GranTurismo: Driving Heaven in the Heartland
Scratching the Surface of northern Illinois

Chicago is a terrific city, renowned for its restaurants and entertainment, cool jazz and giant steaks. But it is also notorious for the poor state of its urban roads, and horrendous traffic. Head 20 miles north and you reach the town of Lake Forest, home of Lake Forest Sports Cars – not to mention some great roads and lovely scenery. When we paid the Maserati dealer a visit they generously loaned us one of the most stunning cars we have driven; the Maserati GranTurismo turns heads no matter what the color, but in Rosso Mondiale it almost stops traffic.

Before they could change their minds we grabbed the keys and headed out, eager to make the most of this splendid opportunity. We didn’t have to travel far to find some exceptional roads – this whole area is, if you will pardon the pun, awash with lakes; in fact, just a few miles to the north is the Chain O’ Lakes State Park. The GranTurismo is perfect for such an expedition; its 4.2-liter V8 engine and ZF 6-speed automatic transmission were as happy when we were taking our time as they were when we increased the pace, effortlessly powering through turns and charging down the straights.

The landscape of Illinois was sculpted by the Ice Age, a period of more than 2 million years when glaciers formed by heavy snowfall to the north periodically advanced and retreated. It has been estimated that at one time, the ice over what is now Chicago was a mile thick, which might not surprise some residents in the midst of winter! The glaciers deposited huge amounts of fertile soil, which explains why the area has been cultivated for more than 300 years. More importantly for us, it means the region is criss-crossed with roads threading their way across the rolling countryside.

As we took our time, we were torn between admiring the fields and woodlands of northern Illinois and the interior of the Maserati. The beautiful Poltrona Frau leather which covered the seats and the lower dashboard, as well as the door inners, was wonderfully soft to the touch; in Avorio with contrasting red stitching it was the ideal complement to the bright red paintwork while also emphasizing the rosewood trim. We used the hard-disk-based satellite navigation function of the infotainment system to ensure there was no danger of getting lost, our location always displayed clearly on the screen.

You may find it unsurprising that we sing the praises of the GranTurismo – after all, what else would you expect from Maserati? But the honest truth is that each and every time we have the pleasure of renewing out acquaintance with the car, we are reminded just how great it really is. Leaving aside (for now) the performance, the GranTurismo is the most gorgeous coupe on the market today – and pretty much the only two-door sports car with rear seats which justify that appellation. The generous trunk swallowed all of our photographer’s equipment with room to spare, and settling into the hand-built cabin made us feel truly special.

Now, about that performance… the 4.2 liter engine is a real gem, whether you are sightseeing or pressing on. At lower speeds it is quiet and docile, purring along unobtrusively; use the paddles to drop a couple of ratios and it comes alive, the needle swinging freely round to 6,000 or 7,000 rpm, sending the GranTurismo leaping forward as though let off the leash. And the ZF 6-speed automatic transmission makes an ideal partner; while we were touring the shifts were so smooth as to be almost imperceptible, but with the Sport button pressed and the throttle pressed hard down it hangs on to each ratio for as long as possible before selecting the next one in a remarkably short time.  This translates into acceleration for which ‘brisk’ would be a gross understatement.  In fact it would be neck-snapping were the power delivery and the shifts not so astonishingly smooth. 

Our car may have been bright red, but for us what truly makes a Maserati stand out from the crowd is the handling, and the way the car communicates with the driver. The V8 engine is located entirely behind the front wheel center line; in technical terms, this helps put more weight on the rear wheels, and also reduces the polar moment of inertia. What this actually means is that the GranTurismo has superb handling, and changes direction very quickly for a car of its size, and is extremely predictable while transmitting ‘road feel’ to the driver. The Skyhook active suspension plays its part – the system monitors the movement of each wheel and the car’s body, and instantly adjusts the valving on the aluminum gas-filled dampers. It even takes into account the current driving style, while the Sport button instructs the system to stiffen the settings for better road holding.

The whole set-up does a remarkable job of making the GranTurismo ideally suited to anything from making our way slowly along an uneven country road to attacking a smoothly-surfaced highway, with no hint of a compromise. It’s a blast – real driving satisfaction and excitement. The steering and seat provides ample feedback to the driver on levels of grip, allowing you to feel as one with the high-performance thoroughbred.

After lunch we headed back east, towards Lake Michigan. Passing through towns like Oakwood Hills and Tower Lakes, the GranTurismo did something else at which it excels – turning heads. Passers-by on the street and drivers heading the other way looked over to admire the gorgeous red sports car. It was clearly admiration – there was no hint of reproach, certainly no looking down on us for driving a Maserati. While the styling is undoubtedly aggressive and striking, the GranTurismo avoids any sense of the ‘poseur’ image associated with flashier cars. Lake Bluff has a pretty red-brick train station, over 100 years old, which our photographer thought would make a scenic backdrop; while there, a train discharged its load of commuters, who passed by the car with numerous compliments and questions, and always with a smile and genuine enthusiasm.

Towards the end of the day we headed down to the lake shore, hoping for a beautiful sunset. The clouds meant that didn’t happen, but it was still worth the trip – the weather was warm, and the tree-lined shore stretching away to the north made a pretty backdrop. The evening light emphasized the swooping figure of the GranTurismo – the way the low nose rises into the front fenders, the line then dropping a little before the bulge of the rear fender flows into the elegant tail. The chrome highlights around the side windows help to bring out the arc of the roofline – looking at it, we still find it difficult to reconcile the way the roof falls away with the full-size rear seats it somehow encloses.

Next morning we were up bright and early; we headed into the center of Lake Forest for a breakfast bagel and OJ, and reflected on our experiences with the GT. In our opinion, and that of so many others, it is one of the most striking cars on the road – elegant, aggressive and sexy all at once, but never brash, even in a ‘loud’ color such as Rosso Mondiale. With its luxurious interior, sports-car performance and handling, full-size rear seats and generous trunk space, it is arguably the best coupe available; and when the list price is factored in, it looks like an astonishing value, particularly when compared to other, more exotic two-doors.

Breakfast over, we returned to Lake Forest Sports Cars for the inevitable anticlimax to our trip – returning the GranTurismo. Our thanks go to them for giving us the chance to explore the pretty byways of north-east Illinois, and for the loan of such a stunning Maserati.