At the Chicago Auto Show, Maserati PR man Jeffrey Ehoodin said “We are not an exotic.” In case that didn’t get the message across, Maserati has put its money where its mouth is, pricing the new GranTurismo at $95,000. That slots the Maser in above the Jaguar XKR convertible and below the BMW M6 Coupe and Mercedes CL.
Maserati discovered that people thought their cars were as expensive as DB9’s and Continental GT’s. That’s great for the prestige stakes, but awful for the bottom line. The GranTurismo is, in fact, $18K cheaper than the cheapest Aston Martin, the V8 Vantage. Though the Maserati is short 15 hp to and .7 seconds slower to 60 than the XKR, what you get instead is a rolling sculpture designed by the man who penned the 599, usable rear seats, and the Maserati cachet that everyone else seems to think costs so much. And even though you don’t see too many XKR’s on the road, you’re guaranteed to see even few GranTurismos — if you’re into that sort of thing. To all those folks who wanted Maserati’s but thought they couldn’t afford one, when the car arrives in June, you can come on in from the cold.
[Source: eGM Car Tech]