Maserati's exciting new 4.2 V8 engined coupé received its world première in Geneva first thing this morning; stylish, imposing and ominously potent it drew a large crowd and the Pininfarina-designed sports car looks set to be one of the real show-stoppers of this year's important Swiss motor show.

Almost a decade after its predecessor first appeared, the new GranTurismo takes the Maserati Coupé theme forward with aplomb, a worthy successor to the outgoing model, itself a much admired, sleek and gorgeous sports car. Bigger and with greater presence, and oozing Italian style, the  captures attention and commands respect, a genuine and worthy alternative to offerings from brands such as Aston Martin. The GranTurismo (two are on show, one silver, one dark blue) is complemented on the Trident brand's spacious stand by the new Quattroporte Automatic which is making its European debut here in Geneva, following its world première in Detroit at the beginning of the year. The Trident display is wrapped up by a silver GranSport.

Two very highly accomplished products, the new GranTurismo and Quattroporte mark another bold step forward for Maserati, which has been making steady, and unassuming, progress forward ever since its takeover by Fiat; and they also mark a significant milestone in the goal of achieving 10,000 units sales per year. Now under the direction of new CEO Roberto Ronchi, Maserati's global ambitions are being gradually realised, driven onwards by excellent products.

Maserati is now building on strides it made during 2006 when sales were stabilised (at 5,700 units) and losses reduced further; and the penetration of new markets has brought rich rewards with the potentially lucrative Chinese market grew by 65 percent year-on-year.
 

Other newer markets to perform well included Russia, which was up by 55 pct, and the 18 pct rise achieved in Australia gave Maserati its best ever year 'down under'. Now present in 58 countries, they have a 259 strong dealer network. This progress was immediately built upon by the arrival of a fully automatic version of the Quattroporte in Detroit in January, an option that has been eagerly anticipated and which is expected to account for four-fifths of all sales of the super-luxury four-door sedan this year.

However it is the new GranTurismo that has been at the centre of attention in Geneva today as it bursts into view for the first time. Its Quattroporte underpinnings can be clearly seen in its flowing form, but it is a very distinctive four-seat coupé, immediately identifiable by its bold and history-evoking new front end, which draws inspiration from the A6 GCS of 1954. Both models were in fact penned by Pininfarina, the famous Italian design house continuing its tradition of styling the Modenese sports cars. This car is the work of Jason Castriota, who has recently also designed the Maserati Birdcage 75th and Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano amongst others, and who was in Geneva this morning for its official unveiling.

by Edd Ellison & James Granger in Geneva