Maserati Goes Topless With Sporty New GranCabrio

Maserati’s luxury convertible returns with a high-tech Nettuno V6 in a 542-hp Trofeo performance trim.

To the delight—but not surprise—of the Maserati faithful, the convertible follow-up to the revitalized GranTurismo coupe has finally arrived.

If anything, the Maserati GranCabrio boasts the best name of any convertible luxury car on the market, one that fans will recognize from the first generation of the GranTurismo-based Maserati grand tourers. Why other automakers insist on adding descriptors “spider,” “roadster” or “cabriolet” to existing model names instead coming up with a more clever classification like Maserati has isn’t certain—”911-riolet” rolls right off the tongue.

The GranCabrio’s canvas roof, available in black, blue marine, titan grey, greige,
garnet—can be deployed in 14 or closed in 16 seconds by either swiping and holding an index finger on the 8.8-inch comfort display or by holding a button when driving at speeds of up to 50 km/h (31 mph).

In a move that’s sure to please passengers of overzealous owners, the seats contain neck warmers that blow warm air while the top is down, while an optional wind stopper that can be fitted behind the front seats mitigates turbulence.

In addition to the 8.8-inch comfort display, there’s a 12.3-inch central display that can be used to connect up to two phones via Apple CarPlay, Android Auto or Baidu Carlife. A 12.2-inch digital with dashboard wraps around the steering wheel for maximum visibility, and the customizable heads-up display projects speed, maps, directions and other timely information directly on the windshield. 

On the outside, timeless Maserati design, the lineage of which can be traced back to back to its 1957 F1 championship-winning Maserati 250F and before, continues with another clever word. The “confango,” a portmanteau of “cofano” and “parafango” combines the notably long hood and the fender into one clean piece. The entire central body appears to be divided beautifully into an upper and lower half by the four fenders, and up front, near the 3D Trident logo, are vertical lights—a signature of Maserati’s modern era.

The GranCabrio’s 3.0-liter twin-turbo “Nettuno” V6 is the effectively the same as the Italian-made unit that powers the GranTurismo and MC20 supercar. Derived from Formula 1 engines, it features a clever pre-chamber system in which fuel is ignited in a pre-chamber before it perforates into the traditional combustion chamber. This system, according to Maserati, optimizes output and torque.

In this application, the Nettuno produces 542 horsepower, available in variable quantities through COMFORT, GT, SPORT, CORSA and electronic stability control-less (ESC-Off) modes.

The Maserati GranCabrio is launching solely in the high-performance Trofeo trim, but given that its built on the same modular architecture as the GranTurismo, expect an all-electric Folgore and entry-level Modena trims to be announced as well.