STYLISH and luxurious but still a potent performance weapon, the Maserati GranTurismo is a step back from the ground occupied by serious performance sportscars. With 405bhp pulsing from its 4.2-litre Ferrari-built V8, however, it’s serious enough for most.

We mere mortals might find this difficult to comprehend but you can tire of life with a supercar.

Everyone will have a different threshold but at some stage, all that cruising round Monte Carlo in the moonlight and the endless blasts up the Stelvio Pass just lose their sheen.

When the furious rush of acceleration no longer intoxicates like it did and you simply can’t be bothered to drop a window in a tunnel, shift down a couple of cogs and let the engine’s banshee wail electrify your spine, you know you’ve gone over the edge.

It’s time to garage the thoroughbred exotica and spend some time enjoying something a little more reserved and less highly strung. Every international playboy should have a spot in their dehumidified garage for the Maserati GranTurismo.

We’re seeing a subtle repositioning of the Maserati brand. The famous Italian manufacturer is being edged out from the shadow of Ferrari where it has resided for too long and the GranTurismo will be central to determining its new resting place in the market.

Along with the Quattroporte four-door saloon on which it is based, the GranTurismo is a slightly different kind of Maserati. Rather than simply offering top-end Italian sportscars for people who can’t quite afford one, the marque is focusing more acutely on luxury, comfort and the understated elegance that’s always been part of the Maserati package. Performance nuts need not despair, though. We’ll still get our fair share of brutal performance and finely-honed handling.

Crucially to the more practical and luxurious direction that Maserati is being led in, the GranTurismo is a 2+2 and although claims by the manufacturer that it can sit "two adults comfortably even on longer journeys" do stretch the limits a little, there’s definitely room for a pair of kids in those sculpted rear seats.

The likes of Jaguar and Aston Martin won’t be overly keen on the idea of a competitive 2+2 Maserati grand tourer and neither will Porsche, BMW and Mercedes. Maserati has a presence in 58 countries on five continents so the base is there for the brand to grow quickly from the 5,700 units sold worldwide in 2006.

Running costs for the Maserati GranTurismo might not be supercar in their magnitude but they will probably be as near as damn it.

The 4.2-litre V8 is going to suck in fuel and pump out CO2 at a level that no environmentalist without his own personal carbon offset programme is going to countenance.

It’s safe to say that anyone you see at the wheel of a GranTurismo doesn’t have green issues at the top of their priority list.

Just be thankful they’re travelling by car and not in their private jet.

FACTFILE

Maserati GranTurismo

PRICE: £80,000 [est]

INSURANCE GROUP: 20 [est]

CO2 EMISSIONS: 350g/km [est]

PERFORMANCE: 0-62mph 5.2s / max speed 177mph

FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 20mpg [est]

STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front, rear & side airbags, ABS, ESP