In the pantheon of modern classics, this era of Maserati is surely the very embodiment of the phrase itself.

With a trident on the nose and a Ferrari V8 under the bonnet, this car represents a fascinating chapter in the marque’s history – the 4200 GT, sold in both Coupe and Spyder form, replaced the outgoing 3200 GT, a four-seat Grand Tourer which had been in production from 1998-2002.

That car’s name referred to the displacement of its 3.2-litre twin-turbo V8, so you can see the logical progression here.

When the Coupe launched in 2001, it took the essential silhouette of the 3200 and repackaged it with a 4.2-litre engine – this time naturally-aspirated, and borrowed from Ferrari.

It’s the same basic engine as you’ll find in the F430, California and 458, although in Maserati guise it runs a cross-plane crank for smoothness (as opposed to Ferrari’s more savage flat-plane crank arrangement).

This impressive motor is wrapped up in sumptuous curves penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro, with a cosseting interior that wraps around you and positively encourages you to point the Maser’s nose at the horizon and go seeking adventure.

You’ve got a mighty 385bhp under your right foot, but this isn’t an arms race – the Coupe was conceived as a luxurious cruiser with a sporting edge, and it carries that banner with pride.

The example we have here is remarkable for two key reasons: first of all, it wears very low mileage – just 36,000. And secondly, it’s got a huge history file showing that it’s always been looked after on a no-expense-spared basis by premium specialists.

It’s worth noting that the car was at one point a Cat D, because around eight years ago its owner drove it into deep water on a flooded road and seized the engine – but there are actually major positives to extract from this piece of information, as the engine was replaced with a lower-mileage unit by the renowned artisans at Autofficina in 2014, at a cost of £11,400.

With such a robust history to back it up, this pretty Italian Spyder has nothing to hide and drives beautifully.

Maserati’s 4200 GT was conceived as a grand tourer, and the interior is beautifully trimmed and supremely relaxing.

The seats are very comfortable and generously padded, trimmed in cream leather, and thanks to this car’s low mileage there’s very little wear to the hide aside from some scuffing to the driver’s side bolster.

The multi-function screen and head unit (which was replaced in 2010) appears to be in working order, with just a little wear to some of the control buttons.

The gauges and dials are all working correctly, including the distinctive and all-important Maserati clock in the centre of the dash, and the leather trim on the dash, glovebox and centre console is all in good condition.

The gauges show the correct pressures and temperatures when on the move, and there are no warning lights illuminated on the dash.

Naturally, as with any Maserati of this age, there’s some wear and tear to the various control buttons in the cabin, and some flaking to the finish around the air vent bezels, but on the whole it’s a pleasingly tidy interior.

It’s all dry and tidy inside the boot, with the correct tyre inflator kit, tyre repair solution and tools present.

Finished in delightful Verde Mistral paint, this is a well-presented car with very few age-related marks to speak of.

The panel fit is good with even gaps all round, and the doors and boot close with a satisfyingly solid thunk.

The light lenses are all in good condition with no stonechips or milkiness to the fronts, the window glass is equally good (with the windscreen having recently been replaced), and all of the correct trim pieces and emblems are in place – including those all-important Giugiaro flank badges. The door locks have been replaced. Electric operation of the roof is in good working order, and the roof itself is in tidy condition.

The car wears its original 18” alloy wheels, which have a few scuffs and kerb marks here and there; the wheel nuts have some surface corrosion, so swapping these would be a cheap and easy way to improve the aesthetics. The tyres are matching Pirelli P Zero Rosso with decent tread.

Overall, this is an impressively tidy Maserati in original spec; a proper head-turner on the high street, that would feel very much at home on the Riviera. 

The big story with this car is the engine, which was of course replaced in 2014.

The specialists who carried out this work, Autofficina in Surrey, are renowned as experts within Maserati circles, and the fastidious work to replace the engine was followed up by extensive road-testing to ensure that everything was correct.

Today, the car drives just as you’d hope: it fires easily on the first turn of the key, settling into that characteristically woofly idle, and pulls keenly through the gears.

The Cambiocorsa transmission operates correctly, and the car rides very well with its trademark fusion of comfort and keen handling. The brakes feel strong, there are no undue noises from the chassis, it all appears to be just as it should be.

The comprehensive history file also provides real peace of mind when it comes to mechanical matters – everything has been properly documented.

It really is remarkable how much Maserati you get for your money these days. 

Here’s a car with low mileage and a substantial history, powered by a bona fide Ferrari V8, with a beautifully trimmed and well equipped interior, all wrapped up in effortlessly stylish Giugiaro design… and it could be yours for less than the cost of a new Kia hatchback. Feels like a no-brainer, doesn’t it?

With many thousands spent to keep it correct, this sharply-suited Maser suavely cuts a dash on the high street, loves carving up country roads and mountain passes, devours motorways with aplomb, and does so while serving up a heavenly engine sound. 

It’s wonderfully comfortable, achingly pretty, always entertaining, and thoroughly deserving of a place on your driveway.

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