German Car Zone

I tagged along, and my dad brought his Maserati.

We set off in convoys and we were the second car, led by a GTI. We didn't join the fast group because my dad isn't really confident of going in excess of 200km/h yet with his car. I tell you... at the twisties, the GTI romances them like no other car, it swings with amazing agility at the corners. The Maserati on the other hand, while quicker on the straights, failed to keep up with the GTI on the bends. To get the GTI's kind of low end acceleration we had to downshift thrice (THRICE!) to get the power band at between 4.5krpm and 7krpm. It was a great experience to hear the engine finally at its best... One thing, the Maserati sings like a Ferrari!

After this drive, I found out something new about the Maser. It's a Ferrari with four doors, but its weight ultimately is what differentiates from a true Ferrari. Its weight dampened its cornering abilities (despite its 50:50 weight distribution) and created intertia during those acceleration runs.

Well here are some pictures. Enjoy!

Ahhh, that lowered A3 Sportback looks so hot.I always preferred it over the standard A3. Thanks for the nice photos, James.

Wonderful, not overdone, kick-@$$ rims... A+!

Thanks, James!

Awesome pictures James!

Won't let me give Karma

Thanks for post James

He did a lot of things to his car. MTM Stage 2 or 3 I can't remember... It pushes close to 300bhp!

The group is indeed a very classy bunch who mod their cars pretty extensively but tastefully.

Awesome! Is it Quattro or just FWD? 300hp is really lots of power!

Thanks for the photos mate, did the Maserati get a lot of attention where ever you go? There are some very nicely modified VW and Audi and one hot Saab 9-5. Did the boys do a bit of chasing around on the road or it is just a relaxing cruise ?

Thanks for the short report and the photos!! It looks like a lot of fun to drive in a convoy like this...

FWD... Just a bit of throttle and you'll startle the ESP.

Heh, everyone stared at the Mazza when we went by but it was more of the whole convoy grabbing the attention of everyone. Because in participation were some S3s and some really tricked out GTis that were going in excess of 200km/h on b-roads. The Mazza is not too loud, not too quiet, it's perfect. A little louder than the RS4 but definitely softer than say, an F430. So it didn't grab any unwanted attention.

It was a b-road breakfast drive, we woke up at 4am and travelled about 200km just for a bowl of noodles. So doing the math we were doing an average of about 170km/h on small roads. The faster groups averaged about 200km/h and topped out at 250km/h on highways. Our Mazza hit a top speed of 190km/h which wasn't much. Wait till we get to the highways on the next drive, then maybe we can try for 275km/h...

Yup, a lot of fun indeed. You get skilled drivers up front teacher you how to tackle the corners.