The Maserati Coupe follows hard on the heels of the Spyder released in September 2001 at the Frankfurt Motorshow. The Coup้ is scheduled for release at the Detroit Motor Show on January 7, 2002 and it will mark the return of Maserati to the US market at this its world premier. Powered by the same all new 4.2 litre naturally aspirated V8 that powers the Spyder, the introduction of the Coupe formally brings to an end the turbo-engined Maserati introduced by de Tomaso with the Bi Turbo series. Although similar in appearance to the 3200GT, the new Coupe is a completely new car and, apart from the obvious styling difference, is basically identical in specification to the Spyder which preceded it. The new Coupe thus adopts the new Maserati 6-speed manual rear mounted transaxle type gear box and the new option - the Cambiocorsa gearbox introduced with the Spyder. The gearbox is hydraulically operated with electronic management by levers behind the steering wheel, there is no clutch. Whilst front and rear track are the same as the 3200GT, the wheel base is 220mm shorter and weight is down slightly relative to the Spyder. The closely related 3200GT styling has a number of subtle differences - and some not so. As can be seen from the rear view of the car the distinctive 'boomerang' rear light treatment has been abandoned, the power bulge on the bonnet is also more pronounced.
