Gastro

Well - this was my carriage today for a days test drive...
Maserati 4200GT T/Turbo (380BHP), F1 paddle shift, full leather, climate, sat nav, heated seats. Boy can this shift ! - but it averaged 14mpg today







Should I move to an Italian ?

Gastro

Old_Fart

They certainly depreciate quickly! I looked at them due to the almost useable rear seats. But in the end it's a sexy name (Maserati) but not a particularly sexy looking car. Also the depreciation was a downer and ok yeah well it's just so ordinary looking.
At least your SC has soul!
Chuck

Luke

Jamie Oliver has one.. Ok for a good blast across Europe.

Hicky

Sorry to be picky but aren't the 4200's just the ferrari V8 from the 360? I think the old 3200 Gt was a turbo job, have they got a new engine/ model out?

Mute point really, they rock and beat a Jag anyday.

Gastro

...you may be right actually - I just assumed.
Even more provenance - it sounded wonderful either way

Gastro

MooseRacer

Nice car, but it seems to have an enormous turd on top of the engine bay

Rokerlad

Jeremy Clarkson reckoned the F1 paddle shift on this car was awful! Be warned.

Gastro

The F1 shift was awful........
Very jerky - although the salesman said that it was improved in the new models

Gastro

malvinas

looks a bit like a Soarer-

Old_Fart

Yeah, and the skyhook suspension was developed from Toyota technology too....

malvinas

LOL- pretty soon we'll have Mycroft here telling us all why the Maser is developed from Toyota technology in great detail.

davyboy

Apparantly the bonnet of the Soarer will fit the Maserati with no modifications at all

RobinSherwood

Hi Gastro,

4200 GT is a development of the 3200, externally most easily distinguishable as they have ditched the 'hockey stick' LED rear lights.

The 4200 engine is a normally aspirated V8 developed by Ferrari (who of course now control Maserati) Iit is not simply the engine from the 360 rebadged although I am sure it shares many similarities it is a new engine designed for Maserati. 390 bhp/333lb/ft torque.

General concensus seems to be that the manual is better to drive, but probably best to try both if you are serious about one.

Aside from that if you do become a Maserati owner joining the owners club is a must. It's a really friendly club and far less well............. than the Ferrari Owners Club. Everyone is made welcome at meets whether they own an historic Maserati Grand Prix car or a slightly tatty BiTurbo. I can give you more details as and when the time comes.

Kind regards

Robin

merkin

I hope its better sorted than the 3200GT, which I loved the look of, and wanted to own, until it came to a test drive in the wet. Wheelspin in 4th gear in a straight line

Gastro

Thanks Robin,

I think I'm a little way off Maserati ownership. It was my boss who had the car for the majority of the time.
If I was in that situation - I'd have a 911 everytime. Indeed my boss wasn't swayed from his 996 on this occassion either.

BTW - I much prefer the hockey stick rear lights ! - why did they change that ? American market ??

Gastro

RobinSherwood

Hi Gastro,

Yes I agree about the hockey stick rear lights as well, they looked much better plus had all the advantages of being LED. I think it was to do with American market being too conservative to accept something as radical as that as the change took place to coincide with the launch of the Spyder which is the first Maser to re-enter the US Market.

I was told the exact reason when I visited the factory in Sept 2001 just as the first Spyders were coming of the production line but I cant remember it now sorry!

To be honest I am not sure whether I would buy a 4200 myself or not, prefer the look of the current and upcoming Aston Martins myself - I'm a classic Maserati owner, not modern by the way.

Regards

Robin

[Edited by RobinSherwood - 4/2/2003 11:22:04 AM]

[Edited by RobinSherwood - 4/2/2003 11:23:30 AM]

Dunc20

THEY HAVE COMPLETELY RUINED IT!!!

My Dad has the proper one...the 3200GT Bi-Turbo jobby! Why have they wrecked the gorgeous, distinctive rear lights on the new one?!
The 3200GT keeps its value very well now as they arent making them anymore. Its been called back for an electrical and suspension upgrade but apart from that it is his everyday car (when its not raining) and it has been superb!!

Dunc.

ajm

I test drove a couple of these when they first came out.... nice car, but more of a tourer than anything else. The engine sounds glorius, although I thought the "cambiocorsa" sequential gear shift was awful... the manual was much better. The coupe was far and above better than the convertible which suffered from awful scuttle shake.

zoog

evo and top gear have features on them in the latest issues.

they agree with most of what is above.

Mycroft

The lights were killed by various Countries equivalent of the DOT, the rear indicator being a thin line in certain circumstances rendered it invisible to the driver behind, and now the rules regarding minimum dimensions are due to be changed, so when the revamp happened they dropped them.
The new rule will mean that all lamps must have a minimum dimension of 35mm, though this is not enshrined in law yet.

logiclee

You will not like the F1 gearbox on a test drive. I would say it takes a couple of weeks for it to become natural to drive and a few more for you to drive it smoothly.

Remember your first time in a manual? You had to learn how to drive it its a bit like that with the Sequential manual jobbies.

Clarkson doesn't get on with technology wether its F1 boxes, satnav, internet, voice activation sytems etc, he's a good entertainer but not a good car tester.

Lee

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Why did they change from the original lights, Americans I heard, Anyway now from the back it looks like a coupe version of a Rover 620 !

carl

Save some money and buy a Ghibli Cup instead

Pepper

Mycroft, I thought you didn't watch TV as it was for idiots....?

Mycroft

Yes, FIAT really did buy the rights to the TEMS system for the Ferrari and Maser cars of the future... something available on my car since its inception in 1991... sadly tho they didn't see fit to buy the tech from Tokico who make the shockers for the Soarer, so although the new Gen of Aston/Jag/Ferrari/Maser appear to have 'my' cars system, they haven't quite... the Tokico Co. still hold the 'heat switching' Patent and it is this heat switching that makes the final system superior to the Boge/Koni system on the European cars... so although the euro cars can switch between different shocker rates and stiffen on one side or at the front for braking, the system cannot soft self-switch (through driving) on a run... the cars get 'soggy' on long runs or they have to stiffen them so that at low speed the car is 'jiggly' in your hands...

Tokico offered the technology for very little Money and Royalty but wanted 'recognition' and it was considered too 'embarrassing' for such great co's to admit that they had been out-gunned by Tokico... so the cars ain't got it!!!

Pride...

As to 'similarity'...

[img]
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-5/183144/maser.jpg
[/img]



[Edited by Mycroft - 5/12/2003 5:51:39 PM]

Mycroft

Clarkson is NOT a car tester... he has insufficient skills to be such... he is simply 'A mouth on legs'. A big one too, but at least he isn't bland (I hate bland more than I hate stupid)... his opinions are simply self-publicity and he is very good at that... in fact... he is a far superior self-publicist than he ever could be as a car tester.

All my opinion... of course... also any man in his 40s'/50's that... wears Jeans, has a paunch, a bald patch in dreadful curly hair and then compounds such atrocities by looking like the mutant love-child of Rod Hull and Camilla Parker-Bowles... is not really someone to take too seriously, is he.

[Edited by Mycroft - 4/6/2003 10:13:04 AM]