Maserati's Grand Tourer

First seen in Geneva this year, the GranTurismo is a 2+2 coupe: a grand tourer in the traditional mold - very handsome; very stylish; true to its heritage, yet thoroughly fresh; sporty, yet supple enough for long trips; usable yet not truly practical.

Styled by Pininfarina, it's a worthy successor the original A6 GranTurismo, Maserati's first road car, which appeared in 1947. It isn't just about styling though - it has the performance to match the promise of its looks.

As the company's own spokespeople put it, the "soul of a Maserati is the engine." In this case that's a 4.2-liter V8, with 405 horsepower (302 kW) and a widely spread 339 lb-ft of torque, promising great drivability, as well as 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.2 seconds.

So it's a real car that could be driven for hundreds of miles; an unconventional choice that'll put a smile on your face without breaking the bank. But keep in mind that there may not be room for much more than a weekend's luggage and you'll certainly not be taking rear-seat passengers any distance - at least, not any adult-sized ones.

That this well-executed design should come from Maserati is indicative of the way this cherished but struggling company has found its feet again. A simple statistic portrays the scale of the turnaround that has been wrought in the last decade. In 1998, it sold just 600 cars worldwide. This year it will be more like 7,000, thanks in large part to the successful Quattroporte executive sedan. That's enough to turn a profit for the first time in many years.

It's cheering news to see that a niche producer of (relatively) affordable premium cars like this can successfully provide a genuine alternative to the big mainstream marques. But Maserati's management have a bit more work to do yet - stemming the tide of red ink in just one year isn't enough to prove you can thrive in the long term.

Nevertheless, the signs are good. An ideal complement to the Quattroporte, the GranTurismo is just the sort of car they'll need to produce to keep up that positive momentum. It's one of those cars that just looks right. It deserves to succeed in Asia, and everywhere else.