Maserati GranTurismo (Part 2)

But in that story, the result was slightly disappointing- the sedan lost too much physicality. In our case, although the automatic transmission has changed the character of the GranTurismo, it has retained its fighting spirits and sporting qualities. This 6-speed beast is capable of switching even at highest revs- up to 7200 rpm! Very few automatic gearboxes are able to perform such astonishing feats.

It might be slightly inferior to some more sophisticated robotic gearboxes, but it will never harm the driver, which, in this case, is much more important. Moreover, it is more reliable and can adapt itself  to the driving style of the driver at low and medium revs, at the same time keeping constant its actions at high revs.
The ZF gearbox can be used manually (by means of gear shift underwheel petals), as well as automatically offering the driver 2 sub-options: "Auto Sport" or "Auto Ice". The latter, by the way, is very useful when driving on slippery roads. Both of the suboptions are intuitively understandable and act just as you expect.
I must confess, after the installation of the new engine, the rear-drive (and the driver too) has to cope with  the capacity of 440 HP, which is achieved at 7000 rpm.

As compared with the previous 4.2 L GranTurismo, the increase is by 35 HP. The maximal torque is also increased- this V8 engine produces 490 N m already at 4750 rpm. This power is enough to provide decent acceleration for a sport car. It took me 5.3 seconds to accelerate the car 0-100 km/h (the factory data is 5 seconds) and 13.5 seconds to pass the distance of 400 meters. The maximal speed of this coupe is 295 km/h. I didn't dare to check it out. It would have been a reckless challenge to do so on Armenian roads or tracks. I am willing to take it on trust, however.

I'd like to separately underline the work of the suspension. Taking into account the terrible quality of Armenian roads and the low ground clearance, the car never touched the road ( I was very lucky not to damage a 150.000-dollar-car).  The Skyhook system, which constantly controls the shock absorbers, significantly improves the comfort level, at the same time, maintaining the necessary, but acceptable rigidity.
The main advantage of this coupe is the equal pleasure both from fast and slow driving. All the reactions are predictable and very clear. The gas pedal is very responsive, and therefore should be treated delicately. The engine sound of the GranTurismo is simply magnificent- it can be compared with that of Ferrari and, may be, the German AMG. During the ride, I really enjoyed that Italian Symphony of power and immense energy.
In general, this coupe really made a very strong impression. Leaving behind the new Quattroporte, the GranTurismo is just another huge step forward, which brought glory to the Italian legendary car brand.