“Why Tribeca?” says Michael Bellina, general manager of Maserati of Manhattan, which has just opened in One York. “Tribeca and Maserati are both all about style, performance, and luxury.”

The dealership is the sixth for Experience Auto Group, and the first in New York City (others are on Long Island and in Fort Lauderdale). Maserati has a showroom on Park Avenue, but no dealership in Manhattan—and it certainly helped that EAG’s director of business development, Gregg Hayim, lives here in Tribeca. “We looked at a lot of spaces,” says Bellina. “Because we’re not a service facility—we do pickup and delivery—we don’t need that much room.” The 5,000 square feet at One York suited them perfectly, and the location offers “tremendous exposure.” (Sure enough, several people walked in off the street while I was there—and then there are all those cars driving along Sixth and Canal.) The dealership also has cars at Central Parking on N. Moore, which makes a test drive much easier: Cars at the dealership must be driven through the front doors and over the sidewalk. “We’re debating whether to create a back entrance [onto St. John’s Lane],” says Bellina.

(The red carpet was for the grand opening party.)

Maserati of Manhattan sells new and certified pre-owned Maseratis, as well as pre-owned vehicles from the company’s Experience Exotics division: “Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini…. If you want a 2008 Bentley, we’ll get it for you.” A new Maserati, by the way, costs $125,000 to $150,000. “People are always surprised by how relatively reasonably priced they are,” says Bellina. “And they’re shocked we have deals.”

Maserati of Manhattan is at One York (at the corner of Sixth Ave. and Laight St.), 646-350-4722, maseratinyc.com. Test drives are by appointment.

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