BRASELTON, Georgia - Owning an exotic sports car isn't so rewarding if you can't really get the most out of it. Not everyone who can afford the $100,000+ price of an Italian-built Maserati is an expert driver, after all. Piloting a Maserati GranSport coupe or a Quattroporte sedan, with their sequential-manual gearboxes, demands a certain level of finesse and practice. Learning to handle such capable machines with confidence also requires rigorous instruction.
Maserati has the answer, for owners who can get to Georgia for a one- or two-day training session. Master Maserati is the company's new hands-on educational program, held at Road Atlanta race course.
Aimed at prospective and current owners, as well as the media, the Master Maserati Driving School is similar to a program in Parma, Italy. The goal is simple enough: to improve driving techniques and get the most out of a Maserati. Instructions cover visualization, car control, accident avoidance, and high-speed directional changes. Students undertake exercises in vehicle dynamics, skid-pad technique, high-performance lane change, controlled braking, slalom activity, and an autocross layout, as well as driving the road course itself.
They start with the basics, including proper driver positioning in the cockpit, and where the driver's hands should be on the steering wheel. Instructors emphasize that only four tiny contact patches stand between the car and the pavement at any given moment. Each instructor explains the principles of oversteer and understeer, and how they apply to both competition and ordinary driving.
Lane-change maneuvers show students how to get their minds focused on what needs to be done in an emergency, as well as how to steer the car safely away from danger. A Slalom course helps develop a certain rhythm with the vehicle, as well as teaching how hard it can be pushed through sharp curves and corners, without exceeding the car's - or the driver's - limitations.
Naturally, the slalom course presents a fine opportunity to demonstrate Maserati's Skyhook suspension, which uses five sensors - three for chassis movement and two for front wheel movenent - and adjusts the dampers in milliseconds.
Training is especially helpful for Maserati owners, because most of the company's models are equipped with a sequential-manual gearbox rather than a conventional manual or automatic transmission. Making the best use of the Cambiocorsa gearbox in the GranSport two-door, or the DuoSelect transmission in Maserati's Quattroporte sedan, takes finesse that can only be acquired with practice.
Road Atlanta is a European-style track, 2.54 miles in length, with 12 turns and 10 elevation changes. Don Panoz owns the Road Atlanta facility.
Students can attend either a one-day or two-day program. They're not cheap; but then, neither are the Maserati motorcars. The single-day program costs $1,800, while the two-day event runs $3,400. The longer program includes a night's lodging at the nearby Chateau Elan winery and resort, and a special dinner in a private room with the Master Maserati instructors.
For each program, 12 Maserati cars and 3 Trofeo racing cars are available. Only 18 participants may be registered in each program, with three participants per instructor.
Two sponsors contribute to the Master Maserati program: Pirelli tires and Audemars Piguet, a maker of ultra-expensive watches. Their special-edition MC12 watch costs an eye-popping $227,000.
Programs include all equipment and support, insurance, breakfast and lunch at Road Atlanta, a diploma, memorabilia, and gifts. Rates do not include airfare or transportation. Information on the Driving School is available on the web at www.maseratiamerica.com/master, or interested parties may call 1-866-607-6648.
Instructors for Master Maserati are actually part of the Panoz Racing School. Panoz, a maker of limited-production sports cars, is a Georgia company. Panoz also provides service, maintenance, and facilities.
In addition to courses for grown-up sports-car owners, the Panoz group conducts a Teen Driving School that lets youngsters hone their skills on a race course. That's not quite as shocking as it sounds, since the curriculum is designed to make them better drivers on regular roads, not turn them into motorsport figures.
Maserati was established in 1914 at Bologna, Italy, by the Maserati Brothers. The company's Trident logo was designed by Mario Maserati. Wilbur Shaw won the Indianapolis 500 race behind the wheel of Maseratis in 1939 and 1940. In 1957, legendary racer Juan Manuel Fangio took the World Championship.
In 1993, Maserati was bought by Fiat. Four years later, it was absorbed by Ferrari. In April 2005, Maserati regained full independence, but still benefits from a close technical partnership with Ferrari.
Maserati sales totaled just 518 cars in 1998, but reached 5,659 units in 2005. North America accounted for 2,114 sales in 2005. Maseratis are sold in 57 countries, by a total of 281 dealers.
Currently, Maserati sells eight models in the U.S.:
• Quattroporte four-door sedan in three versions: base, Sport GT, and Executive GT.
• Two-door sports cars in five flavors: Coupe, Spyder, GranSport coupe and Spyder, and limited-production MC12 coupe (only 50 to be built).
| Home | New Cars | Used Cars | Comparisons | Newsletter | Consumer | Industry |