The Auto Channel-Sports Car International Magazine

Back On Track
New Maserati

With the 3200GT, Masserati can finally put the dark days of the Biturbo behind them. Now if they could only work out the details….

Maserati is Italy's forgotten supercar maker. Although older than Ferrari and far older than upstarts like Lamborghini, it has languished on the edge of oblivion for too many decades.

It's not easy to forget a celebrated past that includes two victories at Indianapolis - the only Italian car ever to achieve that - and Fangio's fifth and final F1 World Championship, along with a list of world-renowned drivers whose names include the incomparable Stirling Moss. With such a glorious heritage, it seems a tragedy that Maserati's fate has been handed to various entrepreneurs like an automotive dead fish. But all that is now over.

Once Fiat - the Italian motor industry's patron saint - took over Maserati, we knew the marque was in safe hands. However, its rejuvenation has taken longer than most had hoped for and it really wasn't until the middle of 1997, when Fiat handed the reins over to Ferrari in one of-those peculiar wooden dollar corporate sales, that things started to really move ahead.

Refining Form and Function

The first thing that Luca de Montezemola's team did was refurbish the factory and delay the launch of the long awaited 2+2 you see before you. The reason was simple - before a new Maserati hits the road, its quality has to be right to compete with rivals like the Jaguar XK8 and Porsche 911. The question is have they succeeded with the 3200GT?

On first sight, the car's looks aren't exactly overwhelming. Giugiaro has done a competent enough job, but the new coupe lacks the DB7's svelte lines and even the more brutish stance of the XKR. The Maserati grille echoes that of the current sedans, but the Bologna trident looks a little lost in the center. The car's flanks are smoothly sculpted but devoid of character. However, it's from the rear three-quarters that the 3200GT is at its most disappointing: The heavy C-pillars and clumsy treatment of shaded glass around the small second window jar with the mock vent pressed into the pillar.

Likewise, the rear tail treatment is contrived; the inverted hockey sticks, so rumor has it, were a last minute inclusion to give the car a rear signature and Montezemola hinted that it's a styling cue we can expect to see carried through to future Maseratis. It does look distinctive from behind - distinctively Japanese, not Italian. Maserati's comeback deserves more and Giugiaro should have delivered a better looking product.

Inside there's a rich mixture of leathers covering all the upper surfaces, relieved by only a simple veneer...sorry, mock veneer trim in the center console. As with many other cars in this class - XK8, DB7 - you can play "name the component," but it's better that these cars exist with shared components than not at all. There's a simple enough instrument layout, broken up only by satined surrounds for the door pulls, dials, air vents and a trio of central controls for the heating system. It's a pity, then, that the steering wheel looks and feels lifeless and the Trident badge in the center an afterthought, especially as they've gone to the trouble of updating the traditional ovoid Maserati clock. These and other shortcomings, like a row of indistinguishable buttons on the center console, will be changed, we were assured, by the time the car goes on sale.

One unusual aspect of this latest Maserati is its roominess. Once I'd fiddled about with seat settings, it was pretty comfortable, although my coiffeur insisted on brushing the headlining at all times. Still, there was enough leg and head room for my lanky frame. Maserati claims the 3200GT is a 2+2 and, in the sense that the back seats can actually accommodate a pair of full-size adults-even if they end up being squashed like a jack-in-the-box with the lid down - they are tolerable for short journeys and are certainly better than those of any immediate rivals.

Maserati has always been proud of its engines and the one lurking beneath the 3200GT's hood is no exception: V8, twin turbos, four cams and 32 valves make a heady brew. Stir in a sophisticated engine management system and a drive-by-wire throttle, and the result is a storming 370 hp at 6250 rpm and a stonking 362 lb/ft of torque at 4500 rpm.

The Getrag manual gearbox has six speeds and, next year, a BTR auto from Australia will be offered as an alternative. At the other end of the driveshaft, mounted on the suspension subframe, is a self-locking limited-slip differential that comes into play when the automatic traction control is deactivated. Classic double wishbone suspension all around, featuring shocks with lightweight aluminum casings and coil springs, are abetted by an electronic damper control system. Each shock absorber is independently controlled, has a response time of just 150 milliseconds, and is capable of selecting any one of 256 settings although, in reality. just 14 are used - six for "normal," seven for "sport,' plus one "off" setting.

Stopping power is provided by ventilated and cross-drilled Brembo discs - 330 mm at the front and 310 mm at the rear - backed up by four-channel ABS.

