Maserati details the advanced quality systems adopted by the new GranTurismo. These range from the new Trident vehicle's active and passive safety to the reliability tests which the model underwent, and which set new standards of excellence.

THE MASERATI STAMP OF APPROVAL

Maserati has been ruthless in its pursuit of excellence in every single component it fits to its cars. Around 10 percent of Maserati’s production staff is dedicated to maintaining exceptional levels of quality, and each stage in the production process is minutely scrutinised. The GranTurismo has taken this fastidious tradition to a new level, attaining the highest standards of quality ever reached by the Modenese company.

Maserati’s advanced quality-control procedures benefit from an unusually close relationship with its suppliers. These suppliers are continually checked – and that means both the parts they supply and also the production process they employ. The aim is to perfect the already excellent quality of Maseratis through the strict control of the entire supply system, from the prestigious materials Maserati uses on the interior to the highly advanced mechanical components.

Twenty GranTurismos were dedicated to extensive and exhaustive development, endurance and reliability testing. These tests were conducted over hundreds of thousands of kilometres on a variety of roads all over the world. They were aimed at examining how the Modenese sports car performed in all conditions, and the engineering teams simulated – and even exaggerated – every type of driving condition. Every one of the hundreds of tests had a specific aim. These aims ranged from the development of the product, its durability, reliability, safety, performance and handling in all road conditions.

The hottest areas of Spain and South Africa were the setting for the brake tests, and these climates put the car under immense stress through a combination of heat, the rises and falls in the terrain and the presence of sand. This climate, where it often touches more than 40ºC, is also useful for validating the climate control system. Greece, with its warm climate and windy roads, is the ideal test bed for verifying the engine’s reliability and wear, while the icy avenues and lakes of Scandinavia are used as a way to develop the electronics that manage the low-grip safety features.

Every Maserati has a sporty soul, and this is why the GranTurismo was test driven on the most famous circuits in Europe, including the Nürburgring. The objective was to fine-tune the handling, one of the strengths of all vehicles produced by Maserati. Each track, depending on its particular characteristics, was selected to fully stress and torture the GranTurismo’s components. Estoril and Vallelunga were chosen for tyre tests, Nardò for outright performance, braking and handling at high speed, while Vallelunga and Fiorano were used for road-holding tests.

Maserati constantly monitors the expectation levels of its customers and continually surveys the satisfaction standards of those who own and drive its vehicles. The testers and engineers paid particular attention to the comfort levels of GranTurismo, and it has set new standards in its category. The extremely challenging production process and severe checks applied to every component in the car mean that the GranTurismo is the peak of Maserati quality.

active safety

Active safety encompasses all of a car’s abilities to avoid impacts in the first place. The Active safety of the Maserati GranTurismo is very advanced. It was developed to combine extremely stable and balanced road holding with extraordinary performance. Completing the package is the highest level of electronic Active safety measures, in place to help limit damage and avoid potentially dangerous situations.

The excellent dynamics of the GranTurismo is the culmination of a long tradition of handling excellence by the Modenese company. Its core chassis poise is further enhanced by the Maserati Stability Programme (MSP); developed by Maserati to help optimise the GranTurismo’s reactions and safety engineering, even for moderately skilled drivers.
 

The MSP activates to correct even small skids by reducing torque and, at the same time, integrating Anti-Lock Braking (ABS) and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) to prevent the wheels locking or skidding under braking. It does this in part by redistributing the braking forces between the front and rear axles. This means that the drive wheels do not lose grip, improving traction in slippery conditions, and the front wheels always retain the ability to steer the car. The GranTurismo’s brakes are on a par with the quickest supercars on the market. Brembo supply the braking hardware, including four self-ventilating discs and powerful four-piston brake callipers. These provide excellent stopping figures (35 metres from 100km/h to a standstill, with an average deceleration of 1.24 g). The brakes are also highly resistant to fade. The Electric Park Brake (EPB), located on the central tunnel, replaces the traditional handbrake. The EPB is engaged automatically whenever the engine is switched off and is deactivated automatically when the accelerator pedal is pressed. EPB also plays an important role in terms of safety as it is designed to act on all four wheels in an emergency without compromising stability, until the switch is released.

Night-time visibility is enhanced by the potent clarity of bi-xenon headlights. Bi-xenon technology produces a more powerful and natural-looking beam of light than conventional lighting technology. Further, the GranTurismo’s rotating headlights mean that the beam mirrors the turning of the steering wheel, focusing the light towards the inside of the curve. The Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) is another useful technical advance to be included on Maserati’s latest sports car. The system constantly monitors the tyre pressure from inside the tyre and the driver is advised when either the pressure dips below optimal levels or a tyre is punctured.

The high-resistance, boxed-sheet steel construction gives the chassis its incredible rigidity. This feature translates into a precise drive and dynamic handling, factors that set any driver’s mind at ease when he sits behind the wheel of the GranTurismo. A sense of security and control over the car are the sensations Maserati has tried to transmit to the driver. The weight distribution is as close to the rearward bias of Formula One and FIA GT racing as front-engined road cars get, and the GranTurismo carries over the Quattroporte’s philosophy of having a slight bias over the rear axle. This bias (49% front- 51% rear) and the low centre of mass (obtained by positioning the engine as close as possible to the ground) translates into superb braking and road holding under acceleration, especially in low grip conditions. Perceived from the driving seat, the handling is predictable, swift and ‘true’. Maserati has developed the GranTurismo with express active safety aims of offering the driver complete control of the vehicle and assisting the driver with the most advanced electronics to help the car and its occupants remain safe, even in emergency situations.

PASSIVE SAFETY

Passive safety includes all the features a car has to allow its occupants to survive an impact. The GranTurismo’s entire passive safety system has been designed by Maserati around its most important elements: the driver and passengers. The GranTurismo’s passenger safety cell is strong, rigid and is also protected with six airbags that are designed to work in conjunction with the occupant’s seatbelts. There are driver and passenger two-stage front airbags, two more in the doors for side-impact protection and another two integrated into the sides of the seats. If the GranTurismo is involved in a collision, four sensors designed to measure the intensity of the impact send their information to a central computer, which determines whether or not the airbags need to be activated to protect the occupants. If the computer decides that the driver and the passengers need the extra protection from the airbags, it triggers the inflation of those airbags. The degree of inflation is carefully calibrated to help provide the appropriate level of protection for the front-seat occupants. An extensive series of simulations and internal crash tests confirm that the GranTurismo and its airbags also are designed to meet the strictest U.S safety standards, offering passengers a very high level of protection.

Besides the airbags, the front- and rear-seat belts are equipped with the latest pre-tensioners and load force limiters to help keep all four occupants well restrained.
Isofix brackets are fitted to the rear seats to ensure that child car seats are properly secured so that even the smallest passengers are safe. The core engineering of the chassis has been developed to meet or exceed the toughest US crash test standards, providing a solid and rigid safety cage, and the bodywork has been designed to help absorb and redistribute the force of impact. The Maserati GranTurismo offers all four of its occupants high levels of performance, and this even extends to the performance of its on-board safety features.