The new Maserati GranTurismo continues to make its debut across the globe as it builds up to the start of production this autumn, the new Pininfarina-designed, V8-engined sports car making its first appearance in Japan earlier this month. This roll out, which follows on from locations including Moscow, London and New York, comes just as the Modena-based marque celebrates posting its first quarterly profit after nearly two decades under Fiat ownership.

The Cornes Aoyama dealership was chosen as the ideal setting for the presentation organised to launch Maserati’s latest model on the Japanese market. Toshiyuki Kamoshita, General Manager of Cornes Co. Ltd, opened proceedings by welcoming the guests. The GranTurismo was then presented to the public by Simone Niccolai, Sales Manager for Eastern Europe the Middle East and Africa. Over 420 guests attended the event, exceeding expectations. As well as Grigio Touring (Grey Touring) and Blu Oceano (Ocean Blue) versions of the GranTurismo, those invited were able to admire a race-ready MC12 Versione Corse and a splendid Maserati 200Si Once again, the magnificent GranTurismo dazzled one and all, with the presentation echoing the success of previous launches held around the world.

Meanwhile a pan-European 'road show' organised by Maserati over the last few months has seen the GranTurismo presented in major cities. Earlier this month the new GranTurismo was unveiled in Munich at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in front of 700 enthusiastic guests. The guests were present at the grand ballroom at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof for the exclusive presentation.
 

The ballroom, which had been converted especially for the presentation in the style of Maserati, created the expectation of a spectacular unveiling. The popular DSF-host Wolfgang Rother led the guests through the evening: “I know the agenda of new cars and I can claim with reason, that we are going to present the most beautiful car of the year, or even of the decade,” Rother greeted the guests in Munich. Amongst the guests, also were many VIPs such as TV host Ramona Leiß, celebrity chef Heinz Winkler, the actor Steffen Wink, SAT1 news presenter Jochen Sattler and RTL comedy host Henry Gründler. The musical highlight was provided by the singer Francisca Urio.

The new Maserati GranTurismo is a high-performance sports car with a 4.3 litre V8 engine generating 405 bhp. The car is fitted with a 6-speed automatic gearbox by ZF and an adaptive gearbox control system that adjusts the gear-shifting mode to the driving style and conditions. The tradition of the Maserati GranTurismo cars goes back to the year 1947, when the brand with the Trident presented a road car for the first time. The first GranTurismo, designed by the great Pinin Farina himself, was based on the A6 racing car.