| First Drive | Modena, Italy | Maserati GranTurismo S |

Maserati's beautiful GranTurismo now has a voice to match its unrivalled looks. A combination of more power, a sharper chassis, a new gearbox and the ability to bypass the rear silencers turns the GranTurismo a little bit wilder.

In the Metal

Maserati might have tacked an S on the back end of the GranTurismo's name, but sensibly it has not messed too much with the car's styling. The svelte lines remain among the most alluring on sale anywhere, the S revisions adding just a touch more visual aggression to the elegant coupe shape. New 20-inch alloy wheels feature, behind which some very large and very red brake callipers are clearly visible. There are now four vocal tailpipes, other changes at the rear including a boot lid that's been re-profiled to incorporate a new spoiler. Side skirts, menacing black-backed headlamps, a black vertical slat grille, Chromeline trim and some red detailing on the Maserati Trident badges complete the makeover.

What you get for your Money

Forget the visual changes; it's what Maserati has done under that beautiful bodywork that really matters here. The standard car's 4.2-litre V8 engine has been bored and stroked to increase its capacity to 4.7-litres. Essentially it is the same engine that's under the bonnet of that other Italian automotive supermodel - Alfa's 8C Competizione. In the Maserati the cam covers receive a red crackle finish, the enlarged V8 swelling the GranTurismo S's power to 433bhp, torque increasing to 361lb.ft. The smooth ZF automatic of the standard car has been shelved in preference for Maserati's two-pedal electro-actuated paddle-shift transmission. Those remembering the clumsy paddle shift systems of previous Maseratis should fear not, as this one's almost unrecognisable, working well in both manual and automatic modes.

Braking power is provided by an improved Brembo system, while the suspension boasts firmer shock absorbers, dampers and anti-roll bars. Reshaped seats feature inside, as does a 'Sport' button, which not only enables you to access the fastest MC-Shift function on the six-speed transmission, but also opens a pair of flaps in the exhausts to allow the GranTurismo S's V8 to really sing.

Driving it

Forget for a moment how fast the GranTurismo S actually is: it sounds faster. Much faster. The numbers say 62mph arrives in 4.9 seconds, but the exotic, high-revving mechanical engine note and deep, purposeful exhaust accompaniment means the S sounds like a race car when its Sport button is pressed. Doing so bypasses the rear silencers, turning this civilised gentlemanly express into a guttural bare-knuckle fighter. We've genuinely never driven anything at public road speeds that sounds so wonderfully brazen. Pressing that Sport button also give you access to the MC-Shift function, which drops the shift time to just 100 milliseconds - firing through the gears at full speed so long as there's 80% throttle travel and the V8 is working above 5,500rpm. You pay for the S's performance though, it officially only returning 17mpg on the combined cycle, but you'll forgive it that when you press that button and those flaps open in the exhaust.

The S's 183mph top speed is the fastest ever for a Maserati production car (if you ignore the MC12 special), but the GranTurismo S is not all about its ultimate performance, it being a car that rewards enormously at any pace. Even with the lower, more focussed suspension set up the S retains excellent body control and decent ride comfort, and that electro-actuated transmission has finally had its gremlins ironed out (with a little help from Ferrari). It works effectively in any of its six settings, and brilliantly in full manual mode. The steering benefits from a touch more speed and precision thanks to the suspension changes and those larger wheels, but there's still a frustrating lack of weighting around the straight ahead that can result in nervousness when cruising. The chassis is beautifully poised though, the rear transaxle and mid-front positioning of the engine giving a 47/53% front/rear weight distribution. The S only understeers when pushed too hard, the rear easily coaxed into playful and easily contained oversteer.

Maserati offers its Skyhook variable damper suspension as an option to deliver the choice of sporting or more comfort orientated set ups, but we'd stick with the standard suspension.

Worth Noting

The paddles on the steering column are longer than ever, reaching almost half the circumference of the steering wheel's rim. There's a gearshift indicator when in MC-Shift mode, though it's unlikely you'll have time to pay attention to that when the 4.7-litre engine does its thing. It thrives on revs, but doesn't lack low speed urgency as a result, the V8 pulling with conviction in any gear. It's a fantastically vocal engine with that Sport button pressed - so naughty it'd be anti-social if it didn't sound so rousing. Leave that devilish button well alone though and the car's vocal character changes from boisterous and purposeful to quiet and civilised. It's a quite remarkable transformation.

The interior provides a classically Italian driving environment - lots of leather and styling flair. However, it also means seats mounted too high in the cabin and they also lack support. The standard satnav system - shared with Citroen and Peugeot - is rather fiddly, too.

Summary

There wasn't much wrong with the GranTurismo in the first place, but Maserati recognised that some customers might want a more focussed, involving driving experience. It has delivered with the S, the changes turning the GranTurismo into a far more characterful, visceral driver's car that sounds absolutely fantastic. Yet it is still a refined grand tourer when you want it to be. The S adds around £12,000 to the standard car's price, which against rivals like the Jaguar XKR looks expensive, but the exclusivity, styling and kudos of the Maserati carry significantly more weight than any of its competition.