2011 Maserati GranCabrio Fendi

We love Fiat’s partnership with Gucci and the resulting 500 by Gucci born from it. However, with all due respect to those two, the latest collaboration between Italian automaker and Italian fashion house is making us drool. The car is a Maserati GranCabrio. The fashion house is Fendi. The result is the GranCabrio Fendi, a car that has been described as "a masterpiece of technology and craftsmanship."

And that just might be an understatement.

To begin with, the GranCabrio has been finished with a special dark grey, three-layer body color with an iridescent golden finish on the surface. Then there are wood trims across the dashboard, doors, and gear lever, complemented by yellow painted brake calipers. The seats have been dressed with Fendi’s iconic ’double F’ logo with the headrests embroidered with yellow stitching featuring Maserati’s famous trident logo.

In addition, the special edition GranCabrio also features a silver oval plaque on the dashboard, displaying the Maserati trident, the Fendi logo, and the five-digit series number. There’s also a special black car cover and to top everything off, there’s also a Limited Edition Travel Set of Fendi luggage and accessories.

For all the changes done on the car’s looks, the powertrain and corresponding output remains the same. What this means is that you’ll still get the 4.7-liter V8 engine with 433 horsepower and 362 lb/ft of torque with a top speed 180 mph.

Maserati has yet to release the financial damage this car will have on our accounts, but to be honest, we’d probably fork over whatever figure it sells for just because we’re completely smitten with it. The paint finish alone already caused our jaws to drop to the floor.

UPDATE 09/22/2011: Maserati has just released a video that provides a look behind the scenes of the GranCabrio Fendi. It’s a slow starter, complete with elevator music and a slow sketch of the Maserati, but it shows everything from the work on the body down to the stitching of the seats.