Maserati GranTurismo Spyder

First we had the stunning GranTurismo. Then the high-performance GranTurismo S arrived. Now, along comes a Spider which makes good on Maserati’s promise to unveil a new car at every major motor expo in 2009!

The GranCabrio will debut at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, and become the trident brand’s first ever four-seat convertible. These are the first official pictures of the Pininfarina-designed model, and it clearly takes inspiration from the tin-topped GranTurismo.

It’s fitted with a fabric roof – the metal folding arrangement originally seen on early prototypes of the machine has been dropped. Power will come from a 433bhp version of Maserati’s new 4.7-litre V8 engine, and a semi-automatic gearbox modelled on the one used in the powerful GranTurismo S is likely.

This will be equipped with the firm’s own ‘MC-Shift’ technology to improve performance, and can switch between ratios in only 100 milliseconds.

Details of the car’s performance remain top secret, but as it uses this engine and gearbox combination, a 0-60mph sprint time of five seconds is anticipated, as well as a maximum speed of around 180mph.

None of this is expected to come cheap, though. With the standard GranTurismo S costing at least £90,000, the GranCabrio is predicted to start from £100,000.