2011 Maserati GranCabrio Review

Maserati.Inc - Maserati GranCabrio - four proper seats, comfortable, inviting and all-enveloping. Never before had an open-top Maserati offered so much. Never before had a car with the Trident badge allowed an entire family or four friends to enjoy a journey in the open air. The Maserati GranCabrio's magical chemistry starts when you look at it: it is shockingly beautiful, with the soft top up or down.

Fabric, ultra-high tech fabric, weighs very little, infinitely less than metal and helps the car's road-holding: the overall system weight is just 65 kg. And then fabric is pliant, it complements the palette of the car's exterior colours six times over, the number of shades in which it is available, from a solid black to a high-tech titanium grey, to a warm chocolate colour.

Twenty eight seconds, that's the time it takes for the Maserati GranCabrio to go back to being a secure cocoon. Design is at the service of comfort. The times when anyone travelling in the back of a sports car were resigned to suffering physical discomfort are well and truly over: rear passengers in the Maserati GranCabrio are not supporting actors, but co-stars of the journey. The Maserati GranCabrio's Design The latest work of art to leave the Maserati factory, the Maserati GranCabrio, has the design of a dream car, but it is a real masterpiece that's just asking to be driven by lovers of beautiful cars who want to travel cocooned in a refined and comfortable ambience.

An expert eye, however, understands how much power lies behind the front, imposing and dynamic at the same time, the sinuous and feline flanks and a rear that speaks a high-tech language with a wide aerodynamic diffuser tested in a wind tunnel, crowned by large, twin oval-section chrome tailpipes.

A sculpture that speaks to connoisseurs the ancient language of the great Italian coachbuilders, a beautiful car to admire when it is open, but also when it is moving with its roof up, something that isn't always the case for cars of this type. The canvas soft top was chosen over a rigid folding roof as, with its complicated closing system, would have imposed on engineers and designers unacceptable constraints for anyone seeking beauty in its purest form.

The whole system weighs only 65 kg but, at the same time, guarantees maximum aero-acoustic efficiency and allows the Maserati GranCabrio to be enjoyed in all seasons, thanks to the most stringent tests conducted at 30 degrees below zero and at 40 degrees in the shade.

When the soft top is up the drag coefficient is 0.35, while with the soft top down 0.39. Without forgetting another absolute imperative, the comfort of those travelling in this open-top granturismo. The optional wind stop was designed precisely to fulfil this purpose, to provide passengers with excellent protection, even at high speed.

The Maserati GranCabrio's Voice

The voice of the Maserati GranCabrio, the musical notes of its V8 are powerful but subdued when travelling at a modest pace, but they can reach the strength of a tenor's high tones when the driver demands the maximum.

The Maserati GranCabrio demands to be heard, also through the voice of its hi-fi system, developed by Maserati and Bose. In the end 12 were fitted: one speaker in the middle of the dashboard, two tweeters and two woofers set into each door, one front bass box under the front passenger seat, two tweeters and two woofers on both rear panels and a rear-mounted bass box containing two woofers.

To avoid endless manual adjustments which could turn into potentially dangerous driving distractions, the system automatically tweaks the volume and sound equalisation depending on whether the car is travelling with the soft top up or down: but the listener doesn't notice any difference and perceives the same audio quality in both configurations. All the driver has to do is to choose the most suitable music CD for the journey he's about to make and the Maserati GranCabrio can turn into the most dynamic of auditoriums.

The Maserati GranCabrio's Dynamics A must-have feature for a car that is as much fun to drive as the GranCabrio is a great sense of balance, achieved with a well thought out weight distribution.

The latest Trident creation is unrivalled on this level as well: with the soft top up 49% of the weight is over the front axle and 51% over the rear, whilst the rates with the soft top down become 48 and 52% respectively. This has been achieved by positioning the engine mounted in unit with the automatic transmission, behind the front axle. The Skyhook suspension system features continuously adjustable gas dampers which adapt to the ever changing road conditions.

