Maserati has revived its GranCabrio for another outing and many of the headlines will undoubtedly be taken by the Folgore, the all-electric model with quite outrageous performance figures. However, for the more traditional buyer, the GranCabrio is still offered with a petrol engine, a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 shared with the Maserati MC20 supercar.
We’ve driven the GranCabrio Trofeo on roads in the vicinity of the lakes of Italy to see if it has improved significantly from the older car, and also to assess whether it can bloody a few noses in this most elite of convertible marketplaces, vying for the attention of buyers also considering the Bentley Continental GTC, Ferrari Portofino and Porsche 911 Cabriolet.
The Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo’s design
The GranCabrio is a large, elegant car, measuring 4,966mm long (of which 2,929mm is made up of the space between the front and rear wheels), 1,957mm wide (excluding mirrors) and just 1,365mm tall. It looks good with its fabric roof up or down, with the fully electric process of going from one state to the other taking 14 seconds to open and 16 seconds to close; you can even do this on the move at speeds of up to 50km/h.
It still has plenty of aesthetic appeal and desirability to it, despite the fact at the rear it looks a lot like the car it supersedes. Anyway, up front there’s more of an MC20 look to the car, with the Trofeo having small, upright headlights, a dominant oval radiator grille and then, in the lower bumper, more significant air intakes than the Folgore electric alternative.
It also has what Maserati calls the ‘cofango’, a one-piece sheet of metal which forms both the bonnet and the front wings and which measures three metres square, something which the Italian company is very proud of as it’s difficult to produce. You won’t miss the ‘Trofeo’ badge above the triple side gills that is a hallmark of the brand, and then its own design of 20-inch front, 21-inch rear alloy wheels, which are not aerodynamically optimised as they are on the Folgore. The easiest way to spot this is the petrol one, though, is to look at the GranCabrio Trofeo’s rear for the quad exhaust pipes sticking out of the valance - something the Folgore, naturally, doesn’t have.
A look inside the Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo
One of the benefits of the GranCabrio’s long wheelbase is impressive passenger space for a convertible like this. These types of cars, for all their grandiosity and size, are normally more ‘2+2s’ than they are full four-seaters - this is to say, the rear chairs are usually vestigial and only suitable for either a) tiny children, or b) the additional storage of luggage. And while we’re not about to say the Maserati could seat four six-footers in great comfort for transcontinental jaunts, it could certainly take a quarter of average-height adults onboard for shorter journeys; in that respect, it’s one of the most practical cars of its type.
This versatility is quickly undone by a boot which is smaller than a Fiat 500’s, as you only get a maximum of 172 litres in the GranCabrio Trofeo. That, though, is with the hood up and the boot-mounted storage unit for said roof in its folded-up position. If you want wind-in-the-hair motoring, then you need to drop that storage unit back down again to allow the folded soft-top to sit in there, whereupon the Maserati’s boot space dwindles to a miserly 131 litres. So, for all the additional rear passenger room there is in the back of the car, most owners are still only going to travel two-up and sling their expensively tailored luggage in the rear seats instead.
Apart from that, the general design and excellent level of fit and finish in the GranCabrio’s interior makes this a wonderful place to spend lots of time. It’s comfortable, it feels of high quality and it all works intuitively, with some nice details such as a good-sized steering wheel blessed with some of the finest paddle-shifters in the motoring industry rounding out the splendid ambience within.
The Maserati GranCabrio’s on-board technology
All GranCabrios come with an impressively digitised interface within, that mercifully doesn’t sacrifice all ergonomic correctness on the altar of glitzy screens. The chief weapon in the Maserati’s armoury here is the 8.8-inch ‘Comfort Display’, which - while admittedly not being physical buttons for the climate controls - at least keeps the relevant heating, ventilation and air-conditioning features on a dedicated screen. And it’s one that works well, happily.
Above that is a 12.3-inch infotainment screen that looks crisp and suitably up to date. Again, this has good operating software, with the option to wirelessly bypass it with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay if you so prefer. This centre-stack is augmented by a 12.2-inch digital driver’s cluster and a head-up display, while there’s the option of two different high-power Sonos Faber audio systems.
