Touring Sciàdipersia Cabriolet

In the 1960s, the coachbuilder Touring designed a special Maserati 5000 GT for the Shah of Persia, after they previously styled the very first production sports car of the brand from Modena, the Maserati 3500 GT. Based on this styling today’s successor company Touring Superleggera presented the Sciàdipersia at last year’s Geneva Motor Show. This sports car, based on the Maserati GranTurismo, now gets an open variant based on the GranCabrio that unsurprisingly debuted at the same location just a year later. Of both versions together Touring will only produce 15 copies for car collectors all around the world. With this and previous projects, Touring Superleggera successfully revives the old tradition of coachbuilding companies, who design and build their own creations on existing chassis. In the early days of the automobile up to the early 1950s, this practice was very common, especially for manufacturers of luxury cars. Then, the self-supporting body combined with more stringent regulations on crash performance and registration regulations, which for example dictate the height of headlamps led to the decline of the traditional handcrafted coachbuilding and to the closure of countless companies.

Today, only a few experts such as Zagato, Italdesign, David Brown Automotive or Touring Superleggera can keep in this sector. Interested customers willing to invest a decent amount of money on special cars still exist. So also the new Sciàdipersia Cabriolet will surely find its buyers. On the side you can easily discover the doors, windshield frame and the electrically opening fabric top acquired from Maserati. Otherwise, Touring changed the appearance completely in the style of the Sciàdipersia Coupé. Flowing, sharpened lines dominate the front end with small LED headlights and a logo-less grille, which will certainly receive the Maserati trident as soon as they arrive with their customers. Behind the front wheels are air outlets with metal frames. At the rear the designers use a spoiler lip with steep end in the spirit of Wunibald Kamm, who carried out various aerodynamic tests in the 1930s to find the perfect streamlined body shape. A narrow red LED light strip dominates the rear view together with contrast colored metal elements above.

Inside, Touring Superleggera only changes colors and materials according to customer requirements. Interested parties can choose from a range of colors for leather, Alcantara, wood trim and painted elements. Likewise, they can choose from various paint colors for the exterior or even create their own color. All body parts are handmade from aluminium and carbon fiber, whereby the most perfect fit and finish is ensured by the use of state-of-the-art 3D scanners used during all processes.

Technically, the Sciàdipersia Cabriolet uses the naturally aspirated V8 engine with 4.7 liters of displacement and 460 hp. This power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a six-speed automatic with paddle shifters behind the steering wheel and enable the car to reach a topspeed of 288 kph (179 mph). The chassis with its magnetically adjustable shock absorbers as well as the entire vehicle electronics including the infotainment system come from the Maserati used as basis. After delivery of an adequate base vehicle, the entire conversion takes around six months (depending on specific customer requests). Prices, however, are only available on request.

Images: Touring Superleggera