Fernando Alonso gets himself a Maserati GranCabrio-We love Cars

Fernando Alonso gets himself a Maserati GranCabrio: "

Filed under: Motorsports, Convertible, Performance, Maserati, Celebrities, Luxury

Fernando Alonso with his new Maserati GranCabrio - Click above for high-res image gallery

What do Formula One drivers drive in their downtime? Well, when you're a two-time world champion like Fernando Alonso, you get to drive pretty much whatever you want. That is, assuming the team you're driving for isn't owned by a specific automaker. Then you'll need to drive whatever the provide you with. And in Alonso's case, notwithstanding his solo 2001 debut season with Minardi-Cosworth, he's pretty much only driven for automaker-owned teams: Renault, McLaren-Mercedes, then back to Renault and now Ferrari.

While at Renault, Alonso drove a Megane RS that was later offered for sale on eBay. When he moved to McLaren, he got his finely-honed hands on an SLR 722. Now that he's at Ferrari, you'd expect him to be driving a new 458 Italia or a 599 GTB Fiorano, right? Almost, but not quite.

Ferrari's sister company Maserati has announced that Alonso has acquired a new GranCabrio - to be sold Stateside as the GranTurismo Convertible, lest we be confused. The Spanish driver - who's already off to a great start, having won his first race with the team to which everyone said he always belonged - picked one out in (very) dark gray with a two-tone beige and bordeaux interior with a matching canvas roof. And if you think about it, his selection makes sense: if you're driving a high-strung performance machine for work, wouldn't you want to unwind in something a little more relaxed? Press release after the jump, photos in the galleries below.

Gallery: Fernando Alonso's Maserati GranCabrio