07 May 2009 - 12:00
Maser opens up
With summer finally elbowing its way past spring, thoughts inevitably turn to convertibles and romantic notions of picturesque blasts down rivieras with the wind in your toupee and insects up your nose.
And what better car to do it in, asks Top Gear, than the Maserati GranTurismo convertible?
OK, so it doesn’t exist yet. But it will. Soon. Maserati officials have confirmed that a drop-top version of the GT – expected to be called the Spyder – will arrive next spring.
Admittedly that means you’ll have to spend this summer sweating ferociously inside your bog-spec GranTurismo coupe, but hey, it’s something to look forward to next year.
We don’t know a whole lot more about the GT Spyder at this stage. Best guess is that it’ll feature a conventional soft-top rather than a folding metal roof to save weight and preserve driving dynamics, and that could cost in the region of £90,000, level pegging with the Aston V8 Vantage Roadster.
Whether it’ll only be offered with the more powerful 433bhp 4.7-litre V8 version (as seen in the new GranTurismo S) or the non-S 399bhp 4.3-litre V8 remains unconfirmed.
For now, just imagine how gorgeous it’s going to be. And console yourself with the thought that this summer, at least you’ve got the choice of the Ferrari 430 Scuderia Spider, Alfa Romeo 8C convertible and McLaren Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss Speedster.
It’s a tough life, hey?
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Roughly the same price as the AMV8 Roadster, but MUCH bigger (it's nearly as long as the Quattroporte!), with 4 seats, (all 4 are fit for adults in the coupe, and they surely can't shrink that much). Nice. But, if the GT and to some degree the GT S, aren't as sharp in the bends as preferred, isn't a convertible going to make it worse? Use only for cruising, then. No hard cornering. Not that that's a bad thing, mind; all the more time to listen to it.
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The best four seater coupe ever. But I would prefer the granturismo s.
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Afaque commented on this article
07 May 2009
I think i'ld prefer the coupe. The soft top will sacrifice the rear space, which is one thing i like about the GT, quite considerably. And i'm not sure how good it'ld look with the top down. It might end up like the DB9, looking weird with no top. I see the GT as a more expensive alternative to the Audi A5. So i guess i'ld like mine as a coupe. For a convertible GT, there's the Aston V8 Vantage roadster! What a sound!!
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