Bburago 1:43 Maserati GranTurismo



One of the biggest questions in the diecast land is why are some companies making replica's of certain cars and avoiding others?  Well, for one it's likely because of a copyright dispute that does not allow them to make replica's of a certain brand of cars.  Then there's times when there are no restrictions and yet you still don't see much of them made.  That one category fits in well for the Maserati brand: every time one comes out it disappears rather quickly.  Hot Wheels had three Maserati castings that appeared for a few years and then disappear rather quickly.  What I find even more odd is that Hot Wheels has never done the Maserati 3200GT nor this GranTurismo successor.  The one seen here, in fact, comes from Bburago in 1:43 scale.



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in 2007 the two-seat Maserati 3200GT coupe and spider were replaced with the larger GranTurismo, a car that can seat four people and still be a sports car, but this time more of a grand tourer.  The platform was based on the one used for the Maserati Quattroporte sedan, Ferrari 599 GTB, and Ferrari 612.  The styling was more expressive and aggressive, the interior more roomier and luxurious, and more powerful with a 4.7L DOHC V8 that produces 440 hp and 490 Ib-ft. of torque through a 6-speed automatic.  The car is still produced today and makes more power and has a dual-clutch automated manual transmission, along with a roadster version as well.




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It was a surprise finding this one at Dollar General where the Bburago castings were nothing more than the same-old Maisto castings over-and-over again.  At one stop there was two Bburago's that got loose: A Porsche 911 GT2 2002 and this GrandTurismo that looks really good in silver.  The front has clear headlights with detailed signal lights on the sides and washer jets below the lamps, foglights below, and a lower grille that wraps under the center grille: a recessed design with vertical fins and silver trim that connects to the trident logo in the center.  The look is sharp, aggressive, and still looks good today!  On the sides a more traditional coupe look appears with three vents on the front fenders, Pinninfarina badge below the vents, and multi-spoke wheels that perfectly match the ones on the real car.




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At the rear the taillights have a red outer lens with the silver inner one for the LED taillights, Maserati badge, GranTurismo plate, and quad exhausts that are ready to please your ears.  Inside the car has seating for four with supportive and detailed seat patterns, center console that houses the shifter, door panels that lack detail, and a dashboard with a 3-spoke steering wheel, detailed gauges and navigation system that are stickers applied to the dashboard, and the neat angled A/C vents just above the navigation system.  Finally the base shows off the drivetrain and the exhaust details at the minimum.  As usual with Bburago's the base and body are connected with clips from the front and rear: here, the front grille supports the front, while the rear plate supports the rear.  The wheels snap on to plastic tabs, but they seem a bit weak to hold the car under hard play abuse and make the car squat at the rear.  Also I found the steering wheel inside to droop down a bit.  But overall this is one nicely-executed replica of the GranTurismo that looks fast standing still.




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Comments

  1. Peccato x le ruote, era una riedizione recente della Cararama, Ben fatta! Si dice che gli stampi fossero IXO o Minichamps!

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  2. Maserati Gibli has its original and hence matching numbers engine. Performed having a perfectly working automatic gearbox, very rare ! We took the car for just a little spin ! We adore to listen to your comments on our videos. Twenty-four hours a day leave one !

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