The judges’ scores are in (well, any minute now) and the countdown begins
by STUART GALLAGHER
9th MASERATI GRANTURISMO TROFEO
Compiling the scores on the penultimate night of eCoty is not the work of a moment. The judges get a deadline, which is widely ignored, and then someone, there’s always someone, declares they haven’t had enough time in one of the cars. That someone in 2023 was Henry Catchpole, who picked up the Jethro ‘I need one more drive’ Bovingdon baton in his absence. Only after everyone is happy are the votes counted.
The Maserati’s position appears, on paper, to be more than a tumble from grace. From first last year to ninth is not an easy pill to swallow, but the result doesn’t reflect the quality of the car, which impressed despite the challenge of test routes that were at the outer reaches of its remit. Tight, twisting, bucking tarmac is not the natural habit for a hefty 2+2 GT car.
The GranTurismo didn’t embarrass itself or fall to pieces; it was simply unfortunate that it arrived in a year of brilliance from its rivals. Its natural rival here was the Aston Martin DB12, and where the V8 Brit was (largely) able to adapt and deliver on its super-tourer promises, the V6 Italian always felt that as it reached its limits it was edging out of its comfort zone.
‘I like it from the point of view of the dynamic bandwidth that it has,’ said Barker. ‘It goes from something that you’d be happy to take your mum out in on the most comfortable spec, and then in Corsa it’s quite a lot tighter and quite a bit more brutal.’ Henry, who was one of the five judges to place it last, observed: ‘It never wants to really shrink around you. It rides well and has a more supple feeling than the Aston, but it is probably too much GT and not enough sports car for the company it’s keeping here.’
8th ASTON MARTIN DB12
If evo had any sartorial sensibility it would place the DB12 first and dismiss the others for being overwrought design disasters. If presence is your thing, few cars come closer to owning the road in that respect than the DB12. It blends muscle and sophistication expertly, a brooding menace one moment, a svelte GT the next. You want to drive the DB12 purely so you can be part of it. Peter Tomalin reckoned it by far the best-looking car in this year’s line-up, adding ‘the interior is such an improvement from the DB11, you can scarcely believe it’s from the same manufacturer’.
This car sets out Aston Martin’s stall for what is to come. A clear step away
