GranTurismo

The GranTurismo made its global debut at the Geneva motor show in March 2007 while first Australian deliveries began in late November of that year.

A new, Quattroporte sedan-derived platform with 49/51 per cent front/rear weight distribution was clothed in a sharp Pininfarina-designed bodyshell making the GranTurismo bigger and more advanced than Maserati’s GranSport coupe.

The four-seater grand touring two-door was powered by 303kW 4.2-litre V8, mated to an adaptive automatic transmission.

In early 2009, a high-performance S version was unleashed, sporting a bigger 4.7-litre V8 that produced 328kW of power at 7000rpm and 490Nm of torque at 4750rpm.

It could accelerate from 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds – three-tenths faster than the regular GranTurismo.

The exterior of the S was distinguished by an integrated rear spoiler, side skirts, oval-shaped exhaust tailpipes and black grille and headlight surrounds.

In June 2011 the race-bred MC Stradale flagship was unleashed onto Australia's roads, 110kg lighter than the GranTurismo S and with a more powerful 331kW/510Nm V8.

The effect of increasing power while reducing weight cut the 0-100km/h sprint to 4.6 seconds while increasing v-max to 301km/h.

With power came responsibility too, as it was 13 per cent more fuel-efficient than the GranTurismo S, at 14.4L/100km.