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75 Years in the Making, Maserati Celebrates the Return of a Motoring Icon

The luxury motorist unveils its Maserati GranTurismo range, bringing electric and petrol power to Australia.

Article by T Australia

CAR REVIEW / 22 Dec 2022

Maserati's GranTurismo Folgore, available in Australia in 2023. Photograhy courtesy Maserati.

Seventy-five years ago, during the post-WWII Italian economic boom, Maserati unveiled its GranTurismo A6 1500. The luxury marque introduced the concept of granturismo (‘grand touring’), striking a seemingly impossible balance: a precise alchemy of sport and elegance. The two-door coupé combined performance and comfort with an elegant interior, in a true four-seater.

Fifteen years since Maserati released a new model, the long-awaited next generation GranTurismo is expected to land on Australian shores next year. Replacing the Tipo M145, there will be three high performance models to choose from: the GranTurismo Modena, GranTurismo Trofeo, and the all-electric GranTurismo Folgore.

GranTurismo Modena

Equipped with 490-hp 3.0-litre V6 Nettuno Twin Turbo and AWD transmission, the Modena is designed for devotees of refinement with a penchant for leisure journeys. The interior, available in black, tan or greige leather, features an embroidered graphic motif inspired by the visual symbols in Michelangelo’s Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome, which continues in conversation across the dashboard, panels and seats. Accents in dark ash burl, an unusual, contemporary wood with a grey tone and an open-pore finish, enhance the tactile quality of the design cues. The car’s exterior features 20” alloy wheels in the front, 21” in the rear, with a classic front splitter design. Its black front grille features gloss black slats and a brushed chrome outline, with chrome-plated window finishes and exhaust terminals.

GranTurismo Trofeo

The more powerful Trofeo, equipped with the same engine and transmission, soups its power up to 550 hp. Its elegant silhouette and high performance engine makes it suited to sports and adrenaline-fuelled enthusiasts, enhanced by marked exterior lines and carbon fibre accents. The Trofeo’s dynamic interior features perforated leather and a herringbone motif on the dashboard and seats, with high contrast stitching. Forged 20” wheels in the front and 21” in the rear accompany specific front splitters, rear bumper with carbon fibre accents, side skirts in full carbon fibre, and gloss black grille slats. The Trofeo will launch in a sumptuous Rosso Granturismo red hue.

GranTurismo Folgore

Equipped with three 300-kW electric motors (raising the installed power to over 1200 hp), and powered by an 800-volt battery, Maserati’s first electric vehicle – the Folgore – achieves a maximum available power of over 750 hp. Crafted for the pioneers, the 100% electric Folgore features Econyl, a recycled nylon woven from recovered sea nets. Available in light and dark variants, the car’s interior features world-first innovative lasering, providing tan upholstery for the dashboard and exclusive accents to the doors. The exterior features 20” Aero wheels in the front and 21” in the rear, specifically designed for the best aerodynamics, while specific splitters, dedicated wheels in diamond-cut gloss black and front diffusers maximise the car’s Cx by approximately 7 per cent in comparison to the petrol version, supporting range optimisation.

03_Maserati A6 1500 — Maserati A6 1500, released during the post-WWII Italian economic boom. Photography courtesy Maserati.

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The editorial staff of T Australia had no role in this post’s preparation

Aston Martin Proves Performance and Utility Aren’t Mutually Exclusive

T Australia’s resident motorist Justin Jackie puts the brand’s DBX707 to the test.

Article by Justin Jackie

CAR REVIEW / 18 Oct 2022

Aston Martin's new DBX707 proves performance and utility are not mutually exclusive. Photography courtesy Aston Martin.

SUVs go against everything I enjoy about driving. They are heavy, tall and inefficient, yet for reasons I still struggle to process, they have reliably been the most prevalent segment for the past decade. While family-friendly manufacturers have produced the majority of these tall timbers, sports and luxury brands like Aston Martin resisted the urge to dilute their image, and rightly so. But with staggering sales from the likes of the Porsche Macan and a balance sheet that wasn’t looking too healthy, the British marque had its financial arm twisted and released the DBX in 2020.

