New entry-level 490hp GranCabrio just the ticket

You’d be forgiven for not recalling that we drove the latest version of the Maserati GranCabrio in December (always a great month for testing open-top cars in the UK), wherein Matt Bird bemoaned the fact that you couldn’t buy the convertible in a more affordable equivalent of the coupe’s Modena trim. Well, we have to assume the powers-that-be were hanging off his every word, because lo and behold the manufacturer has today announced the introduction of a 490hp derivative of the GranCabrio that will sit neatly under the more powerful Trofeo and battery-powered Folgore. Huzzah. 

Maserati says this new model, which premiered at The I.C.E event in St. Moritz (think Goodwood but with snow), completes the GranCabrio lineup, which it considers the most ‘comprehensive’ it has ever offered to customers. And on the basis that you now get a choice of outputs from the Nettuno 3.0-litre V6, and the option of a fully electric 760hp derivative, it’s hard to quibble much with that statement. It’s easy to imagine Maserati buyers embracing the lower cost option, too – not least because the 550hp Trofeo starts at £169,585 in the UK. 

No word yet on how much the new derivative will cost (or what it will actually be called – the press release refers to it as the 490-CV GranCabrio which doesn’t seem nearly as evocative as Modena) but rest assured you’re getting much the same experience. Maserati hasn’t gone into granular detail about the spec, but the latest model’s fundamental components – the V6, standard all-wheel drive, fancy air suspension – all migrate to the entry-level option, and it’ll still hit 186mph and make it through the 62mph tape in 4 seconds flat. So it ought to be plenty swift enough for most GranCabrio owners. 

It’ll look much the same, too – which is to say very nice. Maserati says it has ‘revamped and extended’ the available colour palette to reflect customer demand, hence the previously unseen Verde Giada the show car is presented in. Elsewhere you get black brake callipers, split 20-/21-inch alloys, a full grain leather interior, 3D carbon fibre finishes and adaptive LED headlights – although quite what the trim level will look like in the UK obviously remains to be seen. There’s also said to be the option of a new sports exhaust from next month, for ‘purer and more adrenaline-fuelled sounds’. What more excuse do you need to visit the local Maserati showroom? Delivery-mile GranTurismo Trofeo? Done.