2011 Maserati GranTurismo Convertible â?" White over Tan, 4.7L V8, Power Soft Top Why This Car Is Special The 2011 Maserati GranTurismo Convertible represents something genuinely rare in the modern automotive landscape: a grand touring car that was designed from the ground up to be beautiful, not just fast. While most manufacturers treat their convertibles as afterthoughts â?" chopped coupes with reinforced sills bolted on â?" Maserati's GranTurismo Convertible was engineered as its own body style, sharing the coupe's Pininfarina-designed bones but developed separately to preserve structural integrity without the weight penalty that typically plagues open-top grand tourers. The GranTurismo platform debuted in 2007 and drew heavily from Maserati's relationship with Ferrari, which owned the brand at the time. The 4.7-liter V8 under the hood of the 2011 model is a direct descendant of engines developed with Ferrari engineering input, and it revs and sounds the part. This is not a turbocharged, torque-everywhere engine tuned for effortless passing. It is a naturally aspirated V8 that rewards drivers who use the full rev range, with its character becoming more apparent the harder you drive it. That distinction matters to buyers who understand the difference. The Convertible version of the GranTurismo arrived for the 2010 model year in the United States, giving buyers the full open-air experience without sacrificing the long-hood, short-deck proportions that made the coupe so visually distinctive. In white over a tan leather interior, this 2011 Maserati GranTurismo Convertible presents in one of the most classic Italian color combinations the car can wear â?" a palette that references decades of Ferrari and Maserati factory racing and show cars. At its original MSRP, this was a six-figure automobile. The fact that it exists at a fraction of that today makes it one of the more compelling Italian V8 experiences available in the used market. Features List - 4.7L Naturally Aspirated V8 Engine - 6-Speed Automatic Transmission - Power Soft Top - Red Brake Calipers - Black Multi-Spoke Wheels - Tan Leather Interior - Leather Bucket Seats - Power Windows - Center Console - Dual Exhaust Tips - Maserati Trident Badges - Electronic Parking Brake Mechanical The heart of the 2011 Maserati GranTurismo Convertible is its 4.7-liter V8, which in this configuration produced 433 horsepower at 7,000 rpm. That high-revving character is the defining trait of this engine â?" it does not make its power low in the rev range, and it does not rely on boost. It is a naturally aspirated engine in the traditional Italian grand touring sense, and the sound it makes near redline is a genuine reason people seek this car out specifically over its German and British competitors of the same era. Power is routed through a 6-speed automatic transmission, which in the GranTurismo uses paddle shifters mounted behind the steering wheel. Maserati used a ZF-sourced gearbox in this application, a unit that also appeared in various BMW and Rolls-Royce products of the period. It is smooth in automatic mode and responsive in manual mode, and it suits the grand touring character of the car better than a dual-clutch unit would. This is a car built for covering distance in comfort, with the ability to accelerate hard when the road opens up â?" and the transmission reflects that design intent. The red brake calipers visible at each corner are a factory option on the GranTurismo and are not merely decorative. They indicate the sport brake package, which uses larger rotors and higher-friction pads suited to the car's weight and performance envelope. The electronic parking brake is a feature that was relatively advanced for the class in 2011 and operates cleanly without the mechanical cable feel of a conventional handbrake. Interior The 2011 Maserati GranTurismo Convertible's interior was trimmed by hand at Maserati's Modena facility, and the tan leather in this car cov