Applying the Formula

We've settled into the firm but comfortable driver's seat, fiddled around with its settings and adjusted the steering wheel for rake and height. Initially, it feels a little like the XK8 or DB7, head close to the roof, but passenger a decent way off to your right. Try the gear lever and the first four notches are well within reach, then you discover fifth is way over to the right and even a stretch for someone with my long arms. Maybe the ergonomics aren't so wonderful, even if the pedals are ideally placed for heel 'n toeing.

Fire up the engine, blip the throttle (well, it is Italy), and the V8 settles down into an uneasy beat, woofling away under the hood to the background chatter of cams and valves.

Time to engage a gear and the 'box is really quite stiff and awkward, the clutch on the heavy side. Still, the engine's got all that poke so you can't expect featherlight controls. But you can expect a progressive throttle action and that the 3200GT definitely hasn't got. Low speed maneuverings, driving at commuting speeds or cruising on a constant throttle are all hampered by an inconsistent throttle that forces you to take on excessive revs and slip the clutch if progress is to be made. Furthermore, it isn't smooth progress - the driveline shunt has your head snapping back and forth as if Evander Holyfield is using you to practice his right-hand jab. The situation eases above 2500-3000 rpm, but not significantly so; cruise at part throttle and, unless you open the throttle with the care of a cat burglar opening a squeaky window, the driveline play snaps in and out.

Ferrari and Maserati boss, Luca de Montezemola, claims he is aware of this and that it is a problem with the engine management strategy. He also says it will be cured in time for delivery. I hope he's true to his words, for when that V8 engine is on full song it's a glorious power unit to sit behind - stunningly powerful without a pause for breath as you force your way from one gear to the next. Even in fifth and sixth, it will punch you forward towards the horizon. Your ears are filled by a distinctive, but compelling engine note with that inherent V8 woofle, but an octave or two higher thanks to the engine's smaller capacity. It's backed up by a quartet of cams and 32 valves opening and closing in harmony. Add to that a background hum of twin turbos and you can dream of automotive heaven Maserati could have saved their buyers some money by not fitting windows, as the only way to drive the 3200GT is with them down so you can hear the scream bounce back off tunnels, villages and walls. Anti-social - yep, but not in Italy.

A Slight Miscalculation

So we've established that, despite its drivetrain, the 3200GT is great in a straight line. What about the wriggly bits? Again, the news isn't all good and that, perhaps, is more disappointing than the drivetrain play.

Let's start with the steering. It's fine on high-speed stretches, and even the wide front tires don't tramline or wander. There's a certain amount of play around the dead-ahead position, and that's no bad thing in car capable of a claimed 175 mph. But this is also a car born with a heritage that includes the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio, so its cornering performance should be peerless and it isn't.

The steering feels unbalanced, inconsistent - on first entering a bend, there's too much anaesthetic between you and what the front wheels and tires are doing. Inevitably you wind on too much lock and have to correct it once the tires grip and bite into the tarmac, then it's case of powering through, as those electronic angels chirrup their chorus. As with many cars of this breed, the harder you drive 3200GT, the more it settles down. You need to attack bends in this car, take it by the scruff of its neck and bully it through. Do that and the 3200GT will reward you, even if it's not exactly free-flowing and sweat-free.

Switch off those guardian angels and beware. In the dry, there's wheelspin in second and third. In the wet, it doesn't bear thinking about, but without ASR and all the other acronyms you'd better possess lightning-quick reactions and the foresight of a clairvoyant to avoid the ends from swapping. This, of course, isn't helped by insensitive throttle action. Too little and it understeers, too much and....

At times the programmed suspension just didn't seem to know what tune it's playing and that makes the inputs fed to the driver all the more inconsistent and confusing. In turn this effects the ride, which bump-thumps through to the occupants like a surfboard being dragged over concrete. Yes, the 18-inch tires are cotton reel wide and have ultra stiff sidewalls, but other cars have them too and maintain a more compliant ride.

I so wanted this new Maserati to be the start of a new era and maybe it is. But the cars we drove were not quite as polished as the 3200GT's rivals, or even the latest products from Maranello. According to Montezemola, these were pre-production models and all the faults will be ironed out before deliveries start next year - still months before the car is expected to arrive in American Ferrari dealerships alongside a new spyder. I hope he's right, because inside the Maserati 3200GT there's a great automobile trying to get out.

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