Driving the Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo
Under the long snout (cofango?) of the GranCabrio Trofeo is the ‘Nettuno’ 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol unit that is Maserati’s signature engine these days - it is already used in the MC20 supercar and the GranCoupe. In this state of tune, it delivers up to 550hp and 650Nm, sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. That all-wheel-drive set-up is mainly rear-driven in normal operation, only shunting up to 50 per cent of the torque to the front wheels when it senses the car needs it.
Performance is suitably muscular, the Trofeo capable of 0-100km/h in just 3.6 seconds and a top speed well beyond 300km/h. Of course, there’s the Folgore with even more power and torque, and even faster acceleration if you want it, but then that car also must carry around an additional 445kg of weight. And it is that last point which makes us believe that the Trofeo is undoubtedly the shining star of the new GranCabrio range in terms of its driving dynamics.
With a running mass that’s five kilos off 1.9 tonnes, the Trofeo is hardly a lightweight, but as grand tourers go it’s relatively trim, and it feels it. Four drive modes - called Comfort, GT, Sport and Corsa - alter various things such as gearbox shift speeds, throttle response, exhaust noise, steering weighting and feel, and the softness (or otherwise) of the adaptive dampers fitted to the GranCabrio. The GT setting feels superfluous; it has neither the control of Sport, nor the softness of Comfort, so Maserati might have been better off simply using the Comfort setting and calling it GT, but we’re nit-picking.
What this car has in all modes is lovely, fluid steering, with good accuracy and a measured sense of weight across all settings, and genuinely excellent body control - it’s by no means absolute, as in tighter corners you can induce quite a bit of lean in the GranCabrio, but it has the right level of restraint for a larger soft-top like this. And with a smaller engine over the nose of the car than the old V8 model, you get far more eager turn-in from the Trofeo and a sensation that this is a Maserati in the finest traditional sense for this company: rapid and dynamic, yet supremely composed.
With strong brakes and an excellent automatic gearbox controlled by glorious lobes of metal attached to the steering wheel of the Maserati, you can get the car into a wonderful, flowing groove on a twisting road, one that might not have been expected when you take into account the GranCabrio’s ‘GT’ intentions. And then you also notice the noise - that Nettuno V6 is a fabulous powerplant, all raspy and metallic at the top end yet cultured and discreet at lower revs, and it doesn’t feel lost in the slightest in the Trofeo.
Marvellously, the Trofeo is also the standout performer for rolling refinement and ride comfort in the GranCabrio range. With a slight edge to the way it covers lumps and bumps, it nevertheless feels thoroughly graceful and compliant at all times, no matter what the vehicle speed nor quality of the road surface is like, and both wind and tyre noise are brilliantly minimised in the main, even with the Maserati’s hood down. With it up, the passenger compartment is admirably hushed, to the point you forget the roof is made from fabric instead of metal.
So, while the GranCabrio Trofeo is not the sharpest Italian car you’ll ever drive, it remains superbly well-judged in terms of being a luxurious big GT with just a hint of sporting talent at its disposal. It’s one of the best Maseratis we’ve driven in years.
How much is the Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo in Ireland?
We don’t have Irish prices for the GranCabrio Trofeo as it won’t be officially sold here, the well-heeled buyers of our country instead having to head north of the border to Charles Hurst in Belfast and then do various sums revolving around VRT and other importation taxes. Once those are done, in all seriousness the GranCabrio Trofeo is going to be in excess of €350,000 - although most of its exotic rivals would be no cheaper.
The reasons you’d buy a Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo
The new Maserati GranCabrio is a vastly improved car from its charismatic but flawed forebear, having a top-notch interior, plenty of passenger space, good levels of technology and svelte exterior looks. Crucially, with the twin-turbo V6 fitted to this Trofeo, it’s the GranCabrio in its best form - all lithe and enjoyable in the corners, noisy (in a good way) when you’re stretching the engine out, and yet comfortable and refined if you’re just cruising in it. It’s not in any way a cheap car - the electric Folgore is much more affordable if that floats your boat - and nor does it have the field to itself when it comes to four-seat open-tops with loads of petrol-powered performance, but despite these obstacles the GranCabrio Trofeo is a seriously talented, highly likeable machine.
Ask us anything about the Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo
If there’s anything about the Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo we’ve not covered, or you’d like advice in choosing between it and other cars, you can avail of our (completely free) expert advice service via the Ask Us Anything page.
