It sat there in the afternoon light like a beautiful Italian actress, and I could hardly wait for the introductions to begin.

It would only be a three-day relationship with the black Maserati GranTurismo, so I really wanted to get going, but I couldn't take my eyes off the seductive styling. From the front and the side, I thought it qualified as the Jag XKE of a new generation.

I stared at the concave grille and the chrome trident and thought of the history, the incredible history of the brand - the brilliant Juan Manuel Fangio winning his fifth and most famous Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1957 in an iconic Maserati. All he did was win 10 of the 16 races he entered.

In its three decades in official competition, Maserati can lay claim to almost 500 overall victories.

While a lot of racing knowledge is built into the GT, this is not a stripped-down racing car we are looking at today. It is a luxury GT that is a perfect blend of high performance and comfort.

Many people want the handling and acceleration that are typical of this class of car, but they also demand a first-class cabin, with the softest leather and burled walnut, among other luxury touches. This test car had all that and more.

"It is a car that has a high tactile sense. It is part of our heritage," said Jeffrey Ehoodin, Maserati's public relations manager.

They are doing something right. Sales are up about 15% this year. (Now bear in mind this is a low-volume operation, with only about 2,800 cars being sold a year in the U.S. and about 8,000 worldwide.) Maserati has only 56 dealers across the country, most in major metropolitan centers.

Open the sleek hood, and you will be amazed at what you see. It's the engine. There are no plastic shields or flaring found in other luxury cars. Instead, there is a fully exposed 4.2-liter V8, good for 405 horsepower at 7,100 rpm, plus 340 lb.-feet of torque at 4,750 rpm. The redline is pegged at 7,250 rpm but maximum power is listed a bit lower at 7,100 rpm. It gets there quickly.

Maserati claims a zero to 60 time of 5.2 seconds and a top speed of 178 miles per hour. It would be a wonderful car for a weekend on the track.

Yet the more hard-edge car is the Grand Turismo S. It packs a 4.7-liter V8, with 433 horsepower and 361 lb.ft. of torque. Maserati lists zero to 100 km (62 miles per hour) at 4.9 seconds with a top speed of 183 miles per hour. Some suspension changes in the GTS surely make it more fun at the track.

Ah, but enough of the fun of running one at the track. What is it like to live with every day? In a word, wonderful.

Hard at first, the seats were comfortable over a longer drive. The paddle shifts were big and easy to grasp. They are the life-blood of the ZF six-speed automatic that changes gears faster than you can blink an eye. Change to the sport setting, and it holds the gear longer for higher performance. I loved that setting.

The instruments are easy to read, and as for the audio system, well, it works. I had more fun listening to the sounds the GT made going through its paces. Out on a back road there was this enticing curve and those quick paddle shifters. Everything, yes everything, the Maserati did through that turn, from the initial move into it to the quick acceleration out, to the feedback through the leather covered wheel suggested one thing: this is a world class car. Since the company has this race history thing, this was no surprise.

Even more amazing was the Maserati was able to get this right with a rather heavy car, at 4,374 pounds.

It is a car that you will seldom see coming the other way. However, if that concerns you, there are virtually unlimited ways to customize your GT. There are almost a dozen shades of leather to go with all kinds of variations to the interior trim. Even the Brembo brake calipers come in six colors.

It was an extraordinary three days with the black GT. The starting price is about $113,750. With options, it would be easy to hit $120K.

With this road test, and for two others, I had the rare treat of being able to share seat time with an old friend and well-grounded consumer, to get his take on the cars involved. Kent Marzoli of New Hampshire and I peddled our bikes to the rear of garages in the fall just to see the new cars, in that pre-Internet era. He caught his father's love of cars and his New England Yankee sense of what works and what doesn't. Working together, we kept AMT model cars in business.

He praised the GT's styling and luxurious interior. The car "loves to run" and is "more racing machine than sport coupe," he said.

Other comments included: "Paddle shifts are a blast. Seats are firm but lack adjustable lumbar and bolster support." He felt the rear seats worked better for packages than people.

And he added this: "A sweet exhaust note."

Amen to that.

Ron Amadon, Market Watch.

My grateful thanks to Ron Amadon for kindly granting me permission to publish his article for us all to enjoy!