Maserati, Ferrari, Monte Carlo, Italy In This Months Letter From Europe

By Andrew Frankl
European Bureau Chief
The Auto Channel

This is one letter that very nearly never made it to our HQ in Kentucky. Yours sincerely was rather ill during the summer and spent most of it in intensive care. The good news is that we are back in sunny California and the operation which should take care of things is scheduled for 25th September.

Yet, it started off so well. Virgin Atlantic were as good as ever across the Atlantic and so were British Airways who took us from London to Bologna. Same flights, year in year out and long may it continue. Old friend Sergio was at the airport and in no time we were unloading and reloading suitcases at Maserati, just down the road in Modena. For once the atmosphere was pretty gloomy as few days earlier there was an earthquake just down the road. Imagine having to sleep in your car or in a tent and go to work the following day to assemble cars costing 150 thousand dollars or more.

As the adorable Claudia Cassarini was away on a car launch we had one of her colleagues to help us. After last year’s Quattroporte this time an off white Grand Turismo waited for the traditional dash to Monaco. With daughter Annabelle-an ace driver in her own right-we were there in no time to join Sir Stelios –founder of Easyjet, Europe’s highly successful answer to Southwest Airlines, at the recently opened Monaco branch of Cipriani, a well known watering hole in London and Los Angeles. It was of course full of Grand Prix people, all that was missing was the red carpet.

The rest of the weekend followed its usual pattern-collection of credentials and catching up with fellow journalists who were all rather happy to be back from the horrors of China and Malaysia. The Chinese track is so full of pollution that sometimes drivers can’t even see the end of the pitlane. Malaysia-with its monsoons and virtually no spectators is plain silly, F1 only goes there for the money. So no wonder Monaco was a very welcome change for the weary travelers.

Apart from the race which was won by pole sitter Mark Webber there are always two highlights during the weekend.

The first is a very exclusive party on a private yacht which has two rather large ex-Foreign Legion gentlemen at the entrance ensuring that the exclusive party remains just that. Organised –for the 8th year running-by a highly successful outfit by the name of MyYachtMonaco- it is THE party to be seen at on the Friday evening. This year’s guest list was topped by Prince Albert and his wife Charlene, both in tremendous form. The Prince is doing a super job ensuring that the Principality is always buzzing with some event or another, be it a tennis tournament, an athletics meeting with Usain Bolt or a major fashion show.

The following evening I had a chance to drive the Maserati-with the top down of course-up to the Palace for the traditional Saturday evening pre-Grand Prix reception. The Tattinger champagne was flowing, the food courtesy of one of the top hotels was excellent and the crowd was truly the Who’s Who in Monaco and in the world of F1. So we had Jean Todt, President of the International Automobile Association, several team bosses, three times World Champion Jackie Stewart and the people behind the new film”Rush” which will be released early next year.
It is all about the rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt back in 1976. Should be fascinating.

So with that and the race behind us it was time for me to head back to Bologna Airport to meet my very jet lagged wife who had just arrived from San Francisco. There followed a week’s wonderful holiday in Tuscany where we could take full advantage of the Maser’s four seats. The car is a grand tourer in the purest sense of the word. Yes, it can be driven very quickly indeed-it does have a 4.7 liter Ferrari engine after all! -but why? At 90 miles per hour it just drifts along and never misses a beat. The company is in the process of launching several new models, the SUV in particular sounds very exciting indeed-a first for a company better known for its racing exploits.

New family member Jon and I had a day off from the ladies as we were off to Ferrari to take the new 458 Spider for a spin but not before we had a quick lunch at the legendary Montana restaurant just down the road from the factory. The first person we bumped into was championship leader Fernando Alonso. In jeans and a jumper it was really nice to see him in civvies.

What can I add to the story of the 458 Spider? It is simply the most amazing, most exciting car in the World. The roof comes down in 14 seconds and the rest, well, you will just have to buy one or rent one to find out for yourself. Car guys often argue about which is the best car in the World, folks-don’t bother. This is it. We took it to the new Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena which is just across the road from Maserati’s HQ.

It is an amalgam of the house where Mr. Ferrari was born with a futuristic building which could well have been designed by Sir Norman Foster. Fascinating and could clearly be used for major exhibitions or conferences as well as displaying cars. If you are visiting the car factories in the region it is well worth a visit.

Soon after this things went somewhat pear shaped. I won’t bore you with the details but fun it wasn’t. Had it not been for my wife Suzie and my children Nicholas and Annabelle I don’t think I would have made it which is why it is so wonderful to write this letter 16 years after writing the first one.

Wish I could now go on about just how wonderful the new Infiniti 2013 G convertible is. Regular readers know that I am a huge Infiniti fan which is why it is somewhat sad to report that at 61 thousand dollars this particular model simply does not cut the mustard.

Yes, of course the 3.7 liter V6 is excellent if somewhat thirsty as 20 miles per gallon and yes, all the usual Infiniti gizmos are where they should be but then we come to the question of trunk. Dear, oh dear. I have never, ever come across a folding hard top which does not leave some room for groceries. Or even a tennis racket. Someone somewhere forgot to look at how rivals do it and came up with what at best is an unfortunate solution. The back seats are also somewhat of problem. Finished in beautiful grey leather the rear passengers would have a hard time getting in and once in problems getting out. Oh, and once it stands by for anguished cries of “ can you move forward please”.

Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with the dynamic qualities. The brakes are fine as is the suspension. The seven speed automatic transmission is seamless and the huge paddle shifters are well positioned. 19 inch wheels, dual exhausts with chrome finishers, you name it. It is the lack of comfort in the back and the non-existent trunk (when folded) which defeats an another fine automobile.

Well that’s all from this year’s Italian adventure…see you next month.