The National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham last weekend was the venue for the exclusive première of the Trofeo GranSport and a public display of the GranSport road car.

Autosport International, the real starting grid of the new motorsport season, opened its doors last weekend with celebrities mingling with cars, the latest performance products, state-of-the-art technology, historic cars and memorabilia.

2005 sees a return to active participation in motor sport by Ferrari Maserati UK Ltd. now that the business is fully owned by the Ferrari Maserati Group in Italy.

Autosport International was the showcase for the two racing teams that will be on-track this year with a close link to the road cars owned and loved by real car enthusiasts.
 

"Ferrari and Maserati were both born out of motor racing and it is entirely natural for us to return to the race track with these stunning cars in 2005,” says Massimo Fedeli, Managing Director of Ferrari Maserati UK Ltd.

“Maserati is a brand with a fantastic racing pedigree and we will now be highly visible with our own British car in the Trofeo Vodafone Maserati Europe series”.

Ferrari Maserati UK Ltd. was delighted to announce that they would be the first UK team to compete in the Trofeo Vodafone Maserati Europa for 2005. Now entering its third season, the competition, for identical specification cars, has proved hugely popular, and this year steps up to use the GranSport as a series' basis, replacing the Coupe which was used for the first two years.

British-born Maurizio Fabris will be driving a Union Jack-covered car in this highly competitive race series in the coming months. Having driven in the Trofeo Vodafone Maserati series in 2004 in an Italian car scoring a 2nd place at Silverstone and Magny Cours, Maurizio Fabris says he is now determined to get on the podium in the all-English racing car.

“The Maserati Trofeo GranSport combines performance and drivability and really stirs the emotions as the V8 engine howls around the track," Fabris commented during an interview in Birmingham.

"I want to see the British car taking the chequered flag in the races across Europe in 2005, and anyone who sees the car on the move at Autosport will understand how the noise and style of the car really motivate me to succeed".

Seen for the first time at Autosport International Show in Autocar magazine’s Supercar Paddock, the latest addition to the Maserati range, the GranSport is a more aggressive alternative to the regular Coupé, which celebrates the sporting soul at the heart of the car by offering more power and even sharper handling in a model, focused on delivering high performance.

The GranSport looks especially purposeful with its deep front spoiler, airflow-controlling side sills, discreet bootlid spoiler lip, chrome grille, lowered ride height and larger, 19” Trofeo racing-style alloy wheels.