The Maserati Quattroporte is one of the most infamous grand-touring cars. The GTS has now received a smaller V8 from Ferrari. The name may be a mouthful, but is it a handful to drive?
Story: Jim Gorde
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
‘Quattroporte’. Translated from Italian, the name literally means ‘four doors’. GT cars usually have long bonnets and two doors and engine powerful enough to power a small country if the power grid went down. Because the latter is becoming a very real threat of late, alternative power sources are being sought for everything from cooking to powering the automobile. Thankfully, this new Quattroporte GTS is not powered by hydrogen or helium, but, in fact, packs a more modern, downzised and turbocharged 3.8-litre V8, developed by Ferrari. It also has four doors, as the name suggests, and is larger than most super-luxury saloons, with a boot big enough to fit anything from a month’s worth of groceries to the spoils of any Italian job.
At 5,262 millimetres long, it’s as long as – if not longer than – the German long-wheelbase iterations of their luxury saloons, but, honestly, doesn’t pack the same amount of kit. It’s long, yes, it even has the legroom, but reclining seats, calf support and wireless charging are not on the equipment list. The seats too are quite firm, front and rear, and the central tunnel is large enough to accommodate a child passenger within it, but not over it.
So what is it about Maserati cars that stop people in their tracks? Style? A lot of cars have that. Presence? Many cars have that too. Attitude? Some sports cars have that in spades. The Quattroporte, however, has them all. And in good measure. And that is what makes it stand out from the crowd. The aggressive front grille boldly carrying Poseidon’s trident over chrome vertical slats with those angry headlamp clusters makes for an imposing stance. It’s a beautiful car, it is. But not like Katy Perry posing with a strawberry. It’s more like Lucy Liu from the new Charlie’s Angels: black leather and a whip. Means business indeed.
The LED-laden projector headlamps are as integral to the design as they are functional. The aura this Maserati exudes is something incomprehensible. Heads turn, those of those who know it, and those of don’t. The long bonnet, large cabin and shapely haunches leading to the boot are all subtle, but deliver a pronounced silhouette. The large 20-inch wheels with mixed rubber also tick both the form and function boxes.
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