Maserati turns up heat

The Maserati GranTurismo just got even racier. The Italian maker has launched a new Sport Pack upgrade for its best-selling UK model, the S Automatic.

Changes include some subtle visual updates, including body-coloured side skirts and front wing spoilers, plus a black grille bearing the Maserati Trident logo. Black-look headlights, black mesh side grilles, an integrated bootlid spoiler and oval exhaust pipes also feature. The styling is finished off with Grigio Mercury Neptune-design alloy wheels.

Power comes from the same 434bhp 4.7-litre V8 as in the standard car, but Maserati has added its MC Auto Shift software, which gives even faster changes from the six-speed transmission. There’s also a revised exhaust system, which provides an even louder and richer sound.

As with the regular S, the Sport Pack model races from 0-62mph in five seconds and on to a 183mph top speed. The upgrade adds £3,840 to the price, taking the S Automatic to £92,480. In a related story, Auto Express has learned Maserati will reveal an SUV concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

This follows on from the firm’s star of the 2003 Detroit expo, the Kubang, which never made it to production. A 4x4 is seen as vital to Maserati’s expansion plans, alongside a smaller saloon to sit below the Quattroporte in the range and rival the BMW 5 Series. 

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