"We are very
proud to continue such a high prestige partnership with a
vehicle that will promote ”Made in Italy” all over the
world. Technically speaking, this new coupé (Maserati
GranTurismo), with its decidedly sporting temperament, has
the advantage of deriving from such a well tested-and-tried
product such as the Quattroporte, the “flagship” that marked
our renewed cooperation with Maserati and which scored a
great success, also winning numerous international awards.
"The input as regards styling came from Pininfarina: the
GranTurismo is, in fact, inspired by our Birdcage 75th
concept," says Andrea Pininfarina,
Chairman and CEO Pininfarina S.p.A.
Maserati’s will and Pininfarina’s experience, united
to write a further chapter in the history of
GranTurismo cars of the Trident marque. This was how
the Maserati GranTurismo was born.
“A marvellous and very rare opportunity to
create a new Maserati” says Andrea
Pininfarina, Chairman and CEO of Pininfarina S.p.A.
“It’s not simply a question of building a new car.
It’s a chance to do something never achieved before,
an opportunity to make a dream come true”.
At first glance, the most striking aspect of the
Maserati GranTurismo is its size. As long as the Quattroporte
but with only two doors, a real 2+2 and not just a
car with 2 front seats and 2 minimalist rear seats.
It’s so impressive that, looking forward from the
front of its imposing nose, the sides, roof or rear
end are hidden from view. It skilfully blends a
soft, flowing sculpture with sharp, angular details
to create the most extreme, luxurious
three-dimensional GranTurismo.
“The project stemmed from Maserati’s intention to
create a vehicle with great temperament and impact.
Initial research considered moving in three
directions: evolution of the Quattroporte, the
impressive coupé and classy super sportscar. Having
decided to take this latter road, the project took
into account various factors: size
impression, sportiness, elegance, temperament,
coherence of the range and with the themes of the
Birdcage 75th prototype,” states Guglielmo Cartia, Pininfarina Chief Designer,
responsible for this project. “Styling proceeded
quickly, spurred by the character of the original
design and the courage of maintaining this spirit
right through to the end. Design quality in all the
‘stages’ of development was forged by the enthusiasm
of all the persons involved in the project”,
concludes Guglielmo Cartia.
The GranTurismo is a singular blend of the heritage
of the Tridente, of Pininfarina’s great design
tradition and a modern look.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"It evokes the
modern themes explored in the Birdcage 75th concept,
which was a futuristic extension of the Maserati marque, continuing its great tradition of advanced
technology wrapped in sporty elegance”,
stresses Lowie Vermeersch, Pininfarina Chief
Designer.
The basic theme of the design, the tone in
which it expresses itself, was the concept of
“elegant sportiness”. Pininfarina preferred not to
take a too aggressive approach, as elegance is never
aggressive but stems more from an impression of
natural, never forced internal “energy”. Its volumes
are a modern vision of Maserati’s great racing cars
of the past, whose body descended from a simple
extruded cladding pulled towards the rear by a large
oval mouth. Its sculpted muscular exterior has a
natural but decidedly soft look, ebbing and flowing
to create a dynamic tension that imbues it with a
solid but sporting appearance. The result is a shape
- both powerful and elegant - pulled tightly on the
mechanicals, whose timeless design evokes the spirit
of Maserati’s mythical sports cars and, at the same
time, an unconfined future anticipated by the
Birdcage 75th. Moving around the vehicle, the light
caresses the curves and straight lines creating a
powerful feeling of movement from each angle.
Great attention has been paid to details
that belie the elegant simplicity of its streamlined
muscular shape. The impressive, dynamic
nose dominates the traditional trapezoidal Maserati
plan view, culminating in the large oval mouth
flanked by low, horizontal eyes. The concave grille,
with echoes of the Maserati A6 GCS of the Fifties,
sits in the large front fender, creating a huge
mouth. The radiator grille is adorned with a large
chrome trident that seems to emerge from the
vertical and concave bars. The wheel rims reflect
those of the Birdcage 75th and have been
intentionally designed to recall the Tridente,
emphasizing the power of the Maserati mechanicals.
The rear of the vehicle further denotes its
sporting character and GranTurismo technology,
characterized by triangular-shaped led-type rear
lighting clusters and a powerful diffuser developed
in the Pininfarina wind tunnel to guarantee
benchmark performance. Lastly, as on the
Quattroporte, the exhausts are adorned with sturdy
chrome-finished tips.
|
|
|