Geneva show: Maserati releases 60th anniversary GT

MASERATI has commemorated the 60th anniversary of its first production car, the 1957 3500 GT, with a pair of special editions revealed at the Geneva motor show and on sale in Australia this month from $309,990 before on-roads.

The Italian car-maker will offer both the GranTurismo coupe and GranCabrio convertible in a limited run of 400 units globally – 25 of which have been allocated to Australia – priced from $309,990 for the coupe and $349,990 for the drop-top.

Based on the Sport trim level, the Special Edition models get a number of visual tweaks inside and out to distinguish it from its regular siblings, including a new three-layer paint that is a tribute to Maserati’s 1957 Formula One-winning 250F.

The new colour, Rosso Italiano, is joined by other colours including Bianco Birdcage and Grigio Lava, and is accented on the Special Edition by the inclusion of carbon-fibre trim on the front splitter, door handles, side mirrors, rear diffuser, oval exhaust tips and rear lip spoiler.

The hood of the car is also made of carbon-fibre, which comes painted as standard but can be optioned with the bare carbon-fibre look, and features a central air intake and a pair of vents towards the rear.

Rims on the Special Edition are 20-inch ten-spoke MC-design alloy wheels with a new glossy black finish, matching the wheel centre caps which are emblazoned with a Special Edition logo.

Inside the cabin, Maserati offers either leather or leather and Alcantara upholstery available in four different combinations of trim and stitching, to go with liberal use of Carbon-fibre through the interior.

The lightweight material can be found on the centre console, paddle shifters, instrument surround, door sills, door panels and dash trim.

A Special Edition logo is also found on the door sills, while a dedicated numbered plate on the centre console denotes the car’s number of production out of 400.

No changes have been made under the hood, with Maserati retaining its sonorous 343kW 4.7-litre naturally aspirated V8 mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox, which sends power to the rear wheels and propels the coupe from standstill to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds. The GranCabrio takes an extra 0.2s to reach three figures.

Last year Maserati sold 83 examples of the GranTurismo/GranCabrio, down on its previous yearly figures of 115 in 2015 and 99 in 2014.

Maserati says the special editions arrived in Australia just “days” after the Geneva launch.

2017 Maserati GranTurismo Special Edition pricing*

GranTurismo Special Edition (a)	$309,990

*Excludes on-road costs2017 Maserati GranCabrio Special Edition pricing*

GranCabrio Special Edition (a)	$349,990

*Excludes on-road costs