Black beauty seats four

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.