United States automotive stylist Elite Carbon has announced a cosmetic body kit upgrade for the Maserati GranTurismo, as well as claiming a new performance exhaust system and improved braking, that will be available to customers from mid 2009. The body kit's parts will be constructed from carbon fibre with some of their areas being finished in clear coated exposed carbon fibre.

Elite Carbon already produces a range of styling components for high performance Italian luxury cars, including the Ferrari F430 Spider and Lamborghini Gallardo. Other brands to be catered for include Audi, Porsche and Aston Martin. "Every product starts out with producing the mould, digitizing the part into a CAD program and sending it to a cutting machine," say Elite Carbon. "The pre-preg carbon fibre roll is rolled out onto a cutting table and a cutting machine cuts the carbon out to a .01" tolerance every time. This produces a near perfect cut every time, much better than hand cutting which is more common. The carbon is laid into the mould by the numbered cut pieces to make sure that every part is just like the last one. The part is then put into an autoclave to produce a perfect, very strong and durable part. The part is then removed from the autoclave and mould, then clear coated. This is light-years ahead of the competition," they conclude.

For the Maserati GranTurismo the Elite Carbon kit comprises of a new front bumper with an exposed carbon fibre lip along the base and around the brake intake surrounds; side skirts with exposed carbon fibre lip and lower sections; bootlid spoiler; a rear diffuser and fins, and exhaust surrounds with intake at the rear. Other options for the GranTurismo include 21-inch wheels and low-profile tyres, a new sports exhaust system, high performance headers and catalytic converter, upgraded braking system, and also a carbon fibre interior package. Prices have not yet been announced while Elite Carbon estimate the kit's availability at around mid-2009.