Maserati GranTurismo S Auto Sport Pack (2011) news

First there was the Maserati GranTurismo, then the GranTurismo S, and mostly recently the track-hardened MC Stradale. But if your ideal big Italian GT sits somewhere between the GranTurismo S and MC Stradale then Maserati now has the car for you.

Well, it’s not so much a model as a tasty option for the UK’s best-selling Maserati model, the GranTurismo S Automatic. For £3840 you can spec the new Sport Pack, which ups to total cost of your new Maser to £92,480.

Above and beyond the existing 433bhp 4.7-litre V8 and six-speed ZF automatic gearbox from the GranTurismo S Automatic, the Sport Pack adds a tweaked exhaust system which keeps the trick bypass valves fully open when you select the Sport mode – all the better to hear that V8 bellow.

There’s new, faster MC Auto Shift software for the transmission, plus a host of styling upgrades: grey (or to be precise, Grigio Mercury Neptune-design) wheels, oval exhaust finishers, a little spoiler integrated into the boot lid, black-look headlights, black mesh side grilles, a black grille with a red-accents Trident logo, plus side skirts and new front winglets. The order books open in September 2011.

By Ben Pulman