Malaysia’s national motor show was back after a five year break and the city embraced the event as around 330,000 visitors came through the doors. With their booths side-by-side the two Italian brands, which both belong to the Fiat Group, attracted the gaze of visitors and the media alike, Ferrari showing off its latest model, the 458 Italia, which has only recently arrived in the country, alongside the California, while Maserati presented the GranCabrio for its Malaysia debut.

In Malaysia the sports cars from Maranello and Modena come under the umbrella of the Naza Group, one of the biggest players in the local car industry, which had a hall all to itself to show off its diverse portfolio of brands which also includes Kia, Chevrolet and Peugeot, as well as motorbike marques Vespa, Gilera, Piaggio, Aprilia and Ducati.

Naza Italia Sdn Bhd is the sole importer for Ferrari and Maserati in Malaysia and the two brands share a flagship 45,000 sq ft showroom complex in the city which was launched by his Majesty Yang Di-Pertuan Agong before it officially opened on 31st March 2009. Impressively, the Rm 20 million center, is the largest of its kind out of Italy; certainly Italian passion runs strongly in Malaysia. The complex is also a 4S service center and has a lifestyle boutique for both brands which includes cars as well merchandise.

“The demand for both Ferrari and Maserati has been improving as people become more aware of the brands especially in the case of Maserati as its brand knowledge much wider over in Europe than here,” says Eugene Ho, Marketing Executive for Naza Italia Sdn Bhd. “But now with all the new models and range of cars which we currently have, demand is improving. This also ties up as we are the sole importer for both these brands and our showroom facility is top of the class, with experienced engineers and staff as well. Though it is obvious that Ferrari is of greater interest to the market, Maserati is steadily building a fan base thanks to all the new model of cars being launched.”

Ferrari’s latest model to arrive in Malaysia is the dramatic 458 Italia, which replaced the 430 in the showrooms and has simply torn up and rewritten the established sports car rule book, making strides in all areas, bursting with innovation and F1-derived technology. Since its launch at the Frankfurt IAA in the autumn of 2009, the 458 Italia, which is as ever the work of a Pininfarina studio that is right at the top of its game, has been lauded by the media and admired by fans worldwide, and the red example on show in the Putra World Trade Center was no different, there was nothing visually to compare to its ultra-sleek, moody and menacing lines around the many halls in an exhibition center that unusually straddles both sides of a small river.

The 458 Italia was launched in Malaysia on April 1st in the new Ferrari showroom in front of around 400 hundred guests which included, amongst the VIPs and dignitaries, Scuderia drivers’ Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. With an Rm 2 million price tag the 458 Italia out of the reach of all but a few, however interest and orders are already being placed. The car at the motor show was the first one into the country.

Maserati meanwhile used the Kuala Lumpur Motor Show to give a local launch the stylish GranCabrio, the luxurious new convertible “gran tourer” that now becomes a sister model to the closed-roof GranTurismo. Most significantly the GranCabrio is a genuine, spacious four-seater soft-top, the first ever of this type to emerge from the gates of the historic Modena factory. Also styled by Pininfarina and bursting with details and refinements along with an with an opulent and lavish finish, the GranCabrio expands the Trident’s range a step further. Finished in two of the wood choices, Moonwald and Carbalho, sporting a Poltrona Frau leather interior, and alongside a display that showed off the myriad of personalization option available, the GranCabrio was a real stand-out exhibit in the halls.

“2011, it will be a very exciting times for Naza Italia as we will be bringing in the all new Granturismo MC Stradale,” says Eugene. “The launch of this model will be around April to coincide with F1 Grand Prix here in Sepang. Besides this, during the first quarter of 2011, Maserati will introduce into Malaysia the new MC Sport Line kit for the Quattroporte and GranTurismo.”

by Edd Ellison