coupe and 3200 GT difference

Well, the 3200's hood has a couple of scoops on the side while the 4200's hood is smooth.

 

Bumber joins are different between 4200 and 3200 if u look carefully:
4200 has join at level halfway up headlight
3200 has join lower at bottom (where lower curve begins) of headlight
4200 is neater...
also Bonnet/hood is more rounded up higher in centre on 4200
Easiest disguishing mark though is the Maserati oval plaque on front that is only on all 4200's and not on 3200's!

 

Most important difference: the Coupe 4.2 has a redesigned platform with the gearbox at the back for better balanced weight distribution. The handling is much easier and the new car is a lot quicker around corners than the old 3200GT. The Gransport is even better with 19'' wheels and lowered suspension, which can be tuned even further to "race spec" which makes it handle as well as any Porsche. You couldn't improve a 3200GT so much because of the inherent limits of its weight distribution.

 

Maranello71, points taken - I have a GS and previously owned both a Spyder and a 3200GT - but he wanted VISUAL clues to sort his photos...

 

it is SO much easier when u see them from behind.
the sleek and sexy italian is the 3200gt and the early 90's honda prelude is
the 4200 coupe!
the interior is even harder to spot...the rear seats on the 4200 have a smaller
"bump" between them.i think!
....and the front seats on the 4200 no longer rub against the door trim!
also,there was a special edition cambiocorsa that had "portholes" on the wings.
it is soooooo difficult to find comprehensive maser details on the web!

 

Try www.maseratighibli.co.uk

this is the BEST Maserati resource website on the planet. There are whole sections devoted to the 3200GT and 4200 Coupe / Spider.

 

It's a great website, i love everything that deals with Maserati!

 

Speaking of tailights.

I got an email yesterday from Enrico, who runs the great website previously mentioned, wondering if I knew of anyone that did a conversion kit for changing the 4200 tailights to the 3200 style.

It really does make the car more interesting looking.

Does anyone know of someone that's doing this?

Another question, what's the Assetto Corsa version of the 3200 like? I've heard some people like the mid range punch of the twin turbo V8 better than the newer V8. Still, with all of the changes Ferrari made I have to believe it's much better car now.

 

You need to try them both to judge which one you like best. I have personally driven about 500 miles on a 3200GT and at least 2000 miles between Spyder, Coupe GT and Gransport. Needless to say, for handling and response the Gransport is way above all the others. Surprisingly, the Spyder comes close behind, its short wheelbase makes it very agile around twisty roads and the one I drove was particularly well tuned - I could outrun an Audi RS4 at a traffic light near Modena!

As for the Coupe GT and 3200GT, they are both more comfortable GTs than pure handling cars, but the Coupe has the advantage of a much more linear throttle response that makes it a lot easier to drive near the limit. On the limit the 3200 can be very nervous due to the weight distribution and the trigger response of the turbo engine doesn't help. I would say that a professional racing driver will be able to coax more out of an Assetto Corsa 3200GT, and possibly use more of its power - it can be safely tuned to around 450-500 HP. However a "normal" driver will be much quicker with the Coupe GT.

Tires are also very important - the road-racer tires fitted originally to the Assetto Corsa didn't work at all, in a direct comparison with a German-tuned 450 HP 3200GT (which wore oversized but "standard" road PZeros) the Assetto Corsa fell far behind on the track because of excessive understeer.

 

You're speaking of a "Modena Performance " 3200 engine and that would be on the standard chassis not the Assetto Corsa version?

Bob S.

 

Sounds something like my Ghibli Open Cup. Turbo cars are just like that. You DO need to be careful at the limit but it also isn't prone to vicious snap arounds of the rear end like say a VIPER! It just starts to step out and is easy to catch.

 

That's absolutely correct. I read about this comparison with an "Assetto Corsa" about 4 years ago, and the main criticism were the Michelin road-race tires that completely screwed up the balance of the car.

The Modena Performance car also had stiffer anti-roll bars and a lower setting, which combined to Pirelli P Zeros made it a very agile and entertaining car, at least as fast as the new Coupe GT around a track and faster in a straight line thanks to its 450 HP. All in all, the Modena Performance upgrades for the 3200GT are thoroughly recommended (even though they're not cheap).

 

Well the Modena reviews I read said the car couldn't deal with the extra horsepower and mostly destroyed tires more than anything else. The 3200GT (I owned one for 3 years) wasn't the easiest car to drive to a very sensitive gas pedal - adding power certainly wouldn't have helped; although 'entertaining' it surely was... but I can't believe it would outdrive a 4200.

