Pure Beauri: Maserati GranTurismo

They say that a car is really beautiful if you don't mind washing it. Earlier tonight, I got a chance to drive and wash the Maserati GranTurismo.

First of all, I have to say that this is one of the most beautiful and well-proportioned car on the market today. The car shows both masculine and feminine traits: the front is mean and aggressive, while the rear is curvaceous and soft. 

These pictures do not give away the actual size of the car. In person, the car is much more massive and has much more presence. Sitting behind the wheel, it is tough to judge where the front of the car is because of the wide, never ending hood. What you do see, though are the very sharp bulges on either side of the car, over the front wheels that remind you that you are driving a thorough-bred, Italian grand touring car, not a large saloon. 

Inside, you get the typical Italian treatment: leather everywhere. The seats, doors, dashboard, center console, and steering wheel are all fashioned out of hand-stitched leather. I am a fan of the analog clock, a Maserati, (above the upper trim strip on the dash). Sitting in the very supportive sports seats, you are truly coddled in luxury. Looking at the gauges, you see sporty blue dials on either side of an informative color screen. The best part is the smell. Take in a deep breath, and the sweet aroma of a new baseball glove fills your nostrils. 

Being a grand tourer, this car needs to have the technological amenities to help the driver survive long distances. First of all, the seats are comfortable. Not only will they prop you up in the corners, but they are also soft and relaxing to sit in. Taking up a large part of the center console is the navigation and entertainment screen. Unlike most of todays systems, it is not operated by a controller right near the armrest. The system is a little outdated and is controlled by two dials under the screen. The cool feature is that it has a 20 GB harddrive built in so that you can store your favorite tunes. 

The Best of Both Worlds:

This car really is the best of both worlds. It is comfortable, thanks mainly to its seats and automatic gearbox. Unlike the clunky automated sequential manual gearboxes mainly found on cars like this, the GranTurismo has a ZF sourced six speed automatic that is smooth and quick shifting. 

Don't forget this still is an Italian sports car at heart. Fire up the engine and you hear the sonorous growl of the 4.2 liter v8 engine. This car talks a big game, but with 407 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque, it has the performance to back it up, too. The three spoke, leather steering wheel is sporty and features large, aluminum column mounted paddle shifters. When you want to have some fun flip the gear lever over to the left and control the shifts by pulling on the right paddle to upshift and on the left for a nicely rev-matched downshift. 

This car is beautiful, sexy, and powerful. If you are fortunate enough to steal a slightly used model, (which is probably easy, sadly, since the dealers can't give these cars away), it will be well worth the money. I could have spent all night washing this car.