Maserati Karif Reviews

Maserati has taken the formidable drivetrain from the Quattroporte model and created a new “performance sports car that is enjoyable to drive.”The Gran Turismo is a two-door hard-top coupe with Italian custom-crafted interior. New-car buyers will love the choices and mixtures of leather.And it's a four-seater. A great deal of trouble has been taken to make the rear two passengers not only comfortable but have convenient access.First examples of the new Grand Turismo are due to arrive in Australia about now but Maserati Australia reports the 130 allocated to Australia and New Zealand already have been spoken for, meaning a midyear delivery for new orders.The Gran Turismo uses Maserati's 4.2-litre V8 engine. Having twin overhead camshafts per cylinder bank and four valves per cylinder, it's rated at 298kW power.That's enough to take the 1880kg car from zero to 100km/h in 5.2 seconds.A new, six-speed automatic transmission feeds power to the rear wheels. The transmission is programmed to allow gear changes up to 7200rpm.The driver can choose to become involved by using the paddle shifts.Inside, the range of leather covers 10 shades.A buyer can select his or her preferred colour combination for the seats, dashboard, rear shelf and steering wheel, plus gearshift handle. Even the trim's stitching, mats and roof lining can be custom ordered.Both front seats are electrically adjustable and have three heat settings. The driver's seat has a memory function.The steering column, too, is electrically adjusted and the steering wheel is a sporty 375mm diameter. The front seats move forward electrically to allow access to the rear.Two seats in the rear are separated by the centre console. Passengers there have an arm rest and climate control vents.The audio system has a Bose surround sound system as standard and uses six speakers.There's an electric park brake, tyre pressure monitoring and a hill-holder to aid uphill starts. 

About 20 car enthusiasts have already done just that.

The star of Lamborghini's stand; one of the most expensive cars on display at the Australian International Motor Show which opened yesterday, a Murcielago LP640 Versace and is the only one left.

The show has been expanded this year with additional internal and external displays.More than 50 new models will be unveiled amongst the 500 cars on display.Headliners include the world premieres of Mitsubishi's Evolution X cult car, the new generation Toyota LandCruiser featuring new Australian-developed suspension technology, and Holden's new sportswagon. Several other world premieres are expected.Other highlights include a Lexus that parks itself, and cutting-edge concept cars from BMW, Hyundai and Škoda, and new sportscars from Bufori, Lamborghini, Lotus and Maserati.View all the latest news and action on the official Australian International Motorshow website at www.australianmotorshow.com

This 92-year-old NSW No.6 plate is expected to fetch between $1 million and $1.5 at this year's Shannon's auction on the last day of the Australian International Motor Show.

One of the exotic Italian supercars to be seen when the Australian International Motor Show begins on 11 October, this stunning super car spent a short time basking in Sydney sunlight for the first time so that it could be photographed for the Australian media. According to Edward Butler, Maserati Australia and New Zealand’s general manager, the company is holding 130 Australian orders for the GranTurismo. "For those people lucky enough to be taking delivery of their own Maserati GranTurismo in coming months, the fleeting first visit to Darling Harbour is proof, as if proof was needed, that the GranTurismo is just as beautiful in Australia as it is in Italy!” Mr Butler said. The GranTurismo packs a 4.2L V8 generating 405bhp at 7,100rpm. 345Nm of its 460Nm maximum torque is available at 2,500rpm, which along with a standard automatic transmission and relatively useable rear seats, makes this a more practical high-speed tourer than many Italian thoroughbreds.  

Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati will all be showing new models for the first time in Australia.

