Maserati GranCabrio news - Roof party - 2009

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Life is good. There's a bank holiday weekend on the way, England have just won the Ashes (come on, you didn't think we could go long without mentioning that, did you?)... and Maserati has just revealed its gorgeous new convertible, the GranCabrio.

Pretty thing, ain't it? The GranCabrio is based on the two-door GranTurismo, and is the first-ever four-seat convertible in Maserati's history.

Unlike the slightly related Ferrari California, it gets a fabric soft-top instead of a metal roof, which is good news for weight, handling and aesthetics - check out that petite backside and tell us why you'd ever build a car with a folding hard-top.

The GranCabrio is powered by the same 4.7-litre V8 as in the GranTurismo S, putting out 433bhp at a revvy 7,000rpm, along with 362lb ft of torque.

Which means it won't be slow: though Maser is yet to release performance figures, we'd expect the GranCabrio to hit 60mph in around five and half seconds and run all the way to 180mph or so.

Even with that fabric roof, the GranCabrio (do you think we should shorten it to GC?) won't be a featherweight, exactly - with the structural reinforcements required to compensate for the lack of a fixed roof, it'll weigh in around the two-tonne mark.

But who cares? The GC (yep, we're going for it) isn't about Ferrari Scud Spider-rivalling open-top handling. It's about big sunglasses and clear skies and gorgeous coastal roads and, perchance, a trio of pneumatic ladies in the three passenger seats. And gelato.

We'll get a closer look at the Maserati GC at the Frankfurt show in a few weeks' time. Expect prices to start at around £90,000. Expect to want one.