Here at We Talk Cars, we pride ourselves on looking out for the little fella. That means focusing on typical, everyday cars and crossovers that normal folks actually buy. Still, with that said, there’s nothing wrong with occasionally feeling aspirational. That’s why we present to you the 2026 Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo coupe. Is it practical? Is it efficient? And heck, is it even a decent driver’s car? Well, no and no to the first two, but the answer to the third question is where things start to get interesting.
Exterior
First things first, what good is an Italian GT sports car if it doesn’t look the part? In that regard, the 2026 GranTurismo Trofeo doesn’t disappoint. Ever since the original GranTurismo hit the streets in 2007, the car’s followed a very strict styling profile, complete with thin, aggressive headlights, prominent wheel arches, and a big, gaping maw of a front grille. That’s just as true in 2026 as it was almost 20 years ago, except nowadays, things are just a bit more refined.
The timeless front grille is just a little bit smaller than GranTurismos of old, the reworked headlights flow along the sides of the front clip, and the daytime running lights are much better integrated into the bodywork. At the back, a 2026 GranTurismo looks much the same as an older model, but with sleeker taillights and a more prominent aero diffuser on the bottom. The black-painted forged aluminum wheels, 20 inches in the front and 21 in the rear, sure do a great job of taking up space inside the wheel arches.
Overall, the whole car oozes machismo in a way that feels contemporary, and not like complete overkill. You might be inclined to think the front end is way too huge compared to the rest of the car, but compared to other modern Italian GTs like the Ferrari Amalfi, it’s hard to say the Maserati doesn’t look fresh as heck.
As for paint, the 2026 GranTurismo gives you the option of a wide range of colors, but it’s fair to say the Blu Graphite Metallic option given for testing is one of the best of the bunch. The Glossy Dark Miron color applied to the wheels is another great touch, and the whole car gives off a distinctly Maserati-coded vibe that stands out in traffic. Compared to older GranTurismos, modern ones don’t look quite so much like they’re about to bite your head off. If you ask us, it looks mature, elegant, and worth every bit of the commanding price tag it demands. Still, what is it all worth if the engine doesn’t have the guts to match?
The Powertrain
Say what you will about Stellantis these days, but you can’t argue that they don’t produce two of the most powerful, desirable, and engaging six-cylinder engines on the market today. One is the twin-turbo straight-six Hurricane engine that champions the Ram 1500 pickup and the Dodge Charger Sixpack, and the other is what the GranTurismo Trofeo has rocking under its massive hood. Dubbed the Nettuno, it’s the same 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 you’ll find in the Grecale Trofeo SUV, the mid-engine MC20, and even the track-only MCXtrema.
The Nettuno engine family uses pre-chamber combustion technology derived from Formula 1, along with direct and port fuel injection. Different Maserati applications use different tuning and lubrication systems, so the shared engine name does not mean identical specifications.
The GranTurismo Trofeo tested here produces 542 horsepower, according to Maserati’s technical specifications. Paired with an eight-speed automatic gearbox, this powertrain has what it takes for lightning-quick shifts and fairly impressive acceleration. It must be said, the V6 doesn’t sound quite as nice as the Ferrari-developed V8 that exited stage left back in 2019.
The V6 also improves efficiency compared with the previous V8. Fuel economy still is not the main reason to buy this car, but fewer stops fit its grand-touring mission. So, what does it all amount to when there are twisty backroads and open highways ahead?
The Drive
Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat, the GranTurismo is a GT car first and a low-slung sports car second. This means that in the Trofeo’s main two drive modes, GT and Comfort, the car is far cushier, more docile, and softer than you might expect from such a legendary sports car moniker. The adaptive air suspension smooths out potholes and small bumps with considerable skill, but it does so at the cost of driving response through the steering wheel and a little bit of lag from the paddle-shifted transmission.
With that said, turning the driving settings to Sport mode stiffens the adaptive suspension dampers to cut back on body roll, and the even more extreme Corsa (track) mode lowers the car by as much as 17 millimeters (0.7 inches). To further refine the drive, a dedicated suspension button separates the damper settings from the ride height, letting you keep the car at a normal height over bumpy roads while keeping the steering response nice and crisp. The adjustable ride height also helps the car negotiate low-speed obstacles.
In Sport and Corsa modes, we recorded 0-to-60-mph runs of 3.2 to 3.3 seconds. Those runs included a slight downhill grade, so they should not be treated as directly comparable with standardized manufacturer or instrumented test results. Surely, it’s fast enough to throw some adrenaline through your veins, but not so fast that it defeats the purpose of a GT car. Handling is fairly solid for such a plush vehicle, and massive dinner plates of 15-inch brake rotors in the front and 13.7 in the back mean you stop fairly expediently as well.
Given the role it fills in the Maserati lineup, the GranTurismo Trofeo toes the line between a GT and a sports car fairly well. However, if you’re the kind of person who drives AMG GT 63s, M8 Competitions, or C8 Corvettes regularly, you’re probably going to be disappointed. Still, the GranTurismo Trofeo strikes a balance between the two paradigms in a fairly impressive way.
