New and Used Luxury Cars - Ferrari Maserati of Vancouver

Modena, January 24th 2011. Once again, and for the third year in a row, Maserati is Australia’s number one exotic brand in 2010 according to figures released by VFACTS, the Australian vehicle retail data collection service run on behalf of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).

Maserati’s excellent sales results in 2010 were built on the on-going success of the award-winning Maserati Quattroporte and stylish Maserati GranTurismo and the launch of Maserati GranCabrio, the brand’s first full four seat soft-top convertible. With the new GranTurismo MC Stradale, which will arrive in the market later this year, Maserati will continue to offer to automotive connoisseurs across the continent peak performance together with unrivalled exclusivity, style and refinement.

The new Maserati that will debut at the upcoming Geneva Auto Show will offer more driving enjoyment thanks to an improved overall vehicle dynamics, more horse power, a more responsive and efficient engine and optimized gearshift response.

Modena, February 21, 2011. After stunning the world with the GranCabrio at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, Maserati will use the 2011 Geneva

Motor Show to take its grand-touring convertible to a new level of performance and handling with the GranCabrio Sport.

Conceived to give the GranCabrio a harder-edged model to sit alongside the GranTurismo S and the Quattroporte Sport GT S, the GranCabrio Sport uses a more powerful and fuel-efficient version of Maserati’s, all-alloy 4.7-litre V8, coupled with the ZF six-speed automatic transmission.

This naturally aspirated engine produces in this configuration 331 kW (450 horsepower) and has 510Nm at the peak of its rich, thick torque curve. Maserati’s Friction Reduction Program has made the GranCabrio Sport’s engine more reactive to the driver’s most-nuanced inputs, while reaching a 6% reduction in fuel consumption. The top speed of the GranCabrio Sport is 285 km/h.

This six-speed transmission is equipped with the super-fast MC Auto Shift software and has been developed for the GranCabrio Sport directly from the transmission in the Quattroporte Sport GT S. The MC Auto Shift provides optimized gearshift response resulting in an even-greater engagement.

The handling has received attention, too, with an upgrade and revision of the Skyhook active-suspension system – now with a sportier tuning - and the adoption of grooved and drilled dual-cast brake discs.

Visually, the GranCabrio Sport is characterized by a more-pronounced dynamic look. This look begins at the GranCabrio’s distinctive nose with a black grille and a Trident with red accents. The headlights now have a black look with white sidemarks, while front corner splitters and the redesigned side skirts are both body coloured. The GranCabrio Sport also debuts a new body colour for Maserati: Rosso Trionfale inspired by the red Italian national colours used on 1950s racing Maseratis – in 1957, Juan Manuel Fangio won his fifth F1 World Title at the wheel of a red Maserati 250F.

The GranCabrio Sport will be on sale in all of Maserati’s 62 markets starting from Summer 2011.

Ping open the driver-side door — it's a high-pressure die-cast piece, all metal and yet light as carbon fiber and it does indeed open with a resounding ping. You're presented with a fairly challenging new cabin design, as Ferrari has been brave here and rethought many of the standard control functions of a sports car.

It doesn't take long for the 4.5-liter V8 to come alive. Given the stratospheric specific output of 570 horsepower at 9,000 rpm and peak torque of 398 pound-feet at 6,000 rpm, it works from surprisingly low revs. Throttle response is razor-sharp, and the exhaust noise, as you'd expect from Ferrari, is sensational.

Read the full article at http://www.insideline.com.

Ferrari buffs who debate about how the brand’s four modern supercars – the 288 GTO, F40, F50 and Enzo – “stack up” against each would have been well advised to visit the new Ferrari of Vancouver dealership on Burrard Street earlier this year. There, at the grand opening and for nine months following, they would have seen the four special models stacked upon one another in a special display rack, easily visible through the new store’s glass exterior wall. Special LED lighting made the display an especially dramatic site at night.

The four Ferrari supercars belong to the dealership’s owner, Brian Ross, who also channels his passion for Ferraris into collecting vintage models. The site of the four gleaming red cars caused passersby to stop their cars and take photos from the median that separates the two-way traffic on Burrard Street, according to Richard Sherbert, vice president of operations for Ferrari of Vancouver. The four cars have since gone back to Ross’s private collection in the U.S., but Sherbert said other Ferraris, likely vintage models from Ross’s collection, will eventually take their place on the special display.

The gleaming new Ferrari of Vancouver facility replaced an older dealership store located about six kilometers away. The new building boasts 35,000 square feet of space over a parking structure. The Ferrari showroom occupies the first floor, with room for three cars; the Maserati showroom has the second floor, and the third floor showcases the dealership’s pre-owned inventory.

“This is a much better location than the previous building,” said Sherbert. “We’re now in the heart of the high-line automobile shopping row in Vancouver.”

The Ferrari of Vancouver service department offers eight bays and four Ferrari technicians. A glass wall separating the showroom and service area offers customers the chance to view their cars getting serviced. There’s another glass-walled observation area in the second-floor customer lounge. The new Atelier section, located in a large configuration room, adds to the excitement of buying a Ferrari from the dealership. Clients can see and touch the various seat options, leathers, wheels and brake options, and more.

Sherbert described his team of 14 employees as “intensely focused” on customer satisfaction. The dealership is active in the car enthusiast community, its website recently promoting a “Viva Italia Gran Rally Turismo” event hosted by the Vancouver-based Club Trofeo.

Ferrari of Vancouver this past spring repeated its role as the Official Automobile Sponsor for the River Rock Resort ITM-NSR Model Look North America 2011. Open to women ages 15-26, the event culminated in the Third Glamour Gala Dinner benefiting the BC Cancer Foundation.

If you live in the Vancouver area or are planning to visit, make sure to stop by the new Ferrari of Vancouver dealership facility, and be on the lookout for a special “stack” of Ferraris in the near future.