In an era when grand tourers began prioritizing lap times over long-distance elegance, Maserati’s GranTurismo S stood as a defiant reminder of what the category was truly meant to represent. This was Pininfarina’s swan song, their final complete design before stepping back from automotive work, and they ensured it would be remembered as one of their most graceful creations.
The Art of Pininfarina’s Final Act
The GranTurismo S represents the culmination of decades of Italian design excellence. Every curve flows with purpose, from the aggressive yet elegant front grille bearing Maserati’s trident to the muscular rear haunches that hint at the power within. This isn’t mere transportation; it’s automotive sculpture that happens to move at 185 mph.
Pininfarina’s designers understood that a true grand tourer must look as beautiful parked outside a Monte Carlo hotel as it does carving through Alpine passes. The proportions are classically perfect: a long hood housing that magnificent V8, a cabin pushed rearward for optimal balance, and a fastback roofline that manages to be both sporty and sophisticated.
Ferrari’s Heart, Maserati’s Soul
Beneath that gorgeous bodywork lies a 4.7-liter V8 that shares its basic architecture with Ferrari’s engines of the era. But this isn’t simply a detuned Ferrari motor; Maserati’s engineers gave it a completely different character. Where Ferrari’s V8s scream with razor-sharp intensity, the Maserati unit provides a more cultured, operatic soundtrack that builds to a glorious crescendo at 7,000 rpm.
The 440 horsepower arrives with Italian drama but without the neurotic edge of its Maranello cousins. This engine wants to be used, wants to pull strongly from 2,000 rpm all the way to redline, providing the kind of flexible power delivery that makes cross-continental journeys a pleasure rather than an endurance test.
Grand Touring in the Traditional Sense
The GranTurismo S reveals its true nature the moment you settle into those sumptuous leather seats and point it toward the horizon. This isn’t a car that begs to be driven hard at every opportunity; instead, it encourages a more measured, sophisticated approach to performance driving.
The six-speed ZF automatic transmission (a manual was also available) shifts with deliberate smoothness, understanding that this car’s mission isn’t to set Nürburgring lap records but to devour miles in supreme comfort. The suspension strikes that difficult balance between control and compliance, managing to keep the car composed through challenging corners while never punishing passengers over rough surfaces.
On the open road, the GranTurismo S displays the kind of high-speed stability that made the grand touring tradition famous. At 120 mph, it feels as solid and composed as most cars do at half that speed, with the engine barely working and wind noise kept to a whisper by excellent aerodynamics.
Craftsmanship in an Age of Mass Production
Step inside the GranTturismo S and you’re reminded why Italian luxury goods command such respect worldwide. Every surface is either wrapped in supple leather or crafted from beautifully finished materials. The attention to detail rivals anything from Bentley or Rolls-Royce, yet maintains a distinctly Italian flair that prioritizes beauty over mere ostentation.
The cabin manages to feel both intimate and spacious, with genuine rear seats that can accommodate adults for reasonable distances. This four-seat configuration reinforces the car’s grand touring mission: this is a machine designed for sharing exceptional journeys with those you care about most.
The GranTurismo S represents everything we’ve lost in modern luxury sports cars: genuine beauty, a distinctive voice, and the confidence to prioritize grand touring elegance over stopwatch statistics. In a world of increasingly homogenized supercars, this Maserati remains timelessly, unapologetically Italian.
ngl this is a beautiful car but id take a ram 3500 dually over this any day tbh, that v8 sounds nice but wheres the payload capacity lol? grand tourers are cool n all but you cant actually haul anything or tow what matters, its just a poseur car imo. respect the engineering tho, pininfarina knew what they were doing with the design.
Log in or register to replyTyler, I actually get what you’re saying about practicality, but grand tourers and trucks are really different beasts – the Maserati’s whole point is that 4.7L Ferrari V8 scream and those hand-stitched leather interiors for crossing continents in style, not hauling lumber. That said, you’re right that if you need actual utility a dually makes way more sense for daily life, just different philosophies entirely!
Log in or register to replyhonestly both yall are missing the real point – a 4.7L na v8 is basically obsolete when a properly tuned 2.0t four pot can match that torque curve at like half the displacement and way better fuel economy lol. the maserati sounds nice but you’re not getting real performance per dollar in 2024, and that dually actually hauls payload where this thing just sits there looking pretty tbh.
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