Grand touring cars are a special kind of vehicle. Often overlooked in terms of performance when compared to the no-frills, all-out, speed-at-all-costs sports cars (think Pagani or McLaren), Grand Touring cars are typically heavier and more plush than those purebred racers.
However, when compared to the uber-luxury powder puffs on wheels from Bentley or Mercedes-Maybach, GT cars tend to fall comparatively short on extravagant comfort while offering more speed and performance than the top luxo-cruisers.
But when viewing the total package on its own instead of directly comparing it to one extreme or the other, Grand Touring cars can be precisely the answer to a lovely problem. If you have a little more than two hundred grand burning a hole in the pockets of your Versace pants and can’t decide if you want a new car that is more sporty or more luxurious, we have the solution you’ve been looking for.
First impressions of the GranTurismo Trofeo
In the vast landscape of the autoverse, some names just conjure up a sense of awesome. While Ferrari and Porsche elicit thoughts of high-priced speedsters, the name Lamborghini seems to stand out as a tad more exotic. But, even beyond the famous Italian automaker from Sant’Agata Bolognese, arguably, the most titillating name in the entire car and truck world is Maserati. Maybe it has something to do with three syllables, but uttering the phrase, “Yes, that’s my Maserati,” just brings with it a sense of elite automotive nobility that is hard to quantify until you’re holding the key fob and looking at a true Italian Stallion of a GT car waiting for you, in disbelief of the sentence that just came from your mouth. Trust us; we did it several times before it stopped feeling like an insane dream came true.
The exterior of the Trofeo
The GranTurismo Trofeo is nothing short of stunning. From any angle, the eyes easily follow its low-slung, windswept lines. Carbon fiber on the front splitter, along the side skirts, and rear bumper add a racy touch to an already muscular design. The wide front grille proudly displays the company’s Trident logo, while the sculpted front fenders sport the timeless three-porthole “ventiport” signature that has been Masaerati’s calling card since its first 1500 Gran Turismo road car was penned by Pinin Farina and debuted in 1947.
Though it measures 195.5 inches in length, which, for context, is about half a foot longer than a new Mustang, the Trofeo’s profile looks as flawlessly proportional as a runway supermodel. The smooth long hood/short deck design is all but perfected in a familiar but captivating way.
The lavish interior of the Maserati GranTurismo
Step inside the Trofeo, and it becomes instantly apparent that Maserati has clearly emphasized the ‘Grand’ aspect of creating a GT car. The moderate sill height makes it far more livable to get into and out of than many other hardcore sports cars. Sink into the exceptionally sturdy yet soft perforated Italian leather seats and enjoy the true meaning of ‘plush.’ Both the heat and ventilation functions work exceptionally well and are controlled by the 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen, which offers up the first of just a few challenges and dislikes.
Call us old-school, but we still would prefer an analog knob for volume control rather than the slidey touch bar that, for some reason, is located on the passenger side of the controls.
The most embarrassing point in our drive was trying to actually get moving. The red steering-wheel-mounted start/stop button was easy enough to find, but the switchgear was seemingly nowhere to be seen. There was no lever of any kind, nor was there any steering wheel button or twist, despite the myriad of controls literally within arms’ reach. Nope, Maserati decided to mount the transmission functions using four large buttons situated between the two center console screens, making them easily missed with your eyes dancing around all of the gizmos and gadgets to play with. However, once that challenge was overcome, there were few others in our time with the Trofeo.
The Trofeo’s 542 hp twin-turbo V-6
While we thoroughly loved any Maserati V-8, the GranTurismo Trofeo is now equipped with a slightly detuned version of the 3.0-liter DOHC aluminum block and heads twin-turbo V-6 that puts down only 542 hp at 6,500 rpm and 479 lb-ft of torque at 3,000 rpm. That power is funneled through a lightning-fast ZF eight-speed automatic transmission before sending power out to all four wheels for maximum traction. The manual shift mode allows for some control and engagement via steering-column-mounted paddles. One other complaint is that the paddles don’t move with the steering wheel but instead stay in place, making trying to up or downshift in the middle of a turn nearly impossible. Crack off a perfect redline blip, however, and few sensations in life come with a bigger sense of accomplishment.
Driving impressions from behind the wheel of a Maserati
Out on the road, the GranTurismo shines as brilliantly as a highway supernova. While tipping the scales at 4,207 pounds, the Trofeo carries its weight exceptionally well and feels more solid and insulated than anything close to heavy.
