Features

Bolzano, in the spectacular Alpine scenery of the southern Tyrol, is culturally quirky. Undeniably Italian, the city nevertheless straddles the A22, which runs north through the Brenner Pass into Austria. A historically disputed territory, years of bickering between Italy and Austria were finally resolved by a UN deal in the 1960s, which gave Italy overall control but granted the region a unique autonomy.

Most of the inhabitants are bilingual and the road signs are in Italian and German. Theoretically it's a dream scenario: Italian passion and devilment underpinned by Austro-German efficiency. The best of both worlds, in other words - assuming, that is, that the roles don't get mixed up...

Maserati is chasing a similar fusion of talents in its new GranTurismo. After an eight-year dalliance with Ferrari, Fiat is now in full control of Modena's other great sporting legend, and the gloves are off. The conquest of North America is firmly in its sights, and a return to profitability is being impatiently sought.

After a prolonged game of musical chairs - which saw ex-Ford big-shot Martin Leach ousted in favour of ex-BMW big cheese Karl-Heinz Kalbfell, who in turn lasted about five minutes - new CEO Roberto Ronchi is hoping to hang on a bit longer. And he's talking tough.

"Maserati has to break even in 2007," he says. "We sold 5,700 cars in 2006, but our goal in years to come is to sell 15,000 cars per year." Thumps table. "About 10 per cent of our employees are dedicated to quality. But we don't just measure it internally, and we're now much closer to our rivals in the JD Power survey."

Hang on a minute. 15,000 cars per year? JD Power? Quality? Is this the same Maserati that sold precisely zero cars in the UK in 1996, and has long been a by-word for a slightly barmy automotive flamboyance?

Indeed it is. And the back-story is crucial, if we are to get a proper handle on the new GranTurismo, because this is a new sort of Maserati. Company personnel use words like 'smooth' and 'non-sportivo' to describe it. Even the C word crops up regularly: comfort. It's all a bit worrying.

Technically, the GranTurismo is pretty much a Quattroporte coupe. It uses the same steel platform, although its wheelbase is 125mm shorter, and the rear overhang has been trimmed by 66mm. With two fewer door apertures to worry about, it's also much more rigid - 30 per cent, in fact - but not a lot lighter.

Pushing two tonnes is just about acceptable in a four-door limo, but the GranTurismo's sporting credentials are somewhat dented by its 1,880kg kerb weight.

And that's not all. Having zealously promoted the controversial paddle-shift manual (variously known as Cambiocorsa or Duo-Select, depending on model), Maserati is now apparently keener to talk up the virtues of its ZF-sourced six-speed automatic.