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Purchasing a new 2012 Maserati GranTurismo S base model will run you a little over $148,000, to start. Arguably, if you can afford to buy a new Maserati, you can afford to not worry about the depreciation that starts ticking as you drive away from the dealership. Packed with luxury amenities such as a Bose sound system, leather upholstery and wood and chrome accents, the sound of the V8 Ferrari engine leaves you weak-kneed. Add to that the elegant, liquid Pininfarina design, you just want to lick the car from front end to tail lights.

Oh. Right. Thats a bit of TMI. Sorry.Starting again with a bit more decorum. The famed luxury car brand under the FIAT Group corporate umbrella, Maseratis current line-up consists of the GranTurismo, GranCabriolet and the Quattroporte. 2,437 vehicles were sold in the US in 2011, a 20% increase over 2010 North American sales, and this in spite of a sputtering economy. To maintain this sales trend, Maserati of Manhattan in the posh TriBeCa neighborhood is hosting themed parties to introduce the cars to potential owners in a more casual setting. Talking to an events rep, she said its a great way to bring new faces in the door and allow people to look around and experience the cars without a sales pitch; its less intimidating.Presented by iAdventure.com, The Ultimate Guys Night Out II drew an after-work crowd of mainly guys the week preceding Fathers Day. For your $125 ticket, you got to spend the evening at the Maserati showroom sampling Chivas Scotch and downing meatball sliders by Tommy Lasagna. At the height of the evening, bluesy crooner Jullian James was on hand to entertain all with a live performance. High-end groomers John Allans were set up for shaving touch-ups, and many attendees were measured for Alexander West custom shirt fittings. Throw on a Dave Sim hat and head over to the other corner to get your shoes shined, and you were ready for thinking about driving that white GranCabrio with the black seats home of course, there is enough trunk space for your golf bag. Im just wondering when the Ultimate Girls Night Out is I sure wouldnt mind having mani-pedi in the comfy embrace of a GranTurismo MC Sport, surrounded by carbon fiber accents.

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Twenty years ago, Ford debuted the 1993 SVT Mustang Cobra at the Chicago Auto Show and introduced the world to its high-performance skunkworks department, known as SVT or Special Vehicle Team.

Today, Ford celebrates SVTs platinum anniversary the only way it knows how: with another Mustang variant. And as suspected, it comes in the form of a topless Shelby GT500.

Just as a refresher, at the 1992 show in Chicago the SVT Cobra put out 235 horsepower from its Vanilla Ice-approved 5.0-liter V8. Twenty years later, displacement has grown by less than a liter, but thanks to some 21st century tech and a massive supercharger, the 5.8-liter V8 in the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Convertible makes the same 650 hp (and 600 pound-feet of torque) as its coupe counterpart, laying claim to the most powerful production V8 in the world.

In addition to the carbon fiber driveshaft, upgraded clutch, transmission, camshafts and cross-drilled block and heads, SVT fitted its own specially developed Bilstein electronic adjustable dampers, along with six-piston Brembo calipers squeezing massive discs up front.

Like the coupe, the Bilstein setup is part of the Performance Package (why its not included as standard is beyond us) and Ford will also offer a Track Pack that includes an external oil cooler, differential cooler and transmission cooler to keep temps in check when flogging the drop top around the tarmac.

And before you ask: No, the GT500 coupes 200 mph top speed doesnt carry over to the Convertible. In a rare moment of sanity, Fords engineers saw fit to limit the GT500 vert to 155 mph – like the rest of the roofless Mustangs. Hit the jump for the full details.