More Maserati to motor

Fortune's Sue Callaway reviews the 2008 Maserati GranTurismo - a bigger and more powerful version of its predecessor.

It's a beautiful Saturday. You've got your Starbucks and a little time to kill. What to do next? I suggest heading to your nearest Maserati dealership where the 2008 GranTurismo is finally available for a test drive.

It's was this car's predecessor that Maserati used to return to the US market nearly a decade ago. But that sports-car was a little too small and a little too under-powered to handle the likes of its competition --the 911-Turbo.This time Maserati has gotten it right. Ironically, by making it bigger, heavier, longer, wider, taller, as our cameraman said, that's the battiest thing I have ever seen.

Maserati hasn't lost the heritage though, they have kept the concave grill and touches like the three portholes, which actually were worn on the very first Maserati ever to hit the road. Maserati has accomplished the largening of this car by using the Quattroporte sedan platform which means that you actually get seating for four real adult passengers and a very generous trunk. Maserati claims two golf bags fit in, but you can also order hand fit Ferragamo luggage if you prefer. I wonder what Aston Martin has to say about those tail lights that look suspiciously familiar.

The Gran Turismo has a 4.2 liter V8 engine built at the Ferrari factory in Italy, the powerplant has 405 horsepower. But enough of that, let's just go for a drive.