 

I didn't say the Modena 3200Gt is better than a 4200: all I say is that the Modena set-up modifications are highly recommended for the 3200GT, and that with 450 HP the 3200GT can out-run a 4200 in a STRAIGHT LINE.

I agree that around corners the 4200 is faster thanks to the better weight balance and more linear torque delivery, but it's by no means perfect - it still does need stiffening and lowering to make it more responsive, IMO. The only really good handling Maserati Coupe to come out of the factory is the GranSport.

 

Agreed, and that's exactly why I sent my Spyder packing and now have the GS. And then tracking it at Monza only confirmed this...

 

A question for you GS people. What are the changes that make the GS so much better?

The horsepower is the same or 10 more isn't it?

So is it gear ratios, improved CC or mostly the chassis tuning?

BTW, can one get it in a 6 speed and would you?


Bob S.

 

No, I wouldn't as GranSport comes standard with 6-speed Cambiocorsa (F1) and there is no manual...

Here a quick overview of the differences:

Different styling inside dominated by carbon (and different centre console without the screen - so actually same as used to be in 3200GT) and high tech textile with leather and different spoilers front/back/side with boot lip spoiler for better aerodynamics.

Car is lowered and although only 10 horses more the feel is more sporty plus more audible due to Tubi exhaust as standard with wastegates open on ignition and when 'Sport' button engaged. This button also sets the re-configured - and 1 cm lowered - Skyhook suspension to a harder setting and reduces gear changes by 35% over standard Coupe. 6th gear is changed and is longer. Also, runs on 19" which reflect multiple tridents in the spokes with grippy Pirelli P Zero Rosso tires.

More details in the 8-page "gransport.pdf" on: http://www.maserati.com/

Basically the car is very well sorted - handling, sound and looks...

... and its a four seater.

 

A note on the Skyhook: I have heard several professional drivers say that the Skyhook does not really work for circuit driving and extreme handling. If you want your car to react quickly, instinctively and with direct feedback to the driver, it's better to have fixed-rate shock absorbers. The problem is, even on the Gransport the Skyhook tries to interpret the road electronically and introduces a response delay which acts as a filter between the driver and the road, and makes it impossible to reach the real limits of the chassis in the corners.

In a recent German test the Gransport was taken to the Nurbürgring where it did a honourable 8'18'', but the driver's opinion was that you could shave another 10 seconds off that time if you fit the car with "normal" fixed-rate shock absorbers. Basically the skyhook messed up the car's response and made it very difficult to fully exploit the excellent suspension layout and chassis balance. Note that the driver was one of the world-recognized "Nurbürgring kings".

The same problem occurred with the original Ferrari 575M, which was 5 seconds slower than the outgoing 550 Maranello at the Nurbürgring - again, due partly to the introduction of a "soft" Skyhook. The revised 575M "Fiorano" and "GTC" are much faster thanks to a lower, stiffer setting and a Skyhook which has been all but deactivated.

Personally my ideal Maserati would be a non-Skyhook Gransport lowered by a further 10mm and tuned with Modena's 450 HP exhaust/intake/ECU remapping package. Now, a Maser like THAT would give headaches to the BMW M6...

 

71, yep I read the same article and over on maseratiforum.net someone in Singapore has a GS w/o Skyhook and indicated the same. However, he hasn't tried a Skyhook GS and noone is Europe seems to have a GS without so at the end of the day we are none the wiser.

However, as I mostly drive my GS on public roads I'm more than happy with the Skyhook. With the extras you mention I would have been able to seriously hassle the 430s a few months back at Monza, as it was I just hassled the 360s and CS's ;-)

 

Define the term hassled.

I run a lot of track events with 355's, 355CH's, 360's, 360CH's, 350CS's and Maser coupes & spiders. There's even a heavily modifed Maser coupe that's been stripped, chipped, lowered, winged, striped and god knows what else.

A LOT is dependant on the driver but I haven't seen any of the Maserati's keep up with most of those cars if they're driven well. Sure there are people in challenge cars that are slow so they get passed but my impression is that the coupe/spider is not a great track car. The one that's been heavily modifed is a lot better but it still isn't as good.

BTW, I'm a #1 Maserati fan, not a basher but that's just what I've seen. Perhaps the GS is that much better than the heavily modifed one I've been running with for 2 years and maybe next year someone who can drive one will drive one of those at the track.

My 2 centavos.

Bob S.

 

The main difference in my mind is that the standard Coupe/Spyder rolls too much in the corners which is very disconcerting and u lose time. The GS doesn't and the fine-tuned cambiocorsa & the 19"s with grippy Pirellis does the rest.

 

I see.