The Maserati GranTurismo is dead
After 12 years in production and some 40,000 cars sold, the Maserati GranTurismo is finally being put out to pasture, giving the company time and space to concentrate on renovations to its Modena plant and development of its next “high-performance sports car”.
The one-off Zeda is supposed to “tell the story of the dawn of a new era for the company through colours and materials”. It’s therefore mechanically identical to the normal GranTurismo, with a 4.7-litre Ferrari V8 making 454bhp, but gets a special paint job. The front of the car is deep blue, the middle dark grey and the rear-end satin silver.
The next GranTurismo and GranCabrio, the “first models to adopt 100 per cent electric solutions in the history of the brand”, will be built in Turin. Meanwhile the Modena factory, which also produced the soon-to-pass Alfa Romeo 4C, will house production of a new “super sports model” slated for launch in 2020.
In the next couple of years Maserati will also electrify the Ghibli and start work on a new SUV. The company says all new Maseratis will feature Level 2 and Level 3 autonomous driver assistance systems.
Hopefully Maserati’s plans survive the merging of its parent company, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, with Groupe PSA (owners of Peugeot, Citroen etc).
After 12 long years in production, are you sad to see the gorgeous GranTurismo retire?
STORY Tom Harrison