Unsurprisingly, the DBX was as gorgeous as it was successful and has led to somewhat of a resurgence for the Aston Martin brand. But while 542 HP was more than enough power for society’s elite, the engineers at Aston were humming in the background, building one of the most ridiculous cars to wear the iconic wings. The new car, titled the “DBX707” (signifying 707PS of power), is the most powerful luxury SUV ever made. So, with a few days up my sleeve, I decided to take the hyper-SUV out and about to see if I could make sense of the pretty colossus.

From the outset, the DBX707 doesn’t look dissimilar to the standard DBX, which isn’t a bad thing by any means. The muscular silhouette is the most handsome SUV I’ve encountered, with near-perfect proportions dancing harmoniously with tastefully sculpted body panels. If you peak a little closer, the 707 sports a more prominent front grille housing improved air intakes and brake cooling ducts, while a new front splitter assists in keeping all of that savage power glued to the tarmac.

The rear of the 707 is probably the only angle that doesn’t look quite right. The LED tail light sweeps upwards across the boot, which I’m sure has aerodynamic benefits, but I think a clean horizontal light strip would look neater and more balanced. New quad exhausts and a plethora of aero-based carbon-fibre round off a very focused visual terrain.

Aston Martin DBX707 2 — Photography courtesy Aston Martin.

Inside the cabin, Aston Martin has continued their performance theme with aplomb. The new centre console is clad in carbon fibre and provides a surfeit of driver-focused functionality at your fingertips. Courageous enough to turn traction control off? There’s a button at your fingertips. Want to adjust suspension easily on the fly? There’s one for that too. It’s a nice blend of sport and luxury throughout the cockpit, and while some of the switchgear still feels a little dated, at least Apple CarPlay has joined the party.

Once you’re out on an open road, however, little of this matters at all. Put the DBX707 in Sports+ mode, aim for something on the horizon, and the 900Nm of torque will catapult you there with ferocity. The new wet-clutch system and a shorter final drive combine for a snappy joyride through the gears, so much so that the two-tonne of muscle will do 0-100 in 3.3 seconds. Surprisingly though, as impressive as the powertrain is, the chassis development is even more remarkable. While hunkered down in the engaged driving position, the steering and pedal feel was commendable (via 420mm carbon ceramic brakes), with the overall package feeling planted to the point where I forgot what type of vehicle I was occupying. I mean, it’s still a far cry from a Valkyrie, but it never feels as tall or heavy as the specifications sheet suggests.

The prevalent theme of the DBX707 is engineering eminence, which should be commended for that alone. There’s no doubt that the DBX platform has thrown the Aston Martin brand a sales lifeboat, and it appears in saying thanks; the engineering team decided to extract every drop of performance out of the package, shooting rooster tails all the way to shore. And while it hasn’t changed my mentality on the hyper-SUV segment, it is still the best looking and most engaged I’ve felt driving a car of this stature.

Aston Martin DBX707 3 — Photography courtesy Aston Martin.

Tasting Notes:

Exceptional chassis
Ridiculous power
Tasteful design

Needs Ripening:

Switchgear doesn’t feel expensive
Infotainment is far from polished
$430K for an SUV is a tough pill to swallow

Carpark credentials:

With a large footprint and an even heftier price tag, only the brave would park alongside the general public. Of course, various cameras and sensors assist manoeuvring, but you couldn’t duck down to Bunnings without inducing a panic attack.

The second glance:

I experienced a pursed lip, an up-down, and a decapitating hand swipe from a food delivery rider (I’m still trying to figure that one out).

If this car was a person:

Anthony Joshua in peak fitness shooting a Hugo Boss campaign.

The latest from T’s motoring experts:

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The New Land Rover Defender is a Handsome Choose Your Own Adventure

The Defender brand has propped up Land Rover’s adventure image for decades. Does its new platform do justice to one of the most iconic names in the motoring industry?

