Maserati reveals GranCabrio drop-top cruiser

Being closely related to its coupe sibling, a lot about the GranCabrio should be familiar. Launching in flagship Trofeo spec, it gets the 550PS (404kW) version of the 3.0-litre twin-turbo Nettuno V6 we first saw in the MC20.

Obviously the lower-spec Modena will join the line-up in due course, as will, presumably, the uber-powerful, all-electric Folgore. Quite how a chop top with a traditional chassis is going to handle that kind of twist, will be interesting to observe.

What’s all-new, for the GranCabrio at least, as it was for the GranTurismo, is all-wheel-drive, meaning less of the potency of that V6 is wasted in tyre-shredding melodramatics. For what is a proper four-seat riviera cruiser, 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 196mph is proper motoring.

Especially as ostensibly this is not a car you’re going to be going for lap times in, or even ten-tenths blasts up your favourite B-road. It is more a lifestyle facilitator, a cabriolet for the exotic car enthusiast with a lot of friends living in a sunny climate. The optional wind deflector might put paid to the idea of going four-up along the heel of Italy.

Even reaching over an enormously spacious cabin, the fabric roof can do its business in just 14 seconds, at speeds of up to 31mph. Roof up or down, this remains a properly pretty long-legged cruiser.

So what about pricing? Well, no concrete numbers have been given as yet but it’s often the way that the drop-top is pricier. For reference, the GranTurismo Trofeo is priced at just under £160,000. A key rival, the Aston Martin DB12, is £15,000 more expensive than the coupe in open-top Volante form, so expect the GranCabrio to follow a similar trend.