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The Italian luxury car marque – Maserati, which adopted a wait-and-watch approach for many years, has finally announced plans to enter the Indian market.
The Modena-based luxury and sports car manufacturer has tied-up with the successful Indian luxury retailer – the Shreyans Group for the foray. The brand will open its first Indian showroom in Mumbai later this year and a second dealership will be thrown open in New Delhi in the first half of 2012. Long term plans include opening outlets in seven Indian cities by 2015.
Maserati will be bringing in its uniquely Italian brand of high performance and custom-made exclusivity in its three model lines. The Quattroporte will be the flag-ship sedan, the GranTurismo coupe and the GranCabrio convertible will all be made available to Indian buyers. Simone Niccolai, Managing Director of Maserati Asia Pacific says that Maserati will also bring in the global experience in service, customer interactivity and network management of Maserati professionals to the dealerships in India.
With the demand in India being strongly inclined towards chauffeur-driven saloons, Maserati is predicting that the sedan range will absorb 80 per cent of its buys in India, with the remaining 20 per cent choosing the GranTurismo coupe and the GranCabrio convertible. India will be the 63{+r}{+d} market for Maserati worldwide.
Maserati has had a long history and tradition of racing and a reputation for sexy, hand-built super luxury sports cars.
Its unique tradition of offering the same engines that it races, in its road-worthy cars too, has given Maserati a special position in this category.
The Quattroporte (literally means four door in Italian) is a consistent performer for Maserati worldwide and is one of the most popular in the company's fourth largest market – China. The model has won over 56 major international design and automotive awards.
The performance flagship of the four-door range is the Quattroporte Sport GT S. With its sports exhaust system freeing up more power, the car's 4.7-litre V8 engine boasts 440 bhp of raw power at 7,000 rpm. The Quattroporte Sport GT S retains the Quattroporte S' 490Nm of torque, but directs its performance more aggressively.
The GransTurismo range on the other hand is claimed to be one of the most beautiful cars of its generation. Designed by Pininfarina, the GranTurismo was one of the earliest sports cars that could carry four adults.
Available with the 4.2-litre V8 producing 405 bhp at 7,100 rpm or the 4.7-litre all-alloy V8 engine and the electro-actuated six-speed transaxle gearbox, the GranTurismo and the GranTurismo S are capable of speeds of over 280 kmph.
The new Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale is the fastest, lightest and most powerful in the model line-up. Inspired by the Trofeo GransTurismo MC and the race-winning GT4 motorsport programmes, this model has more power and sharp handling and is capable of a top-speed of 301 kmph.
The GranCabrio is a full four-seat convertible. It has the longest wheelbase in its segment and yet boasts class-leading structural rigidity, added safety, comfort and handling ability. Want to go topless? The roof folds neatly into the rear in just 20 seconds.
Prices for the Maserati models (ex-showroom, Delhi) will range from about Rs 1.20 crore for the GranTurismo 4.2 automatic to Rs 1.43 crore for the Quattroporte Sport GTS 4.7 and the GranCabrio 4.7.
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