Motoring in Spain - Maserati Quattroporte - Comments

Maserati Quattroporte

Poster: Charlie Flindt 01/05/2006

MOTORING CORRESPONDENT CHARLIE FLINDT IS PLEASED TO DISCOVER THE MASERATI QUATTROPORTE IS ALL STILL ABOUT STYLE – AND ULTIMATE DRIVING PLEASURE.

It’s seems hard to believe now, but when I first saw the Maserati Quattroporte I was quite disappointed. An exited 11-year-old had just burst into my office shouting, "The Maserati’s here! It’s arrived!" I suppose it wasn’t quite what I had expected.

What had I expected to find parked on the driveway? Well, like anyone with even half an interest in the world of motoring, I know that Maserati is a name associated with exotic Italian supercars. However, perhaps uniquely in this already exclusive sector of the market, they are almost as well known for their sharply styled four-door saloons as for their two-seater sports cars.

So, when I first glimpsed what looked like a slightly lumpy saloon car sitting on my gravel, I felt slightly let down. Where was the passion, the fire, the Italian soul?

All it took was one circuit of the Quattroporte to have me kicking myself for doubting Maserati; one short walk, during which I took in the four huge exhaust pipes, the fabulous styling touches down the sides, and the long, long bonnet which leads beautifully down to the gorgeous grill. In fact, it wasn’t a short walk. The Quattroporte is over five meters long, so it was quite a healthy stroll. And when I’d finished my stroll, I was beginning to get it. This looks like a four-door saloon, but this is some car.

And, after that long hike round the outside of the Quattroporte, it was nice to have somewhere to sit down. "Nice" – a horrid word that does no justice at all to the Quattroporte’s interior. There are two points to be made about the Quattroporte’s interior. They say that if your suit is made in England, you can be confident of the finest fabric, the sharpest tailoring and the neatest handiwork, and you will attract approving looks from your fellow men. But if your suit is made in Italy, there will be an added bonus: the admiring looks will come from the ladies. That’s how the Maserati is put together: the fabric and cut is fabulous, the leather and wood fits just perfectly, but there’s a certain something that’s just a bit more stylish.

The second point is ergonomic. I have owned five Italian cars, and driven a good few more, and dramatic things seem to have happened to the Italian race. Once upon a time – judging by the way their cars were designed – they had arms a foot longer than the rest of us, and legs a foot shorter. The Italian driving position was famous for putting your knees next to your elbows. Now, though, that’s all changed, and they have caught up with the rest of us. You can settle down into the Quattroporte into a position of ultimate comfort.

This is fortunate, because you can then concentrate on what the Quattroporte is really about - the massive V8, pumping out nearly 300kW, teamed up with the rear-mounted, six-speed electro-hydraulic gearbox. Here, at last, is where the Maserati’s soul lies. Yes, it looks like a four-door saloon, and yes, it has enough interior space and comfort to be a hugely practical family car – but press that loud pedal, and you know what you’re really driving.

You’ll reach 100 kph in just over five seconds, and, given the chance, reach 275 kph. It does it all with such delicacy and poise. Maserati have made great efforts to keep the Quattroporte perfectly balanced; with the gearbox sitting with the differential in the back axle, the engine can sit further back in the chassis to give a 47%/53% front/rear weight distribution. And then there’s the "Skyhook" suspension – electronically and automatically adapting the dampers in the all-round dual-wishbone suspension set-up for maximum stability and minimum dive and squat. You can change the suspension from normal (relatively soft for maximum comfort) to sport (much firmer for a more direct driving experience) using a dashboard-mounted button.

This same button changes the gearbox behaviour as well. Like many modern gearboxes, it can operate in fully automatic mode, or semi-automatic – where the driver can change the gears using either steering wheel-mounted paddles or using the gear-lever itself. Hit the "Sport" button, and the gear-change times are cut, and the "wheee"-factor is increased accordingly.

That’s what this magnificent Maserati is all about. You can be all grown-up and serious, and point out how useful and practical it is; I took the whole family out for a nice lunch about 100 kilometres away, and it proved to be a splendid family runabout. There’s a massive boot for all those coats and wellington boots, and all three children can sit across the back seat without a murmur of complaint. But the Quattroporte is really about fabulous performance, style and beauty; it’s about flinging it round some spectacular bends with everyone shouting "wheee!" at the top of their voices.

It’s no surprise that, now under Ferrari’s wing, Maserati are undergoing their most successful period. The Quattroporte is a dream come true: it’s the ultimate driving machine for 11-year-olds of all ages.

MASERATI QUATTROPORTE

Engine: 4,244cc, V8, 32 valve

Power: 297 kW

Max speed: 275 kph

Performance, 0 to 100 kph: 5.2 seconds

Combined fuel economy: 15.8 ltr/100 km

SUMMARY: Driving doesn’t get better than this.

Comments

There are currently no comments for this entry.

Back to top