feeling of movement from each angle.
Great attention has been paid to details that belie the elegant simplicity of its streamlined muscular shape. The impressive, dynamic nose dominates the traditional trapezoidal Maserati plan view, culminating in the large oval mouth flanked by low, horizontal eyes. The concave grille, with echoes of the Maserati A6 GCS of the Fifties, sits in the large front fender, creating a huge mouth. The radiator grille is adorned with a large chrome trident that seems to emerge from the vertical and concave bars. The wheel rims reflect those of the Birdcage 75th and have been intentionally designed to recall the Tridente, emphasizing the power of the Maserati mechanicals. The rear of the vehicle further denotes its sporting character and GranTurismo technology, characterized by triangular-shaped led-type rear lighting clusters and a powerful diffuser developed in the Pininfarina wind tunnel to guarantee benchmark performance. Lastly, as on the Quattroporte, the exhausts are adorned with sturdy chrome-finished tips.
The particular treatment of the exterior is also reflected in the flowing, dynamic surfaces of the interior, imbuing the entire project with a harmonious touch.
Briefing inputs for the design of the interior included various key concepts that considerably influenced evolution of design: compliance with Maserati tradition, therefore clearly recognizable as belonging to the marque; lightness and compactness in terms of real and perceived volumes; elegant sportiness, therefore avoiding overstated, redundant styling solutions; stress on style seamlessly integrated with the technical layout.
The styling/functional elements that evoke the Maserati brand, the main underpinnings of the design, spread from the facia towards the rest of the cab, through flowing, dynamic moldings treated with customizable surface finishes, from more traditional wood to more technological, contemporary textures. The lightness and consequent impression of roominess and of full use of internal space has been achieved through far-reaching optimization of technical/functional layout and, for styling details, also through graphic treatment of the facia, using a dark, non-reflecting color for the larger area.

Visit the Maserati GranTurismo website: www.granturismoisback.com