Maserati GranCabrio Sport

Maserati GranCabrio Sport

Maserati GranCabrio Sport

The GranCabrio Sport that Maserati is bringing to the 2011 Geneva show is as powerful as the Italian automaker's Euro-spec and racetrack-optimized MC Stradale, developing 444 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque courtesy of the familiar, normally aspirated 4.7-liter V-8. The eight-cylinder engine is also found in the GranTurismo S, Quattroporte S, and Quattroporte Sport GT S, but with power ranging from 419 to 427 horsepower.
The GranCabrio Sport V-8 benefits from Maserati's self-dubbed Friction Reduction Program, which presumably optimizes and helps the engine's internal combustion squeeze out the ponies. The Italian producer of GT cars asserts there's a "rich, thick torque curve" and a 6-percent improvement in fuel economy, though we wouldn't be expecting to save the world (environmentally) from behind the wheel. If you find yourself driving one on the autobahn, the GranCabrio Sport will top out at 177 mph.
Assisting the mildly upgraded V-8 is the ZF six-speed automatic lifted from the Quattroporte Sport GT S. The gearbox comes with the MC Auto Shift software for quick gear changes, though based on the name, it probably isn't as extreme as the MC Stradale's MC Race Shift. And though this next feature sounds like something a paratrooper would use to evacuate a hostile setting, the GranCabrio Sport is equipped with a revised and upgraded Skyhook active suspension system, now promised with sportier handling. The brake disc rotors are now drilled and grooved to better dissipate heat.
Finally, the appearance. Helping to mark the GranCabrio Sport's presence is a black front grille and blacked-out headlights with white borders. The Maserati trident gets red accents; the side skirts and front corner splitters are more aggressive. The pictured paint color - Rosso Trionfale - is new and draws inspiration from Italy's national racing color and Maserati racecars from the 1950s.