Experienced by Kimatni Rawlins
Maserati and I go back a few decades, to when I first experienced the Italian brand during a test drive in Modena at the tender age of 23. At that time, I was also indoctrinated into the Trident’s roots. Now held under the wings of Stellantis, the Maserati bloodline hails from Bologna, where the five Maserati brothers, Alfieri foremost among them, founded the company on December 1, 1914. Today, the automaker continues to produce mesmerizing-styled sports cars such as the 2026 Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo, which I tested for over a week in Maryland.
Mesmerized by Maserati
When you see or hear a Maserati gracefully blow by, it evokes emotional sensations through its exquisite lines and joyful exhaust notes. The badge carries the city’s fingerprint: that iconic Trident, lifted straight from the Fountain of Neptune, standing watch over Bologna’s main piazza, a piece of civic sculpture reborn as an automotive emblem. In my case, the insignia was layered in Gloss Black to contrast with my Blu Modena-painted Trofeo model and the staggered 20” / 21” Crio-Design Diamond rims wrapped in Pirelli P Zero summer tires, while matching the black anodized brake calipers, black grille, and black front splitter.
Before the GT, my most recent embrace with the Trident came behind the wheel of the Maserati Grecale Trofeo, a midsize SUV that made its case with intense acceleration from the twin-turbo V6 Nettuno, a Skyhook suspension tuned for both civility and combat, and an interior fashioned by the kind of Italian obsession that turns leather and aluminum into something closer to sculpture. That week confirmed what I already suspected about the brand: Maserati has no interest in blending in. So, when word arrived of the new GranTurismo Trofeo, the flagship coupe carrying the most powerful combustion engine Maserati has ever fitted to a road car, my expectations climbed accordingly.
The Flagship of a 75-Year Bloodline
The GranTurismo nameplate turned 75 this year, following its lineage back to the A6 1500 Gran Turismo, the car that essentially invented the idea of a sporting coupe civilized enough for long-distance travel. Every generation since has contended with the same equation: performance without giving up comfort. The Trofeo is where Maserati resolves that equation most emphatically. It sits above the Modena in the range and is built for a customer who wants the full expression of what the V6 Nettuno can deliver, but wrapped in a cabin that insinuates ultimate performance.
Trofeo shares its architecture with its siblings, a clean-sheet platform engineered from 2017 onward to house either combustion or electric power with minimal compromise. Over 65 percent of the structure is aluminum, supplemented by magnesium and high-strength steel where rigidity matters most. But Trofeo is where that architecture gets pushed hardest, and every visual cue on the car signals as much.
At the heart of the Trofeo sits a powerful 3-liter twin-turbo V6 Nettuno, the same architecture featured on the MC20 supercar, tuned here to its highest state in the GranTurismo range at 542-horsepower. All Trofeo models run through an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission and Maserati’s Q4 AWD system, with the front differential positioned in line with the engine to lower the car’s stance and bring mass closer to the center of gravity. It rumbles and quickly takes off the line, but still feels heavy as it cuts through the wind. Expect push-button gear selection on the dash and manual mode to take control of upshifts using the elongated paddle shifters (located directly on the steering column).
Quality Control Story
With every uptick comes a downside, especially regarding Maserati’s quality-control issues. The honest framing is that you’re not buying a Maserati for JD Power bragging rights. You’re buying it for the Nettuno’s growl, the cofango’s (hood and fenders) tailoring, and a badge that turns heads at valet in a way a Panamera doesn’t. The GranTurismo, based on both press-kit numbers and real-world data, has the strongest reliability story in the current lineup. Everything else in the range asks you to budget accordingly and read the extended warranty terms twice.
A Cabin Designed for Prestige and Adrenaline
Step inside the Trofeo and the intent continues. Perforated leather covers the seats and steering wheel, while a herringbone motif runs across the dashboard and seats, giving the cabin a decidedly dynamic look. The launch color, Rosso GranTurismo, is a deep, saturated red engineered to magnify both the car’s elegance and its sportiness in equal measure. Yet, my media loan came with a tan or peanut butter-flavored interior. The steering wheel integrates a Start/Stop dial and Drive Mode Controls (including Comfort, GT, and Sport) into its center hub, with perforated leather sides exclusive to the Trofeo. The extended paddle shifters in brushed dark aluminum sit behind the wheel, ready for the moments when the Trofeo’s character calls for manual control. Keep in mind that the back seats are tight and better suited for bags, not passengers.
Two screens anchor the center stack, a 12.3-inch central touchscreen and a lower 8.8-inch comfort display, joined by a 12.2-inch reconfigurable instrument cluster. But there are no physical control knobs on the main screens, just touch-actuated. A head-up display remains optional, projecting speed and navigation cues directly onto the windscreen. The Maserati Intelligent Assistant, built on Android Auto, supports up to five user profiles and responds to the simple wake phrase “Hey Maserati” for climate, media, navigation, and calls. Sonus Faber handles the audio, with a standard 14-speaker, 860-watt system or an optional 19-speaker, 1,195-watt setup delivering genuine 3D surround staging.
Words from my Intern Pharrell Mahoi
The undisputed highlight of my visit to Automotive Rhythms HQ was jumping into the passenger seat of the brand-new 2026 Maserati GranTurismo, which Kimatni was actively reviewing. Receiving a ringside seat to his review process completely revised my perspective on automotive journalism. The vehicle itself was an absolute masterpiece of Italian engineering. From the moment I approached it, the GranTurismo held my attention with its elegant design language and refined, luxurious interior. Out on the road, its balanced driving dynamics were flawless. When Kimatni opened it up, the acceleration was smooth and instantly responsive, yet the cabin remained quiet and remarkably comfortable despite the considerable power underneath the hood.
“Experiencing the vehicle firsthand demonstrated that evaluating a luxury car extends far beyond horsepower and performance specifications; it requires an intuitive appreciation of craftsmanship, comfort, and technology that goes into the driving experience.” — Pharrell Mahoi
The Costs of Flagship Ownership
The GranTurismo Trofeo starts at $145,000 and climbs toward $197,800 depending on configuration, a range that reflects how deep Maserati’s personalization options run once the Fuoriserie catalog or exclusive customization program enters the conversation. My ride hit $158,000 after key upgrades. Buyers who want a specific hue, a particular carbon finish, or a genuinely bespoke cabin will find the ceiling considerably higher than the floor, which is precisely the point.
The Verdict
The Trofeo is the answer for a Maserati aficionado who has already decided comfort and performance are not mutually exclusive and simply wants the most emphatic version available. It carries the GranTurismo’s 75-year mission onward without dilution, instilling the most powerful V6 Nettuno in the range around a cabin built for longer journeys. If the Grecale Trofeo proved Maserati could bring genuine heat to a midsize SUV, then the GranTurismo Trofeo demonstrates the brand’s intent to place that heat under the hood of a proper grand-touring coupe.