Keeping a close eye on driving safety is the MSP (Maserati Stability Programme) system, which deploys an extensive range of sensors to detect any anomaly in the car's behaviour, the slightest deviation from ideal driving trajectory and, if it thinks it necessary, acts on the brakes and engine to stabilise the Maserati GranCabrio and put it back on the right track.

Another acronym, HBA, which stands for Hydraulic Brake Assist, marks a brand-new concept for Maserati. Because an intelligent car knows how to go fast, very fast, but also knows when to bring the speed down, within the driver's full control.

On board the Maserati GranCabrio

This formula was refined with the expertise of the designers who were put to the test with the Maserati GranCabrio concept. The harmoniously shaped tunnel separating the rear seats features two cup holders and a receptacle.

This feature allows the driver to memorise his ideal driving position and, in the cold weather, heat the seat to three different temperatures because hot and cold are also completely subjective concepts. The driving position is as sporty as it is comfortable, with upper body and legs properly supported when negotiating bends at high speeds. Bends are perfectly tackled by gripping the leather-trim three-spoke steering wheel with an ideal diameter of 37.5 cm.

Active and passive safety

The air bag control unit asks for their assistance when the car's dynamic situation creates the fear that the car is about to overturn. Or when the Maserati GranCabrio suffers a major side impact or is violently hit from behind, to prevent the roll bars getting damaged and not being able to protect the driver and passengers should the car overturn at a later stage.

The Maserati GranCabrio is very, very protective towards adults and children alike. There is no compromise with safety on this car, as no compromise, however insignificant, would be acceptable. But the Maserati GranCabrio also has a second duty: to be beautiful in its minutest detail. This is why the airbag system located on the passenger side required a design aimed at optimiszing the appearance of the top part of the dashboard and blend the safety features perfectly with the interior's overall design.

Integrated systems

The climate control system has been finetuned to offer maximum comfort both with the soft top up and down, adjusting itself accordingly. A state of the art navigation system is one of many information systems that the Maserati GranCabrio puts at its owner's service. The interface consists of a 7 inch high-resolution colour display located in the centre of the dashboard which shows the functions of the CD player, navigation system, radio and on-board computer providing constant information on the journey and car performance.

The functions used most frequently can be activated with the controls on the steering wheel, to avoid any driving distractions. In addition, the audio system, navigation system and telephone, where applicable, can be managed using voice commands: being able to "talk" to your car means having maximum safety. Finally, an iPod connection is available on request, allowing the owner to enjoy its favourite tunes through a state of the art hi-fi system developed by Maserati and Bose, a system that features no less than 12 speakers to recreate the atmosphere of a concert hall.

The Maserati GranCabrio's Interior

Leather bound to improve with the passing of time, just like a great vintage wine. More hands have crafted the precious woods that take pride of place in the Maserati GranCabrio's cabin. The basic set consists of two wheeled and two vanity cases; a single bag is also available designed to be placed on the rear seats.

Maserati open-top Heritage

The Maserati GranCabrio is the first open-top four-seater Maserati but this doesn't mean that it is without noble ancestors. On the contrary, entire chapters of the history of the motor car have been written by open top Trident cars, although they were strictly two seaters.

As we run through Maserati's general ledger we also meet one of the cars that could be considered to be a direct descendant of the Maserati GranCabrio: the 2001 Spyder, the car that gave rise to the carmaker's renaissance that can be seamlessly linked back to legendary names and denominations such as the A6G 2000 GT, 3500 GT, Mistral and Ghibli. The effect is balanced on-road performance, enhanced by an automatic suspension system that adapts to the road with a speed ten times higher than the systems employed to date.

Maserati GranCabrio: from coupé to convertible

With the Maserati GranCabrio this weight increase has been kept to only 100 kg thanks to the optimised design of the under-frame and body parts playing a structural role. The final solution was reached thanks to the most advanced virtual structural simulation techniques.

The complete redesign of the rear structures with the creation of a torsion wall positioned behind the rear seats which has a structural function. The complete development of the structural parts of the centre pillar and rear and front connecting crossmembers located on the floor. The front and rear structural bases also incorporate thermo-fluid dynamic functions, thus keeping the increase of Cx under control and conveying the air to cool down the car's mechanics.

