Coupe GT

The once-fabled Maserati brand was on the comeback trail with the drastically improved and renamed-for-2003 3200 GT, the Coupe GT.

Despite looking very similar to its predecessor (except for the clunky new rear tail-lights that replaced the lovely boomerang units that inexplicably rated badly in US customer research clinics), almost everything underneath was new.

With sumptuous styling, unrivalled interior space, a glorious Ferrari-sourced 4.2-litre V8 producing 287kW of power and 451Nm of torque, and performance and handling to rival the best of them, the Coupe GT was not to be dismissed lightly from any serious supercar buyer’s shopping list.

Indeed, a firm ride, poor radio reception and the often intrusive (but optional) F1-style Cambiocorsa transmission option to the standard six-speed manual gearbox seemed the only blights on an otherwise beautifully crafted and meticulously engineered Italian V8 supercar.