Frankfurt 2009: GranCabrio Completes Maserati's Three-Pronged Attack
Maserati debuted its first ever four-seater convertible, the GranCabrio at the Frankfurt Auto Show.
The GranCabrio joins the Quattroporte sedan and the GranTurismo coupe in Maserati’s product line-up, giving the company what it calls the three prongs of the Trident.
The GranCabrio will be powered by the company’s top-level 4.7-liter V8, making 433hp. This seems to indicate that unlike Maserati’s other models, the 405-hp 4.2-liter V8 will not be offered. What this also may indicate is that a GranCabrio S model could make even more power. After all, with the added weight of the necessary chassis stiffening required in a drop-top, the 433hp model will likely be about as fast as the base-engine coupe.
The GranCabrio has a completely re-engineered body. At 2,942 mm (115.8 inches) in length, the GranCabrio has the longest wheelbase in its class. As it lacks a top frame, Maserati paid special attention to increasing the GranCabrio’s rigidity, using a flat aluminum base. According to Maserati’s testing, the GranCabrio claims the top static rigidity of its class (75,000 DaN/m/rad. Maserati says the aluminum base reduces the Cx aerodynamic coefficient by six points to 0.35, giving the convertible the aerodynamic performance of a coupe.
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