Maserati Quattroporte at 60

A brave new world

This year, 2023, marks a big birthday for Maserati’s Quattroporte.

Launched in 1963, it was the world’s fastest saloon and the backbone of the Italian marque mostly known to create racing thoroughbreds and two-door sports cars – Maserati had broken into a new market.

Due to its success, we received six generations that offered a special blend of thumping performance and premium luxury.

Join us as we recall the story of the Maserati Quattroporte.

Disaster and the 5000GT

In 1957, Maserati was struck with disaster in the Venezuelan Grand Prix at Caracas, which saw one of its racers being upended on the first lap and another crashing and burning.

Not only had Maserati lost cars, but the marque had also lost the race and the championship, and the rules were changed for the following year’s edition, imposing a 3.0-litre limit, meaning the 4.5-litre cars could no longer be run.

Any ideas for development were soon forgotten and Maserati officially quit racing, but this meant that the monstrous 450S V8 would become the basis for the 5000GT.

Pietro Frua is hired to design the Quattroporte

The task was given to Turinese coachbuilder Pietro Frua who had previously worked with Maserati on its 1955 A6G.

Its name would be Quattroporte, Italian for ‘four doors’.

He got to work on designing the Series I Quattroporte, drawing inspiration from a one-off 5000GT he penned in 1962 for Prince Karim Aga Khan.

Maserati’s first four-door car had to not only look special, but also live up to the brand’s racing heritage and set a benchmark for the world’s fastest four-door saloon.

1963 Quattroporte I Series I

Although not officially released until 1964, the Quattroporte was placed on a stand next to the Mistral Coupé in 1963 at the Turin motor show for its official launch, the anniversary of which we are celebrating this year.

The engine, named Tipo 107, was downsized to 4.2 litres and fed 260bhp through either a five-speed ZF manual ‘box or a three-speed automatic; Maserati claimed a 130mph top speed was possible.

From 1963-1966, Maserati manufactured 230 of its first-generation Quattroportes.

1966 Quattroporte I Series II

The year 1966 arrived and Maserati took to enhancing the Quattroporte’s styling and performance.

The 4.2-litre engine was still fitted as standard, but two cars were equipped with a larger 4.9-litre motor, while 64 cars were equipped with the 4.7-litre unit.

The advanced rear axle was swapped for a more rigid set-up with leaf-spring suspension taken from the Mistral. This change meant the Quattroporte dropped 20dB when being driven on the motorway, thus enhancing those all-important levels of luxury.

Its interior received an integrated climate-control system, fitted as standard, and the rounded headlights, found only on US models, now replaced the rectangular units.

AM 121 Special Edition

Impressed with the first 5000GT that Frua had designed, Prince Karim Aga Khan ordered a second one-off car based on the two-door fastback, the Maserati Indy.

An engineer called Rory Brown was brought in as chief engineer while Frua was brought back in as a designer.

It received its own chassis code, AM 121, and a prototype was displayed in Paris and Geneva in 1971 and 1972.

It was production-ready, but after Citroën’s takeover, Maserati opted to develop the Quattroporte II instead.

Of the two cars made, Prince Karim Aga Khan received his, while the other was sold to the King of Spain.

The rise and fall of the Quattroporte II

Several years had passed since the Series I release and with Citroën now on board, Marcello Gandini of Bertone was commissioned to design the new Quattroporte II.

A stretched SM chassis was used to fit the larger Maserati shell, and it was fitted with hydropneumatic suspension and swivelling headlights like those found on the DS and SM.

A 4.0-litre V8-engined prototype was built producing 255bhp which was fitted and tested, but new management in 1975 scrapped the project.

In the end, it was given a 210bhp 3.0-litre V6 and only 12 were produced. 

1979 Quattroporte III

The Series II had a front-wheel-drive layout, but the Quattroporte would return with a rear-drive layout like the Series I.

Maserati Bora designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro from Italdesign, was brought back in and he dropped the SM-like glass headlight covers and the previous shape, while a boxier, flat-faced design was used.

The hydraulic steering was swapped with a modern power-steering set-up and its suspension was like that of a Jaguar XJ.

Underneath the bonnet, the V8 powerplant had returned in the form of either a 252bhp 4.2-litre unit or a 4.9-litre version with 276bhp.

