Maserati 3200GT

Launched in 1998, the fabulous Maserati 3200GT marked Maserati's re-entry into the world of glamorous, big-engined GT cars and was the first genuinely new Maserati since the Bi-Turbo of the 1980s – although you will be pleased to hear that it's build quality was in a different league to the woeful Masers of that era! It was a natural rival to the Porsche 911 and Jaguar XKR, although far more individual than either of those relatively commonplace machines.

Performance from the twin-turbo 3.2-litre V8 was nothing short of ferocious with 370bhp on tap and a top speed of 170mph. To help keep all those horses in check, traction control was standard and there were airbags for both front seat occupants. There was also enough room in the back for two normal sized passengers, often not the case for supercars in this bracket.

Styling was by Italdesign, whose founder and head, Giorgetto Giugiaro, previously designed the Ghibli, Bora and Merak. A distinctive feature were the LED 'boomerang' tail lights, sadly dropped in later cars as they were considered too quirky and unsafe by the American market. One of the finest features of the car was its superbly trimmed interior with acres of beautifully crafted Italian leather, including a suede headlining.

First registered in January 2000, this automatic transmission car is said to be in lovely condition throughout with light blue coachwork and a tan leather interior (just as quick as a manual and no clutch to worry about!). It has covered a warranted 81,000 miles from new with a full service history comprising 9 stamps to date, the first five at supplying dealer Graypaul of Loughborough, the remainder at specialists. It was last serviced in June 2009 at 74,000 miles when the cambelts were changed (for the second time) and the next service due is just an oil service.

It comes with three spare keys plus the red master key and is MOTd until November and taxed until the end of October. It comes with all its original handbooks plus all the luxuries you would expect in a car of this class including air conditioning, with everything working as it should.

Considering that these cars cost some £70,000 new, this looks like superb value at the guide price suggested today. These fabulous Maseratis have proved extremely dependable over the last 12 years with no major reliability issues – and just imagine how your answer will sound when an old school friend asks “and what are you driving these days?”. Go on, you know it makes sense!