Japanese Car Auction Finds: Maserati Gran Turismo

Along with the Aston Martin V8 Vantage I wrote about the other day, the Maserati Gran Turismo has to be one of the most elegantly designed cars available today. Notice that I did not say it is necessarily the most exciting, or the most cutting-edge. Just as is the case with the Aston, the elegance comes from the excellent proportions and the sense of “poise”.

The Gran Turismo updates the modern Maserati styling cues from the Quattroporte and applies them to the two-door format. The result is that the already reasonably attractive Quattroporte is completely eclipsed by this sportier model. And despite the 2-door design, it still retains a decent amount of cabin space for its two plus two seating arrangement.

This one at auction in Japan is the “base” model with a mere 405 horsepower engine, which is still sufficient to pull it to 60 mph in 5 seconds, and on to a top speed of 178 mph. More than enough for the autobahn and, to be honest, pretty excessive on Japan’s crowded streets.

Looking at the previous sales history for a very clean grade 5 with just 15k KM on the clock, I would think this one will sell for around 10 million Yen.

(c) Integrity Exports Co. Ltd. – Japan car auction buyer and exporter.