Is This Maserati Quattroporte The Best Luxury Sedan You Could Buy?

15 February 2021 Redazione News, Supercars Lounge

Words Carlo Brema / Photos Maserati

Back in 1963, the first Maserati Quattroporte was unveiled at the Turin Motor Show. The Italian sedan was not only a fundamental car for the Modenese brand, but it represented an undisputed goal for its customers, a sort of confirmation on wheels about their economic success, an object to admire and in which to spend precious time during the working week, but also entertaining moments on weekends, in this second scenario courtesy of a generous 4.1-liter 8-cylinder engine with 260 horsepower.

The Quattroporte has been this for decades and through its six generations, always maintaining a look that leaves no room for misunderstanding: it was and still is the most luxurious Maserati of them all. In our journey back in time however, we stop in 2003, two years after the end of production of the fourth series, a generation characterized by the strong resemblance to the smaller Ghibli, both designed by Marcello Gandini, which among other things could have been equipped with a 280 hp 2.8 V6 or a 335 hp 3.2 V8. The Quattroporte V, then produced from 2003 to 2012, was a completely new car and opened the doors to that period in which cars of this type and character presented themselves to the world as authentic instant classics.

Designed by the Pininfarina team, it kept smooth lines like the previous generation, but grew in size and consequently was able to offer more on board room for the five occupants. The look is not only more mature and mainly focused on soft lines, but also aggressive, thanks to the large front grille that allowed the V8 to swallow huge amount of air. Among the main connotations then also taken up on subsequent models of the brand we find the three air vents on the sides, while at the back, to make clear that it was something special, there are two pairs of exhausts through which to unleash its 400 horsepower.

Elegance and power and in fact this Quattroporte was presented as a Maserati with a double soul. The most relax-focused one offered by a comfortable interior full of leather, wood and a navigation system with a small color screen to accompany an instrumentation obviously still completely analog and a sporty soul that allows the 5 meters long sedan weighing about 1,970 kg to move without difficulty, even through bends, thanks to the possibility of selecting Sport mode and thus making the set-up and gearbox more concentrated on the performance level. The naturally aspirated 400 horsepower 4.2, developed in collaboration with Ferrari, allows to sprint from 0 to 100 kph in just 5.6 seconds, with a top speed of 270 per hour, while the 6-speed automatic/sequential gearbox combined to a rear-wheel drive transmission does not excel for promptness and shifting speed, but it should not be forgotten that it is an XL size sedan that also knows how to go fast, but which certainly does not intend to deny its noble origins in favor of a handful of hundredths of a second less, once you or your butler hit the throttle harder than usual.

Aesthetically pure, the fifth generation Quattroporte has seen its charm increase over the years, acquiring even greater approval with the arrival of the following models and placing its value on the second-hand market at an extremely attractive price for anyone who wants to bring home a car that is anything but obvious and able to meet your expectations 365 days a year. In addition to its indisputable and unchanged beauty, two aspects that make you fall in love with this model are precisely those that made it a grandiose object at the time of its birth. I’m talking about an interior environment in which to sink in and appreciate a modern design (I said modern, I do not mean contemporary) rich in wood and buttons with specific functions and solutions then abandoned years later, like for example the small gear lever on the central tunnel, but also of that sound made unmistakable by the 8 cylinders in V shape that explode decibels in rapid succession, making any moment spent driving – or in this case even sitting comfortably on the back sofa – something to celebrate.

In fact, it is not rare that many have belatedly rediscovered this iconic model, perhaps taking advantage of a price that is now affordable even if you are not a successful entrepreneur and with units for sale even around € 18,000, especially from a younger generation, people who do not reduce their choice to Bluetooth connectivity or in the hunt for the widest display, but intending to get goosebumps every time they see and hear the trident scream, confirming once again that despite being over fifteen years old, the things that know how to touch the right keys of our emotions always remain the same.