The combination of these design refinements has enabled a car with such generous dimensions as the Maserati GranCabrio, which has a 2,942 mm wheelbase, to have outstanding dynamic rigidity values, with a dynamic torsional frequency of the body in white configuration (BIW) of 27.2 Hz and a static torsional stiffness of 75,000 daNm\rad. These figures make the car very taut in structural terms and highly responsive on the road, providing excellent feedback to the driver combined with a high level of responsiveness and absolutely no vibrations.

When redesigning the new geometry of the door sills and the centre pillar side structures, as well as the rear end of the car, functions have been incorporated, alongside the structural functions, that absorb and dissipate the energy generated in any impact, creating a passenger compartment that remains virtually undeformed.

Particular mention should be made of the fact that an active roll bar system has been installed to the rear of the Maserati GranCabrio body, even though this is not required by any legislation, as well as an innovative structural composite concept (in aluminium and steel) that reinforces the windscreen surround so that the occupants are guaranteed a survival area should the car overturn.

Chassis and weight distribution

Optimising weight distribution between front and rear so that the centre of gravity is positioned in the precise point to ensure maximum stability for the car: this is the key point on which engineers worked when developing the Maserati GranCabrio. In layout terms, this objective is reflected in the continuous improvement of the layout of the mechanics and individual body components.

The 6-speed automatic gearbox is installed at the front in unit with the engine, whilst the limited slip differential is rear-mounted with locking rates of 25% in traction and 45% in release which limits and manages individual driving wheel adhesion losses so that the maximum available traction is always provided. Drive and power are transmitted between engine/gearbox and differential by a crankshaft articulated with a central constant velocity joint bearing designed to reduce vibrations to a minimum.

The result of so much design expertise is that 49% of the overall weight is distributed at the front and 51% at the rear and this remains almost the same even when the roof is folded (48% front, 52% rear). In other words the characteristics that have always been imprinted in a Maserati's DNA.

At the wheel of the Maserati GranCabrio

Getting close to the Maserati GranCabrio is a unique experience that never fails to excite and thrill. Getting behind the wheel is truly exhilarating: sitting in the driving seat gives a real feel for the car's sinuous grace combined with the unfettered attitude typical of a coupé, both with the top up and down.

All of which is given further emphasis by the pleasure of driving in open air and by the elegant lines designed by Pininfarina, marked by the canvas top, a design choice linked to Maserati tradition but also the result of aerodynamic studies. The cabin, the natural environment for anyone who loves driving, reminds of the Maserati GranTurismo, from which it actually gets its roomy features and the driving position with its well-appointed vertical steering wheel, and pronounced sporty layout which doesn't compromise on comfort.

The car is fitted with a 4.7 litre 8-cylinder engine - also offered on the GranTurismo S - which delivers 323 kW, allows flexible, comfortable and fluid driveability in Normal mode and a more sporty and reactive response in Sport mode.

The development has led to targeted interventions focused on the mappings of the gearbox, the engine, the management of the throttle and suspension system which have made the car a granturismo with enviable performance. The Maserati GranCabrio carries only a small amount of extra weight, but on the road it's unnoticeable thanks to the thrilling performance and ease of driving offered by its excellent weight distribution: 49% on the front axle and 51% on the rear.

This weight distribution proves particularly effective when the car is pushed to its limits and allows the driver to appreciate the ever-excellent traction, steering wheel response, predictable reaction to under/oversteering situations and last but not least the car's progressive approach to the transients, which are always manageable using steering and throttle.

As it is a car designed for "everyday" use, particular attention was paid to the car stability and traction control systems on all types of surface, whether with low and very low grip (wet, snow and ice) or with medium and high grip (normal road surfaces and track) offering a well balanced, nimble car in "difficult" conditions whilst having available absolute peak power with maximum driving safety.

The Maserati GranCabrio is therefore a highly satisfying performance car, equally at ease in everyday and in sporty driving conditions. At the same time the comfort for which it is renowned ensures that it finds its own dimension even on long road trips.