Depending on which drive mode is at work, the GTF shows off a different side of its personality. Comfort mode is like driving a two-ton marshmallow on wheels, and is easily our least favorite. Shifts and steering feedback are slow, while the throttle response had us wondering if perhaps there was some sort of cylinder deactivation we weren’t aware of. The Trofeo is comfortable enough without needing any extra padding.
GT mode offers a bit more feedback than Comfort and would probably be our choice for long-distance journeys. Bumps and uneven pavement go relatively unnoticed, and that feeling of being in a luxury car still overpowers the racing-derived demeanor lurking just beneath all of that Alcantara and leather.
Sport mode is where the GranTurismo really starts to come alive. Traction control remains intact while maximum power is unleashed, making for a wonderfully fun ride to anywhere or nowhere, in particular. The quad tailpipes seem to get uncorked and start speaking up, while shift changes are noticeably quicker. Along with Sport mode comes a change to the digital gauge cluster. Suddenly, three bars show up to the right of the tachometer that displays turbo psi, torque (in Newton Meters), and oil pressure, making for an entertaining back-and-forth real-time show of modern physics and engineering at work.
Flip to Corsa mode, and it’s go-time, literally. The digital dash warns that driving assistance systems are unavailable in race mode, meaning you had better pay attention. The car drops down via its air suspension to its lowest setting, essentially hunkering down for blast off.
We were told that absolutely no equipment testing was allowed during our time with the Trofeo, which made the GranTurismo’s onboard 0-60 mph timer and g-meter seem oddly like entrapment. But we did not break any rules. Flipping to manual mode, we did find a desolate and lengthy stretch of interstate onramp to unleash all 542 horses safely.
Mash the throttle, and the Trofeo wastes zero effort or energy searching for traction. All four Pirelli P Zero PZ4 summer tires grab the tarmac and slingshot into action in a natural feeling way thanks to its rearward biased torque split. The twin turbos woosh air into the snarling V-6, and the 6,500 rpm redline is on you quicker than you can say, “Maserati.” The carmaker claims the GTF can sprint from 0-60 mph in a mere 3.3 seconds, and from the seat-of-our-pants-meter, we have no reason to doubt their statement. Several other auto publishers who did have testing privileges have run the Trofeo through the quarter mile in the mid-11s, trapping in the mid-120 mph range. Again, we can’t officially verify those numbers, but having been an avid test-and-tune participant in our youth, we don’t doubt this car one bit.
The GranTurismo isn’t just a straight-line behemoth either. Though being north of 4,000 pounds and 500 hp does scream vintage muscle car on paper, the Trofeo surprises in a delightful way. With a 47%/53% front/rear weight bias and a limbo-winning low center of gravity, the hefty Maserati feels as sure-footed and agile around corners as anything else with four wheels built in Italy.
When your inner “Oh shucks, this is a public road!” alarm finally starts blaring loud enough for you to hear over the growl of that twin-turbo V-6, the GranTurismo once again has you covered. Massive cross-drilled 15.0-inch front and 13.8-inch rear brakes scrub off speed almost as quickly as it was accrued, bringing you back down to legal speeds (or to a dead stop if necessary) without any panache or panic. Flip back to GT or Comfort mode, and it’s as if the Trofeo was trying out to be an Autobot, transforming from a race car back to a luxury cruiser in mere seconds.
In conclusion
Although our time with this beautiful Maserati lasted only a few days, it has left an indelible mark on our hearts. Though the Trofeo’s as-tested price tag crests the quarter-million-dollar mark, making it an appreciable barrier to entry, it’s hard not to love a car like this. The Trofeo is a vehicle that can do everything and makes you feel as if you, too, can do anything. That feeling is not relegated to just inside the cabin either; the GranTurismo makes you want to do everything better.
Showing off both massive power and long highway legs, the GranTurismo feels just as comfortable taking a leisurely cruise along the coastline to enjoy the sun as it is screaming to redline in an effortless thrust, getting up to (and quickly eclipsing) highway speeds to keep up with traffic.
With the GranTurismo Trofeo, Maserati has created a masterpiece. Gorgeous lines, sumptuous materials, and gobs of power check off the most important wants and needs for any wealthy enthusiast’s wishlist.
Grand Touring cars are often overlooked because they don’t lean to the extreme one way or the other. But, in a world brimming with extremes, finding a car like the Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo that takes the best of both worlds and combines them into a synergistically superior vehicle is something that truly deserves praise, recognition, and a bit of gratitude for not forcing us to choose between two driving styles we thoroughly enjoy.
