Maserati GranCabrio

• The Maserati GranCabrio will make its debut on September 15 at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show. The Maserati GranCabrio is a four-seat convertible that promises to offer enough space for all its occupants, completes Maserati’s product line-up that now consists of three different families of models: Quattroporte, GranTurismo, GranCabrio.
  
  The GranCabrio is powered by a 4.7 litre V8, 323 kW engine and is the convertible with the longest wheelbase on the market. The GranCabrio’s roof is strictly canvas-made, emphasizing the link with the Maserati tradition.
  
  The Maserati GranCabrio was designed at Pininfarina and will be built at the Viale Ciro Menotti Maserati factory will go on sale next spring.

Human Ad Boards: Fernando Alonso's New Ride

Wearing his full suite of commercial armor, two-times Formula 1 World Champion and current driver of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, Fernando Alonso, proudly presented his newest ride in Fiorano, the Maserati GranCabrio.

"Fernando Alonso was particularly impressed with the roominess offered by the GranCabrio, perfect for four adult passengers," says Maserati, which just like Ferrari, belongs to the Fiat Group.

That said, we might have been impressed by the Spanish pilot's choice if he wasn't driving for Ferrari...

Maserati GranCabrio Priced from £95,630 in the UK

The convertible version of the Maserati GrandTurismo coupe, the GranCabrio, is available for order now in the UK with OTR prices starting from £95,630. The first right-hand drive examples will reach Maserati's showrooms in April 2010. It comes equipped with a folding fabric roof and according to Maserati, it features the longest wheelbase (2,492mm) of any convertible available on the market, meaning that it should offer adequate room for all four passengers.

The GranCabrio is powered by a 4.7-liter V8 delivering 440 HP and 490Nm (362 lb-ft) of torque. All that action is sent to the rear wheels through a ZF automatic six-speed gearbox with Maserati announcing a 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 5.4 seconds and a top speed of 281 km/h or 175 mph.

Buyers can choose from 14 different colors for the body and six different shades for the soft top. In addition to the wide range of options, Maserati also offers a bespoke four-piece leather luggage set which fits perfectly into the boot.

Frankfurt Show: Maserati GranCabrio Photo Galore

Maserati blew the top off the dazzling convertible version of it GranTurismo coupe, which goes by the name GranCabrio, at the Frankfurt Show today. The first four-seater convertible in the history of the Italian automaker borrows the GranTuismo S' 440HP 4.7 liter V8 engine which is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. All it takes for the driver and the passengers to enjoy an open-air experience is a push of a button and 28 seconds latter presto, the cloth top is neatly tucked away under a special compartment behind the rear seats.

The Italian firm's engineers paid particular attention to vehicle's aerodynamics, with the creation of a flat aluminum base that not only adds to the overall body's rigidity but also reduces Cx by 6 points. Amazingly and for the first time -or so Maserati claims- the topless version is able to maintain the same aerodynamic performance of the coupe, with a Cx of 0.35.

The new Maserati GranCabrio will be available for order this coming winter, with first deliveries expected to arrive the following spring of 2010.

NOTE: New Zoom Function for Photo Albums

In our never-ending quest to better our blog, (we'll list the changes in a post after the Frankfurt Show), one of the latest additions is a new zoom function for the photo galleries. The pictures not only load faster now but they also open in the same page and more importantly, are automatically re-sized according to the width/height of your browser screen without affecting the download size that remains the same.

Try it out after you refresh your browser and tell us what you think. If there's a bug, we'd appreciate it if you sent us an e-mail, and yes, a next-previous image function is in the works