In their infinite wisdom, Italians have had a fetish for fussy transmissions.Not just automatic or manual or straight up and down sequential deals; but these fiddly operations that don't do any of the aforementioned smoothly, quickly or with any degree of finesse.Alfa Romeo has been a classic example with its Q-system tranny.Convoluted they are and Maserati's automated manual DuoSelect system is a quirky affair not suited to everyone's tastes or needs.So it is to a warm welcome that Maserati has added a conventional sequential box to the biggest and most refined car in its streamlined range.Maserati's move to add the highly decorated ZF 6-speed automatic transmission to its cracking, great big Quattroporte saloon, which has used the DuoSelect system since the 2003 launch, was always going to be a masterstroke.The only challenge was that it needed reasonable engineering changes to the 4.2-litre V8 and the floorpan to install the ZF.This auto box is on the back of the engine at the front of the car as opposed to the manual's location longitudinally mounted on the rear differential.The engine has also switched from dry to wet sump lubrication.Well balanced yet sporty, the rear suspension also came in for a rejig.There is a slight shift in the weight distribution with a 49/51 front/rear split as opposed to the DuoSelect's 47/53.Torque has risen 9Nm to 460Nm, of which 75 per cent is available at 2500rpm while the power output of 295kW is reached at a howling 7000rpm.The Sport GT version, priced from $288,000, is dressed in 20-inch wheels with fatter and lower profile Pirelli P Zero tyres fitted at the rear than the front.This version has a split personality that is far from being frowned upon is welcome with open arms.In sports mode the engine sounds angrier, the dampers firm up, the revs rise and gears are held for longer. And you can pick gears on average a massive 35 per cent quicker than in normal mode. This is possible through a bit of tinkering with the electro-hydraulic transmission system's CPU.It is also louder and prouder,  the aural experience more than anything piques your senses and lifts the heart-rate.Use the giant paddles integrated on the sports steering wheel and in this guise the Quattroporte is a blast.Pressing the sport button, one of several in a vertical line on one side of the centre console screen, gives you instant attitude with the sound spewing out of the quad pipes going from a delightfully gruff rumble to a wilder, more manic tune in keeping with its Ferrari roots.On the road the ride is reasonably compliant although there is some compromise over harsher surfaces with the 20-inch wheels (standard with the Sport GT) hanging off each corner.This is but a blip to the overall package.For such a big car, the new Quattroporte with the ZF tranny steers and handles remarkably well.There is a nice balance to the weight of the tiller and it is fairly sharp, while the body remains composed with the active suspension, which Maserati famously calls Skyhook helping to keep a solid contact patch with the road.There are other driving settings to play with like normal, winter and ice but with the latter not conducive to Queensland and normal designed to be employed if you've lost the desire to be entertained, Sport was given a fair workout on this test.If you prefer everything to be less edgy, racy and not as primed, then normal mode does a nice job of giving you the performance and comfort to transport you and passengers to a fine Sicilian restaurant in cosseted luxury.There are enough safety systems to cope with the performance of this piece of Italian exotica with MSP stability and traction control and six airbags and massive brakes.And there is a fifth three-point seatbelt for the middle passenger in the rear seat.A gentle dab on the brakes gives you enormous confidence. These anchors are powerful and the pedal feel is finely modulated.The Quattroporte, like Bentley's similarly aspirational Flying Spur, offers a point of difference, to the traditional German large sedan crowd.What you don't get is a whole lot of boot space, which is compromised and what's more there is no spare to swallow up any room either, although there is a little bit of storage room underneath the floor.Officially the combined city/highway drinking rate of this Quattroporte is 14.7litres/100km. On travels between the Gold Coast and Brisbane in peak hour, our consumption was a little kinder, sitting at 12litres/100km.Some of the controls are a bit cumbersome but then again if you owned one for longer than a week you could probably operate switches and dials blindfolded.Maserati has evolved the Quattroporte, courtesy largely of the ZF box, into a fabulous package.The prediction is that the automatic will quickly account for 80 per cent of sales and after sampling this offering over 400km it is not hard to see why.It feels special, drives exceptionally well, has killer looks and sounds as commanding as an opera in Verona's famous Arena. The QP is not part of the mundane luxury crowd. That's what makes it such a hot package. SnapshotMaserati Quattroporte Sport GTPrice: $288,000Engine: 5 starsLoud and proud yet blissfully smoothTransmission: 4 starsThe 6-speed ZF is a winner, programmed to perfection with the Ferrari-sourced V8Handling: 4 starsMeaty steering and its nimbleness defies its aircraft-style carrier bulkSafety: 4 starsTicks all the boxes with a good dose of electronic brake, stability and suspension aids as well as six airbags.Value: 4 starsEasier to justify with its gorgeous styling and Ferrari engineering flavour than a German number which could have come off a limo fleet Tech specs Body: four-door saloonEngine: 4244cc 90-degree, quad cam 48-valves, wet sump V8Transmission: 6-speed ZF automatic/sequentialPower: 295kW @ 7000rpmTorque: 460Nm @ 4250rpmTyres: front - Pirelli P Zeros 245/35 ZR 20; rear - 285/30 ZR 20Dimensions (MM): 5052 (l), 1895 (w) 1438 (h) 3064 wheelbaseFuel consumption: 12l/100km (as tested)0-100KM/H: 5.6sVerdict for: Exquisite styling, fabulous powertrain, sharp handlingVerdict Against: Some of the onboard controls are a bit tedious, cramped boot.Overall rating: 4 starsHas a spirit that fuses red-blooded touring car performance with six-star pampered luxury 

Dozens of Australian owners of one of the world's hottest sports cars have been asked to return their vehicles for repairs, after it emerged that a software glitch could cause a high-tech stability control system to shut down.Maserati has announced that the glitch could cause problems for models in its Quattroporte range. The models are priced from $269,000 to $298,000.Several models, 30 of which have been sold and registered in Australia, have been recalled due to the problem, which could lead to the vehicle’s Maserati Stability Program (MSP) to disable itself.While Maserati’s website said the MSP stability control includes the car’s ABS and the “electronically controlled braking distributor”, a spokesman said those features will continue working regardless.“It doesn’t affect the ABS brakes or any of the other safety features,” the spokesman said.“It’s a software issue… if the battery gets down to a certain level, the traction control will trip out.”The problem arose from a defect in the MSP caused by “a bug in the electronic software”, Australian distributor Ateco Automotive said in a statement.The statement also said that owners of the Quattroporte 139 automatic model should contact a Maserati dealer for details.The Maserati spokesman said it was not a 'catastrophic' problem and a warning light will appear on the vehicle’s dashboard if the traction control did cut out. 

Dozens of Australian owners of one of the world's hottest sports cars have been asked to return their vehicles for repairs, after it emerged that a software glitch could cause a high-tech stability control system to shut down. Maserati has announced that the glitch could cause problems for models in its Quattroporte range. The models are priced from $269,000 to $298,000. Several models, 30 of which have been sold and registered in Australia, have been recalled due to the problem, which could lead to the vehicle’s Maserati Stability Program (MSP) to disable itself. While Maserati’s website said the MSP stability control includes the car’s ABS and the “electronically controlled braking distributor”, a spokesman said those features will continue working regardless. “It doesn’t affect the ABS brakes or any of the other safety features,” the spokesman said. “It’s a software issue… if the battery gets down to a certain level, the traction control will trip out.” The problem arose from a defect in the MSP caused by “a bug in the electronic software”, Australian distributor Ateco Automotive said in a statement. The statement also said that owners of the Quattroporte 139 automatic model should contact a Maserati dealer for details. The Maserati spokesman said it was not a 'catastrophic' problem and a warning light will appear on the vehicle’s dashboard if the traction control did cut out.