First Drive: 2009 Maserati GranTurismo S - MotorTrend Magazine
There's nothing like driving an Italian car in Italy. While the United States is the world's largest market for Maseratis, and they are, more than ever, being conceived and outfitted to compete here, they are still Italian to the core. Yet, as with pasta, authentic reggiano parmesano cheese , and aceto balsamico tradizionale (balsamic vinegar), macchine Italiane always taste that much better when consumed on the home turf. So it was that we experienced the faster, edgier, and magnifico -sounding GranTurismo S. Editor MacKenzie summarized the standard GranTurismo in his recent test story (June 2008), noting "It is, literally, a grand tourer. the big Maserati does not like to be hurried. Yet, ardent enthusiasts will want more-and more is well delivered when you go for the S. Think of it as "GranTurismo + 20%. " In the 1960s and '70s, Maserati offered standard and harder-charging SS variants of many of itsmodels. Maser's V-8 grows from 4. 2 to 4. 7 liters, via a bore and stroke increase. Power escalates from 400 to 433 horses, and torque increases from 339 pound-feet to 361. The larger motor still loves to rev, redlining at 7500 rpm, and it'll touch 7600 during full-throttle shifts at the limit. The previous engine sounded divine, but we were always looking for a volume knob to crank up. Maserati's pipe benders have solved this problem in the best possible way. Source: www.motortrend.com