Article by Justin Jackie

CAR REVIEW / 30 Sep 2022

Photography courtesy Land Rover.

To many, the Land Rover Defender was the adventure 4WD from our childhoods. From 1983 to 2016, the car, based on the original Land Rover “Series” 4x4s, was as rugged as it was riveted, as expected on farms as it was in the city. Put simply: it was all things to all people. In fact, one of my first driving experiences as a kid was learning to drive in a Series 2 on my aunty’s cattle station in Booubyjan, Queensland – a similar experience I’m sure a few have shared.

But while most people were content seeing Defenders roll out of showrooms for decades to come, stricter safety and emissions standards meant that the platform had to be retired in 2016. Land Rover launched its replacement three years later at the Frankfurt Motorshow to mixed responses, and the chatter hasn’t really dissipated. You see, the Defender brand is to Land Rover what the 911 is to Porsche: a poster child. But whereas Porsche has continuously updated the 911 over a 60-year period, Land Rover built a very similar car from 1948 to 2016 then, in 2019, sprung a design on us that looks like it skipped 10 stages of its evolution.

Bloodlines aside, once you stop comparing the two platforms, there’s plenty to admire about the short-wheelbase Defender. With concise overhangs and a stubby nose, the 90 is a proportional masterclass that manages to squeeze a large car into an impressively short stature of just 4,323mm (minus the spare). The car’s rear is arguably the most accurate homage to the original, with the sheer-angled panel now playing host to LED taillights and a large, soft-close tailgate. Fitted to our car were the optional 22-inch gloss black wheels ($7,267), but these compromise the car’s off-road ability. Which, let’s face it, is the whole point of buying a Defender, isn’t it?

Inside the cabin, things are equally as modern. The front section can be configured as a two or three-seater (via a fold-down, bench-style middle seat), with the latter being one of the few option boxes worth ticking. The rear leg and headroom are also surprisingly ample, with even my taller friends having space to burn. Still, the optional 14-way adjustable seats were painfully slow when getting passengers in and out, so the standard seats should be the preference if back seats are going to be frequented regularly. The interior’s materials are definitive and tread a fine line between hard-wearing and luxury, with a tasteful amount of exposed metal and plastics providing a dapper nod to the car’s capabilities.

As Land Rover fitted my Defender with the optional 22-inch wheels, the bulk of my driving was spent on the sealed stuff, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. The 3.0-litre twin-turbo six-cylinder is one of the most impressive engines I’ve experienced in a Land Rover, and the little nugget lapped up any challenge thrown at it. Driving up Macquarie Pass was effortless, as the 570Nm of torque on tap allowed the 2300kg frame to launch out of corners, regardless of gear selection or rev range. The optional air suspension pack ($1,309) is primarily utilised in off-road settings, but it was more than capable of planting the body under spirited driving, especially when you consider the 90 has such a short wheelbase and the drag coefficient of a brick.

Overall, the Land Rover Defender is an intriguing proposition. If you constantly make comparisons between the old and new Defender, you walk away jaded and disappointed. The new car is bigger, heavier, less fixable and ultimately, far more sensible than its ancestor. It may sound ridiculous, but in many ways, a Suzuki Jimny is a closer comparison to the original Defender.

But, if you take a step back, inhale a couple of deep breaths, and look at the new platform as a separate entity, it starts to make a lot more sense. At its core, it’s an extremely capable luxury adventure vehicle that’s handsome and well-equipped. Its off-road technology and abilities are best in class, the build quality and material selection is detailed, and with so many options available, it’s a genuine “choose your own adventure”.

The Land Rover Defender 90 might still rub purists the wrong way, and when they see the occasional one cruising around suburbia with 22-inch wheels and low profile tyres, they have reason to raise an eyebrow or two. But strip it back for the job it is designed to do, be pragmatic with the options list, and you’ll find that the short wheelbase Defender can deliver explorative enjoyment until the cows come home.