A Maserati Spyder Cambiocorsa, seen at a second-hand car market in Beijing in the cold winter of 2018. The Maserati made me feel hot again. It was in absolutely perfect shape, painted in a racy shade of yellow called Giallo Granturismo. It had a black top, slightly tinted windows, shiny gray multispoke alloy wheels, and red brake calipers.
The Maserati Spyder Cambiocorsa was a variant of the Maserati Spyder (Tipo M138). The Cambiocorsa name refers to the 6-speed automated manual gearbox with flappy paddles behind the steering wheel. The gearbox was made by an Italian company called Dana Graziano (fka Graziano Trasmissioni). The name of the transmission was Cambiocorsa, abbreviated as CC. The Cambiocorsa models were much more popular than the GT models, which were equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox.
An interior like only Maserati can design. Beautiful beige leather with matte-black trim. Spyder Cambiocorsa lettering on the glove box. The center stack with a small infotainment screen, air conditioning controls, the tiny drive selector ‘lever’, and the start button. Even the old-school handbrake is clad in leather.
The Maserati Spyder Cambiocorsa was produced from 2001 to 2007. It was officially sold in China from 2004 to 2007. That is a short run and convertibles have never been popular in China so these great Italian sports cars are a very rare sight on the roads of the capital. The price didn’t help either. In 2004, the Spyder Cambiocorsa cost 1.38 million yuan.
The rear window was narrow and the rear lights were huge. It had a small antenna on the boot lid and a somewhat odd-looking third brake light above the Maserati badge. Four shiny exhaust pipes carry the gas out of the 4.2 liter V8 engine. The output was 390 hp and 451 Nm, good for a 283 km/h top speed and a 0-100 in 5 seconds.
A brilliant car for a ride to the Great Wall, even on a winter’s day. The mountains north of Beijing got great roads and lots of tunnels, so a great soundtrack is guaranteed.