Trident Tested

Trust a day-long track session to remind you why Maserati remains one of the most storied brands on the planet

- Parth Charan

The Gran Turismo Trofeo takes in a lungful of South Australia's coastal air, charging down the pit straight with the inertia of a space shuttle. The sonorous, gurgling V8 soundtrack that usually accompanies this most Italian of grand tourers is noticeably absent, but it's replaced by a gruff V6 that's allowing it to exit corners while still in 4th gear. Such are the supernatural powers of forced induction. But much like the rev needle on the counter, I'm jumping ahead. The back-to-back hot laps are taking place at the Bend International Motorsport Park in South Australia. In typical Aussie parlance, it has a fuss-free name that belies a complex set of high-speed corners and gloriously long straights that join together to form an FIA-graded international circuit.

The Bend happens to be the venue for the Master Maserati Driving Experience essentially corporate jargon for hooning around in a handful of the best Maseratis currently in the market, till the sun goes down. Even if the sun wasn't setting on the South Australian coast, with nothing but flatlands for miles, this is the stuff of core memories.

My day begins with an alarm served up by a 3.0-litre 'Nettuno' V6, buzzing past the hotel room situated directly above the pit garage. No, it's not the soundtrack served up by traditional Maseratis of yore, but it is something more significant. A clarion call heralding the arrival of a new Maserati, in the wake of the brand's recent renaissance. Untethered and unburdened by the legacy of Ferrari, Maserati is now free to make sports cars in its own image.