Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo

Maserati is enjoying a resurgence, led by the eCoty-winning MC20 supercar. The new GranTurismo shares a detuned version of its magnificent twin-turbo V6, but does it have the same magic?

- DAVID VIVIAN

ONCE TARNISHED, MASERATI'S FAMOUS name is shiny again. The MC20, our reigning eCoty champ, turns out to be a mid-engined marvel for the ages, while the first new-generation Gran Turismo to break cover, all 750bhp of whispering electric Folgore, has brought sexy to a mostly rather sterile EV sector. Facing a reputational fightback as well as the market's baked-in challenges from the long-established Teutonic hegemony, Maserati still has it all to do but is proudly hauling itself back to a state of grace and, just as importantly, a place of relevance.

Following a back-slapping fest for the MC20's makers, protecting momentum is clearly key, and while the Folgore is necessarily a banker for an electron-dependent future, it's the all-new, all-wheel-drive, petrol-powered, twin-turbo V6 Gran Turismo that will either establish a post-MC20 hit factory to satisfy well-heeled and style-savvy speed lovers or be the good but rather troubled second album. Tough act to follow, the MC20.

Tamer of the two new Gran Turismo models and named after its birthplace is the Modena, though with 483bhp and 442lb ft, it's hardly in danger of having sand kicked anywhere near its chiselled features. More evo-centric, however, is this, the 542bhp and 479lb ft Trofeo. I've been allocated one with a blazing saffron paint job for my day in the Italian sunshine, which I reckon must shave at least half a second from the claimed 3.5sec 0-62mph time. Not so fanciful if my neck muscles are a reliable witness, although that particular confrontation happens a little way down the road...