Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Maserati Granturismo

[Dennis Liu (bigheaddennis]

1.  Huge improvement over the current, drab, Coupé and Spyder.

2.  You could slap an Aston badge on this and everyone would believe it.

3.  Too bad this didn't debut before the new Jaguar CX-F
(S-type-replacement) concept car in Detroit, which is about 2x sexier
(despite it being a SEDAN), and which the Granturismo resembles a whole lot,
especially from the rear.  Note how the Jaguar's side window glass, from the
B-pillar back, slopes down to meet shoulder line, before curving back the
parabola.  The Granturismo ends too soon - yeah, it's a coupe, but if you're
going to have a rear seat, don't be afraid to offer a little light and
exposure.

4.  The side profile makes it look like a bulky RX-8.

5.  The nose is too upright and tall.  Unfortunate effect of the new EU
pedestrian protection requirements.  But since MB is handling it so well,
why can't Maserati?

6.  Wheels are waaaay too busy.  Something cleaner, simpler, would work
better, even if it doesn't try to incorporate the trident symbol.

Still, as said, it's a huge improvement over what they're selling now.

As for the 599, it's unfortunately constrained by the 612 platform, which
not only fell off the ugly tree, but hit every branch on the way down.  If
you really want a practical 2+2 interior, enough luggage space to
accommodate weekend stuff for everyone, AND a long V-12 engine AND put that
engine amidship, you're left with a way-too-long, ungainly-lengthy-nose
beast.  And since the 612 sets all the hard points, there is only so much
you can do to fix it when you move to the 2 seater - note especially the
purely cosmetic C-pillar flying buttresses.  If it weren't for those, it'd
look like a C5 Corvette fixed-head Coupe.

Vty,

--Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Charles G. Perry IV [mailto:charles [at] carolina-sound.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 7:51 AM
To: Dennis Liu
Cc: The FerrariList
Subject: [Ferrari] Maserati Granturismo

So what do you guys think of this thing?

I think it's one of the prettiest new cars out there. The tail has strong
Jaguar/Aston Martin lines (which is a good thing), but the nose is really
pretty - elegant and aggressive in a way that the 599GTB should've been but
isn't. In fact, if you go to the Gallery here and watch the slide show, it
starts with some of Pininfarina's original sketches for the car.

http://www.granturismoisback.com/index.html?lang=us

If the 599GTB had more closely matched those original sketches, I don't
think it would enjoy the anonymity of design that it's currently saddled
with.

The interior is really beautiful - something Maserati has always been great
at. Even my mom's Biturbo Si's (which were hardly even cars in a mechanical
sense) had a stunning interior. A nice contrast to the bulbous carbon fiber
growths that abound in the 599.

Of course, I really didn't set out to slam the 599, but it really bothers me
that Ferrari's design is so off-pace with their history. It's clearly not
Pininfarina's fault if they're doing things like this...

-- charles


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                                 Charles G. Perry IV
                                 Senior Project Engineer

Carolina Sound Communications, Inc.                Voice: 843-571-4488 x105
1941 Savage Road, Suite 200-G                      Fax:   843-571-4492
Charleston, S.C. 29407                                   AOL IM: cavalino87

                          http://www.carolina-sound.com

"The trouble with doing something right the first time is that
                        nobody appreciates how difficult it was."

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