First Test: 2009 Maserati GranTurismo S

Sure the race and test tracks can divulge much about a car -- where else can you safely push the limits in a controlled environment? -- but the daily drive home can often reveal just as much valuable information. Take the 39-mile commute from Motor Trend's L.A. office to my home near the southern tip of Ventura. It consists of three miles of stop-and-go motoring on urban surface streets, seven of 70-mph cruising along Interstate 10, another nine clicks of 50-mph sailing on the scenic and gently sweeping Pacific Coast Highway, and finally 20 miles of grip-defying, brake-scorching hustling over two-lane that tightly twists and undulates through the mountains in Malibu.

In the past month, I've hit the car lotto, piloting home such stout performance machines as the BMW M3 DCT, Mitsubishi Evo MR, Nissan GT-R, and, most recently, Maserati's new 433-horsepower blink-of-an-eye-shifting GranTurismo S. Along the illuminating route to my humble abode, the M3 elicited the most thrills, the Evo the most giggles, and the GT-R the most awestruck sighs. The Maser GTS? The most satisfaction -- it's not even close.

How is that possible, you ask. After all, the 12.7-second M3 handily beat the Mercedes C63 and Lexus IS F in a rigorous comparison test; the 0.99g Evo, with its active yaw control, corners like a go-kart; and the GT-R, well, it pulls over 1.00 g and catapults to 60 in just 3.2 seconds.

Plainly put, the GranTurismo S possesses intangibles the others can't begin to grasp. Like a Ferrari-built wet-sump 4.7-liter V-8 whose wail under wide-open throttle fills the Alcantara-trimmed cabin as if Pavarotti were in the back seat belting "Turandot" and swigging grappa. Or how a four-seat coupe the relative size of a BMW M6 claws a curve and bites a hairpin with the grip and grace of the smaller, more svelte M3. And whether it's drool or disgust over Pininfarina's penmanship, there's no dismissing the fact that the Maserati's curvaceous and chiseled body draped over S-specific 20-inch alloys draws stares the others simply can't mirror. Satisfaction? The GranTurismo S practically guarantees it.

The quickest way to get some, besides just gazing at the GTS and admiring how Maserati's wheel designers incorporated tridents into the dubs' spokes, is to slide into the driver's seat and promptly press the dash-mounted Sport button, which instructs the steel exhaust system's pneumatic valves to pass on the bypass through the rear silencers. Then mash the drilled aluminum throttle pedal (don't be shy-redline is 7500 rpm and the redhead 4.7 can even spin to 7600 under "dynamic" shift conditions) and Pavarotti suddenly appears in the rearview, belting and swigging with every beat of your right foot. But the fun is just beginning.

Now hit the Auto button, situated below the Sport button, to deselect the automatic shift schedule and enter full manual mode -- this, of course, will require finger dancing with the large, biscotti-shaped shift paddles. A red "MC-S" lights up on the IP's digital information display -- a nice juxtaposition to the classic chrome-rimmed, blue-hued analog gauges -- signaling that the Ricardo six-cog auto-clutch manual has entered the hyperfast MC-Shift program. Translation? The GTS needs only 100 milliseconds to complete a full gear change, given throttle is input is at 80 percent and engine speed is above 5500 rpm. (For context, a GT-R executes a gear change in 200 milliseconds.)

Okay, ready? Pull the right paddle as the red tach needle crests 7500 and grab second gear. Feel the 1-2 shift? Probably not. You'll hear the slightest pause as second is engaged, but as with the competition settings in today's best dual-clutch automatics -- e.g., the M3's launch control and the GT-R's R-mode -- the GTS's auto-clutch manual fires off smooth, near seamless shifts under the gun. The MC-Shift program doesn't include a dedicated launch setting, but who needs it -- the 4281-pound Maser rambles from 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds and through the quarter mile in 12.9 at 110.5 mph.

Not only is that plenty of oomph to push you back into the bucket's stiffer lumbar section (compared with the seat in the standard GranTurismo, the S's back cushion is firmer for better support and driver feel), but it's also enough to easily outrun the 4350-pound, 400-horse base GT, which needs 5.1 and 13.6 at 104.5, respectively. Further, according to Maserati, the GTS tops out at 183 mph, making it the fastest production GT to ever come from the Trident.

Sure, 180-plus in a straight line can be the bee's knees, but without cornering agility and finesse, the result is nothing but a drag racer. And while the GTS can dart down the dragstrip with some speedy sharks -- it's quicker through the quarter than the Audi S5 and the new Camaro SS -- it truly comes alive when the long, makolike nose smells a turn ahead. Enter a string of esses, whirl the Alcantara-wrapped wheel right and left, and the GTS's knack for erasing understeer will leave you utterly dumbfounded, especially given the long snout that suggests a pushing pig. But then you'll remember what the slick-haired salesman in the suit said: "You see, because the engine is located just behind the front axle and the transmission just in front of the rear axle, the GTS is balanced like a Le Mans race car." Indeed, the 192.2-inch-long Maser boasts a 48/52 front/rear weight distribution; thus, with less mass over the front Pirellis, the 0.98g GTS embraces a bend with more vigor than an Aston DBS. Braking? At 106 feet to expunge 60 mph, the GTS, with its dual-cast (iron rotor, aluminum hub) front Brembos, is just as vigorous.

Leave the twists behind, trudge along the highway in subdued Sport-off mode, and the Maserati still manages to stimulate. The cockpit, now surprisingly serene, spoils with an aesthetically pleasing mix of leather, wood, chrome, and AluTrex (aluminum-coated fiberglass). The GTS deftly substantiates its Grand Touring moniker. There are also two useable back seats. And even with new 10-percent-stiffer fixed-rate dampers, the ride remains smooth and supple.

Nits? Only a few. During relaxed, normal driving, the auto-clutch can be a bit herky-jerky, shifting with the flawlessness of a 16-year-old learning to drive stick. Then there's the fifth-gear gremlin that reared its head on two occasions, refusing to engage fourth's superior, instead defaulting into neutral. Disconcerting, the problem nonetheless remedied itself following subsequent restarts, and remained dormant thereafter.

What won't remain dormant, though, is that old Rolling Stones album "Out of Our Heads." Feed the Bose audio system the CD and prepare for full satisfaction. So much so, you may just lose your mind.