Here's what she had to say: "Marti Eulberg, President and CEO of Maserati North America, greeted us at Maserati's showroom on Park Avenue in NYC with fresh news from Italy: 'We've just now received news that pricing has been finalized on the 2009 GranTurismo S automatic for America. Base MSRP is $121,500, $125,900 delivered.'"
If you need a refresher, here are a few quick stats on the GranTurismo S Automatic:
The new Maserati GranTurismo S Automatic features the same 4.7-liter V-8 found in the Gran Tursimo S. The V-8 produces 433 hp at 7000 RPM and 361 lb-ft of torque at 4750 RPM with a 7500 RPM redline. The major novelty is the automatic transmission paired with the most powerful V-8 offered on the GranTursimo lineup.
Originally the ZF six-speed transmission became available on the Quattroporte because of owners' complaints about the jerkiness of the electro-actuated auto-clutch manual transmission. Maserati learned from the experience and is hoping to sell more GranTurismos with the addition of the automatic transmission.