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Maserati of GB is proud to announce that it is supporting British Golfer Justin Rose. This event is part of the curtain raising ceremony of the 2009 Open Championship being held at Turn berry in Scotland. Justin who loves driving a Maserati Quattro Porte S when based in the UK, arrived in the country from the US last week, he had an extremely busy schedule prior to the opening ceremony. On Wednesday 8th of July the inaugural event, ‘Justin Rose Tradition Charity Golf Day’ took place at the prestigious Stoke Park Club in Buckinghamshire, it raised the figure to a staggering 176,000 pounds towards Cancer Research in the UK In the program that followed 80 golfers participated in a celebrity Pro-Am, where the celebrities and sponsors were driven around in a fleet of Maserati Quattro portes and Gran Turismos. Captains of various teams like Matt Dawson, Tim Henman, Bruce Forsyth, Jodie Kidd and CBE led their respective teams to the tournament on the golf course. Post the golf session an evening full of entertainment with a glamorous marquee was held on the sprawling lawns of Stoke Park where Johnny Gould, the auctioneer, used his brilliant persuading skills to persuade the bidders to continuously increase the offers for the “money can’t buy” prizes.

It is normally undesirable to have dual personalities, not so with the Maserati Gran Turismo S Automatic, it works in this case. Grand-touring cars, by their very nature lead a dual existence. They pack in enough power and performance for the most demanding of drivers, while they are as practical as can be for the daily grime. The latest iteration put forward by Modena of the Gran Turismo is a fine example of power and practicality. Maserati did considerable market research and paid heed to the demands of its customers before bringing out a fully automated GT. Those who were not keen to shift on their own were sorely disappointed by the sequential manual transaxle that the company had placed in this version. When the car was driven at full throttle the shifts were smooth and proved to be quite efficient on the other hand on a short distance drive like a trip to the local grocery store they were anything but smooth. The German supplier ZF was offering a six speed automatic transmission, just what Maserati had been looking for all along. The unit is lightweight and compact for a fully automated version and this makes the car weigh just about 20 pounds more than it did with the sequential manual transaxle. This can handle the 362 lb-ft of torque that comes from the Maserati’s 433 HP, 4.7 liter V8 plus, it has quick gear changes takes just about a hundred milliseconds, almost just about the blink of an eyelid. The gear box is a pedigree of sorts as it is being offered in the Chevrolet Corvette and also the Aston Martin DB9, not to mention Maserati’s own Quattro Porte Sport GTS. That certainly is elite company! The gear box operates in full manual mode by the flick of the gearshift lever to manual operation and changing of gears via the steering column mounted paddles is -right for the up shifts and left for downshifts. In the manual the gearbox holds the gear selected even at the limiter. Even though the new Gran Turismo S Automatic uses a transmission in place of a transaxle, which is what the configuration is for the models that are fitted with the sequential manual, it retains a 49/51 front/rear weight distribution, the same as in the Quattro Porte. The marginally rear based weight balance actually helps the big Grand Turismo- 4145 pounds in terms of weight and a sports car like feel, it is exactly what customers are looking for in a car from Maserati. The standard suspension used is the adaptable Skyhook system, with gas-filled aluminum dampers and the option of selecting between normal settings and sport settings. On roads in Italy the sport setting performed well and despite the fact that the steering felt rather light the turn in was crisp as we carved through corners. Even in conditions when the road was wet- the 20 inch tires-245/35R-20 in front, 285/35R-20 at the rear-was absolutely impressive. The six piston Brembo calipers all around provide power to stop. They also come in a choice of 5 colors. In fact this gives greater visibility behind massive 20 inch aluminum wheels. The exhaust system bypass valves allow the terrific V8 engine note to permeate to the cabin. During normal driving conditions, the valves remain closed and the exhaust gases follow a longer route out of the system thus muffling the noise. If the sport button is used the valves get opened and this directs the exhaust more quickly out of the dual pipes. The increase of the sound takes place only above 3000 rpm. So even in sport mode when it is running at low speed the exhaust note is discreet. When it is wide open a sweet sound emanates out of the exhaust, maybe a musical note or two, it is lower than that of a Ferrari but it is hardly something that people would tire off. The cabin has four real seats- while the legroom of the back seat is a bit cramped, it can be comfortably used by two people for short rides. The leather and wood used and the craftsmanship are of the highest quality and also is its elegant presence, with the ovoid snout which bears the trident and the graceful and sleek Pininfarina-styled body. For racing enthusiasts who want to use the Gran Turismo for the racing track- Maserati is planning to come up with a line of Maserati Corsa, sport accessories in the later part of this year in the United States.

