The 2+2: Maserati GranTurismo

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Almost all saw their 2+2s outsell their two-seaters, often by significant margins.

Photo by Winston Goodfellow

The late Sergio Pininfarina, who ran his namesake company from 1961 to 2001, once told me that Enzo Ferrari coined the term 2+2, using it to describe two-door four-seaters. In the case of Ferrari and other Italian automakers and carrozzerias, 2+2s offered serious performance and agility and displayed seductive curves or other eye-catching surface treatments. 

“You must remember that my father was 50 years old when he started his company,” said Piero Ferrari—Enzo’s son and the company’s vice president—to me. “While his name would become famous with our sports cars, he had a very strong affinity for the 2+2s because of their comfort and room.”

Enzo wasn’t alone. Almost all of Italy’s sports and GT constructors saw their 2+2s outsell their two-seaters, often by significant margins. For instance, Lamborghini produced about 760 mid-engine Miuras and more than 1,200 2+2 Espadas.

The marque that presents the best case study for stylish 2+2s is Ferrari’s former crosstown rival, Maserati. From its first postwar car, the A6 1500, through the A6G 2000, 3500 GT, Sebring, Mexico, Indy, Khamsin, and Kyalami, all of Maserati’s models were comfortable and fast four-seat GTs with handsome (but not extravagant) coachwork. Then in the early 1980s the company went astray with a string of lower-priced, boxy models before returning to the forefront of 2+2 design in 2007 with Pininfarina’s superb GranTurismo. The car’s design looks as good today as it did when it debuted.

Jason Castriota, the New York–born former Pininfarina designer who created the GranTurismo, told me it is the car he is most proud of. That’s a significant statement, considering that his portfolio includes the Maserati Birdcage show car and Ferrari’s P4/5 one-off and 599 GTB Fiorano.