1986 Quattroporte Royale 

As Maserati’s 60th birthday approached, owner De Tomaso felt it was only right to offer an even-more opulent and built-to-order variant of the Quattroporte.

The 4.9-litre V8 was tuned to produce a higher 296bhp, giving a top speed of 147mph.

All the usual Quattroporte creature comforts remained, but buyers now received an analogue clock, retractable tables in the rear doors and four electric seats.

Its production run was limited to just 120 cars. One sold at auction in 2022 with The Market by Bonhams for €25,750.

1994 Quattroporte IV

Alejandro De Tomaso decided to sell up in 1993, passing the keys of Maserati ownership over to Fiat, while Gandini was brought in again to sketch the design for the new Quattroporte.

Its design would be Shamal-sharp and the Biturbo platform it sat on was stretched, although its dimensions were still compact at 179in long and 71.26in wide.

The ’90s design cues were present not only in its body-coloured bumpers, but also in the interior with its green-lit dials and rounded dashboard.

1998 Quattroporte IV Evoluzione

With Fiat now on board, Ferrari also got involved and in 1997 the Prancing Horse took a 50% stake in Maserati S.p.A, which saw Maserati’s facilities receive an overhaul. This also meant an improvement in quality control and manufacturing.

The first revised model to come out of the new takeover was aimed at ironing out any previous reliability issues and it was named the Quattroporte Evoluzione.

Initially, it still had the same 2.0-litre V6, but Ferrari later scrapped this and instead continued to fit the cars with a twin-turbocharged 2.8-litre V6 and 3.2-litre V8.

Inside, things remained mostly unchanged apart from the oval clock on the dashboard which had been swapped for a Trident badge. Maserati built a total of 730 Evoluziones.

The M139 platform

Several years had passed since the introduction of the Quattroporte IV and Maserati had already begun working on the new Quattroporte V.

It was to get an entirely new platform, the M139, that would be the base for not only the Quattroporte but cars such as the 2007 Maserati GranTurismo and the legendary Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione.

Underneath, it used four-wheel independent suspension, while the compact concept of the previous model was dropped: the V would be 50cm (19.7in) longer than the Quattroporte IV. 

2003 Quattroporte V

Its sophisticated yet aggressive design was penned by Ken Okuyama of Pininfarina.

It had come far from the previous generation with its bulbous bodywork and superfluity of modern tech, while keeping with the original Quattroporte formula.

The Ferrari-developed 394bhp 4.2-litre V8 from the 4200 Coupé catapulted it to 60mph from rest in just 5.6 secs on to a 170mph top speed.

A new damping system called Skyhook allowed the suspension to switch between comfortable and sportier settings. Unfortunately, the DuoSelect gearbox let it down – it was considered slushy because of its slow changes.

Maserati introduces two new trim levels

While buyers thought that the height of Maserati’s luxury came with the standard GT, the manufacturer teased two new Quattroporte trim levels at the 2005 Frankfurt motor show.

One would be the Executive GT which tilted its spec list towards comfort with its suede interior roof lining, wood-trimmed steering wheel, massaging rear seats and rear curtain blinds.

Outside, it received 19in polished alloys and chrome mesh grilles were at the front and the sides.

Next, was the Sport GT which was tailored towards those who wanted to drive rather than be driven, with a revised transmission for faster shifts, firmer suspension, 20in alloys and cross-drilled brakes.

2006 Quattroporte V Automatica

Considered to be one of the most important Maserati Quattroporte V revisions, the Automatica was presented in 2007, giving buyers of the base version, and Sport GT and Executive GT specs, a new Fiat-sourced six-speed ZF transmission option as opposed to the slushy DuoSelect.

Maserati had completely revised the Quattroporte and out of the 16,500 parts used, 4800 were new, including a new wet-sump engine, limited-slip differential and propeller shaft.

This meant drivers could now waft around in the Quattroporte, without any transmission lurch, and have full conductor control of the symphonic V8.

2007 Maserati V Sport GT S

A new driver-focused Maserati was teased in 2007, the GT S, which introduced impressive handling improvements.

The adaptive Skyhook system was unbolted and shoved to the side to make way for a new Bilstein set-up.

