Drive Everything; Buy a GranSport

It's an enviable problem to have: if you enjoy the luxury of owning a stable of great cars, including some classic sports and GT cars one of which is an immaculate classic Lamborghini 400GT, what do you choose for a daily driver? For Robert Ross, there was an obvious answer: a Maserati GranSport. This is saying a great deal because, apart from owning some of the most desirable automobiles, Robert is a serious student and practitioner of design. He is an extremely thoughtful, often jovial proponent of design for life, a modern-day William Morris, and one who happens to drive most of the world's great cars as part of his job. His opinion on automotive excellence carries real weight.

Having owned a number of Porsche 911 coupes, Robert was looking for a change. "The 996 was a great utensil I call it a toaster car, you use it every day until it breaks, and then you throw it away," he told us. "I considered getting a 997 Porsche - but I wanted something a little more... interesting, soulful, comfortable, stylish and, in Los Angeles, you see about 20 Porsches a day."

Style cropped up several times in our conversation; in fact, when asked about his Maserati's most important attribute, Robert unhesitatingly placed style at the top of the list, closely followed by great performance. He described it as: "one of the most attractive Giugiaro designs of the 90s, improved considerably by Frank Stephenson in the GranSport" an opinion with which we (modestly) agree.

But style alone doesn't make a great car certainly not one you'd consider for an every-day car. That takes practicality and reliability, and Robert feels the GranSport delivers both. "As far as comfort and accommodation go, the GranSport is fairly practical and I marvel at the fact that they have been able to create a GT that has two legitimate adult-sized back seats," he said. "I think the Maserati is the most rational decision for someone looking for a luxury GT that performs; the only car which comes close is the Aston Martin, and I feel that is just a little too 'parts bin' as beautiful as it is, I prefer the purity of the Maserati's lineage, and I like the motor infinitely better than what is coming out of Aston Martin."

Robert is a senior VP with magazine publisher CurtCo Robb Media; and he has had the chance of driving just about every luxury and high-performance car you care to name. As a result, our discussions roam far and wide, covering everything from the ubiquity of Mercedes and Porsche in Los Angeles, where he lives, through to the dire turning circle of an Italian supercar, best left unnamed "like driving a school bus," was Robert's eloquent description.

As the successor to three Porsche 911s, comparisons of the GranSport with the German version of the sports coupe are inevitable; as far as Robert is concerned, the Maserati comes out very favorably. "The beautiful thing about the Maserati is that its heart is its V8 engine, and it is an absolutely exceptional powerplant. It's got great torque, it revs high, it sounds great, it's fun to use, it's flexible," he explained. "Let's be honest, Porsche engines, as wonderful and flexible as they are, are not torque monsters. Also, the Maserati is just plain fun to drive, but it's also comfortable to drive. It's a car that delivers performance and a great driving experience, without compromising in terms of a cramped cabin, noise, rough ride or without fearing that the damn thing is not going to continue operating."

When ordering his new car, Robert ensured that he got exactly the combination of paintwork and interior colors he wanted, taking advantage of the Special Order program an important factor in opting for a Maserati. "One thing that was appealing about the Maserati is that it's one of the few companies which will actually let you build your car to your specifications," he said. "And that was one of the most exciting aspects of the GranSport; it's painted an historical color, Bordeaux Victoria, which means something to Maserati, that they haven't produced in years and years, but to me it's the most beautiful burgundy ever made. And then inside there's just a blast of fluorescent color that no sane person would have chosen, and yet it looks great blue leather and Brightex fabric."

Perhaps it's the startling interior of his GranSport that helps reinvigorate Robert each time he drives it or perhaps it's the whole driving experience. "You can pour yourself into the car at 7am when you're not feeling your best, not interested in going to work, and you can get there feeling pretty good, having driven it," he told us. "Car enthusiasts, especially guys who do track work, understand handling dynamics, suspension, brakes, tuning these are the people who appreciate these cars. The other day one of our writers drove the new Quattroporte Sport GT, and he was raving about it - he said the car was absolutely perfect, there wasn't a thing he would change about the car. It's a fantastic sedan that doesn't even feel like a sedan. And the GranSport is a fantastic sports car that doesn't feel like a four-seat GT."

Having begun by discussing style, it is appropriate to end in the same vein. When asked whether the GranSport represented good value, Robert unhesitatingly agreed, particularly when taking Italian style into account. "These days every car is good; one does not have to spend six figures to get an exceptional car; but I think the Maserati is good value, because style is something that it's hard to put a price on," he explained. "So many cars today, even the expensive and well-made premium cars that we all know the names of, offer value in terms of build quality, fit and finish; but style is an intangible. What makes an Armani suit worth the price is not just the quality of the materials and the tailoring, but rather the style. What price do you put on a beautifully designed thing? Maserati happens to be one of those very few cars which is absolutely beautifully styled. I think they reward the owner by virtue of that style and exclusivity."

His meal: A great New York steak and a good cabernet. His TV show: I don't own a TV.
His movie: Fellini's Satyricon.
His book: Against the Grain, by Joris-Karl Huysmans
His hobbies: Collector cars and Old Master prints.
New Place he would most like to visit: The Maserati factory.
Place to which he most likes to return: The California desert: Death Valley.
His heroes: Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Drer, and JS Bach.
His preferred alternative profession: Keyboard player.
If he lost his Maserati and had to replace it with something else: The only viable replacement would be a Ferrari Maranello or 599 GTB.

His Maserati: A 2006 GranSport personalized through the Officine Alfieri Maserati Program