Watchmaker of exquisite designs Audemars Piguet has modeled their 2006 Millenary MC12 Tourbillon based on the limited Maserati MC12 super car model. A powerful racing machine that has been built exclusively for 150 fabulously wealthy people, the chronograph of this 2006 model comes in platinum, that has a slightly over worked silver dial, a scratch resistant sapphire, that features a manual winding movement and a tour billion chronograph.  All the parts of the Millenary MC12 are hand crafted; it has 237 hour power reserve and resembles a super watch. It could be yours for a mere € 226,000 just about USD 313,000.

Bacardi held its “Driving Experience of a Lifetime” rally as a part of its campaign to promote responsible drinking, “Champions Drink responsibly”. In this event Michael Schumacher was behind the wheel in a Maserati Gran Turismo S which is a part of the Ascari circuit, near the city of Ronda in Spain. Michael Schumacher was behind the wheels of a Gran Turismo S that carried twenty eight winners from various international rallies. These winners represented countries like The United Kingdom, Russia, Spain, New Zealand, India, Australia, Denmark, Austria, France, the Dominican Republic, Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Mexico, Portugal and Thailand. They went around the race Ascari race track, to drive home the message of safe driving. They suggested two options in case you are drunk, one was to designate a person who will drive, and that person wouldn’t drink. The other option that was suggested was to make use of public transport systems like a bus or a taxi, or not drinking alcohol, if one intends to drive. Michael Schumacher and his team of winners enjoyed a drive at full throttle to emphasize how champions are always in control. Michael Schumacher said, “I am eager to spread this message that drinking and driving don’t mix. It is a topic I personally feel very strongly about, and the event was just as rewarding for me as it was for our winners”, These words from the mouth of a 7 time Formula 1 world champion and the ambassador of Bacardi limited Global Social Responsibility platform were truly inspiring. This campaign known as, “Champions drink responsibly”, has won several awards and was launched in April 2008. It has touched the hearts of millions of adults and it continues to inspire drivers to practice safe driving. Maserati was glad to be chosen for a drive on consumer education about safe driving. For Maserati with its Master Maserati training programs, safety comes first. It tries to teach its participants the principals of safe driving with its Maserati range. In this drive of Maserati former drivers at the race track are hired to act as instructors and provide constant supervision. The Master Maserati course is open for both existing owners of the Maserati range plus those who aspire to own this car. These courses have been designed and perfected so that the participants can enjoy safe driving in any Maserati model; this is because of the perfect balance between the time the participants spend in practice sessions and the time they spend on the actual race track. Stints on the track are taught in the following ways- firstly an on-board instructor is used, secondly by making use of a pace car, and lastly by means of telemetry. As the course progresses, the speed also increases. In those sessions that are dedicated to control, the car is allowed to be driven on different simulated surfaces to recreate conditions of emergency. Examples could be over steering with or without the help of traction control, pressing the brakes at the highest speed limit and how to handle when the direction changes rapidly?) This course is held at Ricacardo Paletti Circuit which is at Varano de Melegari, about 20 km away from the south of Parma. This circuit is designed to bring out the best driving abilities of the participant and also boasts of a technical section that is equipped with special driving instruction features.

Michael schumacher drives a Maserati Gran Turismo