Interior and Comfort
Like the exterior, a 2026 GranTurismo Trofeo’s interior is configurable to an impressive degree. With a range of upholstery colors to choose from, the stunning red (Rosso) color applied to this one sure does pop. The seats are plush, comfortable, and have solid bolstering in the back and the bottom. They keep your hips firmly in place flinging the car around tight corners, but not so aggressively that it feels like you’re driving an IMSA racer. It makes for a distinctly comfortable place to spend a nice, long road trip, and people up to about six-foot-two shouldn’t have a problem settling in at all.
Maxing out the front-seat legroom by pushing it way back comes at the cost of room in the back. Yet, if the driver is a reasonable height, the rear bucket seats can indeed accommodate a full-size adult. It’s something that a Porsche 911 or a Mercedes AMG GT can’t claim, as their back seats are glorified storage lockers. Befitting of a car at this price point, everything that looks like carbon fiber, plush leather, or polished metal is the real thing, unadulterated. Given the 115.3-inch wheelbase and wide track, a GranTurismo Trofeo can hold 10.9 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats.
Compared to a luxury sedan, that’s not all that impressive, but it’s large enough for roughly two carry-on suitcases, a few duffle bags or golf bags, or a robust grocery shopping haul without too much worry. The rear seats might not fold, but there’s a handy pass-through hatch for things like skiing equipment, something that’ll probably come in handy, given the kind of car this is. With its one-touch power trunk lid, the whole loading and unloading process really is seamless.
Maybe all these items are a given, and a GranTurismo Trofeo’s rivals surely have similar interior quality. Still, the vibes going on inside the cabin of a Maserati really can’t be replicated elsewhere. It’s hard to explain unless you’re sitting in it, but trust us. There’s no expense spared making this Italian GT car feel special when you sit behind the wheel. Better still, the kind of technology that comes as standard is fairly impressive.
Tech and Features
For a car this exclusive, you’d hope the features are loaded up to the gills. Credit to Maserati, they managed to lay it on thick in the GranTurismo Trofeo without coming off like it’s overkill. The 12.2-inch digital gauge cluster is crisp, easily configurable, and changes layouts based on the driving mode. To the right, a 12.3-inch center infotainment display is bordered on the bottom by a separate 8.8-inch touchscreen just for the HVAC, the heated seats, and interior lighting. The bottom screen is angled ergonomically to minimize driver distraction, and the whole setup feels like it was well tested before launch. Still, physical buttons would have been nice.
Up top, a clever digital clock, styled like the real mechanical thing, was quite nice to stare at while stuck in traffic. The infotainment suite uses the Maserati Intelligent Assistant (MIA) software bundle, and it’s programmed on the same Android Automotive-based operating system as Stellantis’ much-applauded Uconnect 5 system. Paired to the Maserati Connect App, every vehicle parameter you could hope to change, be it cabin pre-conditioning, GPS geolocation, and TPMS metrics are available to monitor. As for ADAS, there’s not much this big GT car doesn’t come with.
The available Level 2 driver-assistance features include adaptive cruise control and lane-centering assistance, alongside blind-spot monitoring and forward collision warning. These systems require an attentive driver; they do not make the car autonomous. Mercifully, the 360-degree surround-view camera suite helps keep the wheels from being scuffed while parking. Add gigantic oversized paddle shifters made from real aluminum, and you’ll be rowing through the gears with delight for your entire drive if you choose. That said, the push-button toggle switch-operated gearbox is a huge letdown, especially if you’re used to a real shift lever with an auto stick.
At the very least, a 19-speaker audio system by the Italian firm Sonus faber can really bump when you turn it up high. Bass and treble are crisp and clean, the lows are vibrant and discernible, and you don’t have to crank it up anywhere near to the top to experience the full breadth of each audio channel. Put simply, save for the cringey transmission shifter, a GranTurismo Trofeo’s feature list is everything you’d want it to be.
Is it Worth the Money?
Well, that’s a more complicated question than if this had been a Jeep or a Kia. A standard 2026 GranTurismo base MSRP of $166,000 doesn’t account for options, bespoke paint and interior packages, or taxes and fees. Fully loaded with the Trofeo package, expect to pay north of $210,000 to own an example equipped like our test car. That’s a heck of a lot of coin for an Italian GT car which, A, isn’t a Ferrari, and B, doesn’t have a V8 under the hood. Still, it’s hard to argue the end result isn’t exciting.
If you’re the kind of person who enjoys a nice, cushy cross-country road trip with the occasional canyon carving along the way, there’s every chance you’ll enjoy every moment of ownership, right up until the warranty expires. It’s firmly out of reach for most American drivers, but even then, a two-to-three-day rental experience for the trip of a lifetime is something far more achievable for the average person.
The Verdict
The 2026 GranTurismo Trofeo is a car that wears many hats. Part GT car, part sports car, and part country club cruiser, it does a fairly respectable job of balancing all three in a package that looks and feels tempting. At a time when the Grecale SUV makes up the majority of Maserati’s sales volume, the GranTurismo represents the next step up the ladder before the MCPura moves into mid-engine, butterfly door supercar territory.
Will the GranTurismo Trofeo really help move metal in a meaningful way for Maserati? At this price point, it’s pretty doubtful. Yet, as a bona fide awesome, multifaceted driving experience, you really can do worse. In an era where most GT sports cars look similar, the GranTurismo Trofeo at least attempts to be different. At the end of the day, it’s still a Maserati, and that has to count for something.
