Black Beauty in Penn’s Sylvania
GranTurismo The Perfect Steed for The Hunt

In the rural outskirts of Philadelphia, near Villanova University, Bryn Mawr College and Valley Forge National Monument, is another East Coast landmark: Algar Maserati, Pennsylvania’s only Trident dealership. When, on a recent visit, Algar offered to lend us a GranTurismo so we could go exploring the neighborhood, we gratefully accepted – and for once, we opted to steer well clear of the city.

Instead we headed off into the Pennsylvania countryside, hoping to find some interesting roads while enjoying the scenery. We’re happy to report that we weren’t disappointed – in either the car or the rural delights on offer. Pennsylvania is a huge state, some 46,000 square miles – and much of it offers beautiful lush countryside, quiet roads and scenic towns. The Appalachian and the Allegheny Mountains sweep through the state, which ensures some varied terrain – ideal territory for any Maserati.

When it comes to appealing sights, our car was at least a match for the scenery. The Nero paintwork, far from concealing the GranTurismo’s gorgeous curves, somehow emphasized them – a true black beauty. The interior was a nice contrast – the light Grigio Ghiaccio of the leather highlighted by the black stitching and the rosewood trim; however much we drive Maseratis, each time we get into one feels like a special occasion.

And then, as if being cosseted by all that Poltrona Frau leather wasn’t enough, there’s the sound when you start the engine. The Ferrari-built 4.2-liter V8 has no coarseness – it purrs, but with a delightful raspy edge which serves as a promise of things to come. A quick prod of the throttle pedal sends the tach needle swinging round the dial, an early indication of the engine’s unusually free-revving nature. But enough of that – I move the gear selector into D, and we nose out into the Lancaster Avenue traffic.

What is immediately obvious is that the GranTurismo, for all its aggressive looks and high-performance components, can be utterly docile and compliant. With the superb ZF six-speed automatic transmission looking after itself, the car is perfectly at home in heavy traffic; and the luxurious interior makes it a supremely relaxing place to be, even when crawling from one stop sign to the next. But even though the GranTurismo makes traffic seem bearable, we would much rather have the opportunity to put it through its paces on an open road, so we soon headed off into the countryside.

The Pennsylvania colony formally came into being on 2nd April 1681, by Royal Charter; King Charles II owed £16,000 to William Penn, and agreed to grant the land in settlement of the debt. The land was named Pennsylvania in honor of Penn’s father, Admiral Sir William Penn. It was a time of religious foment across Europe; William Penn was a Quaker, a persecuted sect, and he used the land as a haven in the New World. With its rolling woodland, British emigrants must have found Pennsylvania very similar to home and even today the names of towns and villages reflect the places from which they came.

For example, close by the Algar dealership is Bryn Mawr - it means ‘big hill’ in Welsh, and takes its name from the estate of a Welsh farmer who emigrated in 1686. Birmingham, Manchester, York, Reading, Devon, Cardiff, Oxford, New London – the English heritage can be found across the state, and one can easily imagine a fox hunt traversing these shires, a last bastion of cricket in the Americas! Places such as Germantown, Hamburg and Swedeland show that the area became home to others seeking freedom and prosperity and, indeed, the state was pivotal to victory in both the American Revolution and the War Between the States, and the dramatic rise of America as an industrial superpower.

Heading west, we soon found ourselves on tree-lined streets in the Radnor Valley; once we had crossed Veterans Memorial Highway, the houses thinned out and we found some perfect roads on which to let the GranTurismo strut its stuff. Pressing the Sport button stiffened the Skyhook suspension and instructed the computers controlling the transmission to hold on to each ratio for longer; it wouldn’t be true to say that the Maserati was transformed because it is always superbly tuned, but the changes are noticeable, and make the GranTurismo a terrific car for effortlessly charging along a twisting road.

In fact, the programming of the transmission is best described as a ‘hidden glory’. In normal mode the six-speed transmission shifts early in the rev range, giving the car a relaxed feel ideally suited to the role of Grand Tourer; but in Sport mode, with more throttle being applied, full advantage is taken of a red line beyond 7,100 rpm, each gear held to unleash all 405 horsepower from the engine, as well as delivering a wonderfully musical exhaust note. And simply by nudging the shift lever to the left, the transmission switches to fully manual mode, the driver controlling the action using the two sculpted paddles sitting just behind the steering wheel – although even in this mode the electronics keep a watchful eye, and will prevent an ill-judged downchange from over-revving the engine.

We found ourselves on the Darby Paoli Road, which winds its way for a few miles through the farms and woodlands to the west of Radnor. In search of a good location for photos, we explored some of the side roads, and we could see the attraction of the area to the present-day settlers. Here we were, less than 15 miles from the bustling center of Philadelphia, in an idyllic rural setting; fine houses with gardens and paddocks, surrounded by trees and shrubs. It made a lovely backdrop for our photographer – and gave me the excuse for repeated runs over the same enjoyable stretch of road, listening to the exhaust note reverberate over hill and dale as the revs soared.

A little further along the Darby Paoli Road we came to the Willows Park and Mansion; since it was a hot day, we took the opportunity to pull in near the lake, sitting in the shade offered by the trees and admiring the fountains. Just then, it was difficult to think of a more perfect setting, or a better way to unwind from the stresses of a busy day. In fact, one could imagine that the commute to this rural idyll from the business and academic centers of old city would leave one rejuvenated after even the hardest day.  It also meant we had the chance to admire the exterior of the GranTurismo once again – perhaps it’s self-evident, but when driving you don’t see the outside of the car! Pininfarina did a remarkable job in styling the GranTurismo; looking at the profile, it is difficult to believe that such a sleek body has enough interior space to comfortably seat four adults as, unique in its class, it does.

All too soon it was time to cut short our pastoral downtime and head back to Rosemont. On such a hot and humid day the dual-zone climate control was soon in action, quickly cooling the interior to our desired temperature as we drove to the exit of the Willows Park. Ambling past the Overbrook golf course and the Radnor Valley country club, we couldn’t help but feel that the GranTurismo would make the perfect car to arrive at either location – particularly since the trunk quite easily envelops a pair of golf bags.

Our trip ended as it had begun, making steady progress through the traffic on Lancaster Avenue, At least it gave the other drivers time to admire the Maserati – several drivers smiled and nodded their appreciation of the Italian masterpiece. Then we turned into the forecourt of the dealership, and it was time to return the keys – a reminder that the admiration was for the car, not its occupants! Our grateful thanks to Algar Maserati of Philadelphia, for lending us the car and pointing us down the road in the right direction.