The entire car was then lowered 10mm and fitted with Brembo dual-cast rotors with the Brembo red calipers and chunkier 295/30 tyres at the rear.

Spotting the difference could be tricky, but the doorhandles were now body coloured, it sat on 20in alloys, the exhausts were finished in dark chrome and the cabin had a mix of leather and Alcantara.

2008 Nip & Tuck

The Quattroporte had been on the go since 2003 and it was time it underwent a facelift under the watch of Pininfarina, to keep up with the minimalistic designs of its rivals.

Smoother front and rear bumpers were fitted, the wing mirrors were nabbed from the GranTurismo, it got a new convex front grille, and directional bi-xenon headlights and rear LED lights.

Inside, a new sat-nav and infotainment system were installed. The DuoSelect transmission was replaced with the newer ZF ‘box, and while the 4.2-litre still produced the same 395bhp, there was now a choice of a 424bhp 4.7-litre if equipped in the ‘S’ guise. In 2009, the ‘S’ power output was upped to 434bhp.

2008 Quattroporte V Collezione Cento 

For those after something a bit more personal, the Collezione Cento featured a commemorative plaque and only 100 were to be built.

It was meant to highlight Maserati’s tailoring talents and each car was finished in ivory paint with chrome 20in wheels, whilst mechanically things remained identical to the base Quattroporte.

The cabin was trimmed in Cuoio leather with diamond-quilted seats, lashings of polished wood on the dashboard, and mother-of-pearl gearlever inlays and dashboard lettering.

The Quattroporte V bowed out in 2012 after accumulating a staggering 46 international awards.

2008 Quattroporte V Bellagio Fastback

While the Quattroporte was offered solely as a saloon from Maserati, the Milanese-based company, Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, took the base car and crafted an attractive shooting-brake estate variant.

A 1.8m rear load space was added by a new folding-rear-seat mechanism and fuel tank.

Putting just carpet in the back wouldn’t be enough so, instead, it was kitted out with polished wood and chrome strips to enhance the bespoke look.

There was a limited-production run of just 25 units. 

2013 Quattroporte VI diesel and the M156 platform

Maserati ceased production of the M139 platform in 2012 and began focusing on a new platform, the M156, which would not only host the Quattroporte but also the Ghibli, and with its four-wheel-drive support, the Levante SUV.

The VI was the largest Quattroporte ever offered, and to compete with Porsche’s Panamera and BMW’s 640d a new diesel option was available for the first time, the turbocharged V6 producing 271bhp, for a 0-60mph time of 6.6 secs and a 155mph top speed.

2013 Quattroporte VI S

The introduction of a diesel engine may have been new for the Quattroporte line-up, but base cars were still offered with a traditional twin-turbo petrol, albeit in the form of a V6.

The ‘S’ guise rolled off Ferrari’s production line with 405bhp and 406lb ft of torque, and power was fed through an eight-speed ZF ‘box to the rear wheels, unless it was the Q4 four-wheel-drive variant.

All cars were given a lavish new interior with deep carpets, mountains of tech such as an 8.4in touchscreen and a host of cameras to help drivers navigate its 5253mm length into parking spaces.

2013 Quattroporte 3.8 V8 GTS

If the people from Maserati had walked away and left it at that, they would’ve upset a lot of enthusiasts yearning for a V8 variant like cars in the old days.

Luckily, the range-topping flagship was given a bi-turbo 3.8-litre V8 with 523bhp and 479lb ft torque, which meant 0-62mph in just 4.7secs and a 191mph top speed.

Maserati had not only managed to maintain the Quattroporte’s roots of being a fast four-door saloon, but also make it roomier and more frugal than its predecessor.

2021 Maserati Quattroporte Trofeo

Looking back, Maserati had achieved its goal in 1963 of creating the world’s fastest four-door saloon car and with each year that passed, the Quattroporte became quicker, more lavish and more bold.

Today, the Quattrporte Trofeo sits comfortably next to its Bentley rival with its 202mph top speed and ability to project its two-tonne mass to 62mph in 4.5 secs, thanks to its 573bhp and 538lb ft torque.

The new-generation Quattroporte, set for release in 2024, is said to sit on an all-electric platform with no internal combustion engine option, and while this may be a sad thought for some, we are sure Maserati will still give us a car worthy of its heritage and with plenty of kick.