Maserati Quattroporte Automatic : AUTO SUGGESTION

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Maserati may have a long sporting tradition but their Quattroporte saloon works best with an automatic gearbox. Andy Enright explains why

Its an exciting time for Maserati. The latest GranTurismo model has received a rapturous ovation and now Maserati has done something quite remarkable with the Quattroporte. The DuoSelect sequential manual version and the Automatic may look similar but underneath that svelte body, they are radically different cars.

More than any other model, the Quattroporte has brought Maserati into the modern era of car manufacture. Its been a remarkable turnaround. From the early seventies glory days of the Bora, Merak and Khamsin, Maserati lurched from one disaster to another. There exists a whole generation of drivers who associate cars like the Karif, the Biturbo and the Ghibli with little other than endless warranty claims, oxidisation, oil fires and electrical failures.

The 3200GT coupe did much to resurrect Maseratis fortunes in this country but even this model always felt as if it had a little too much character to really succeed. The Quattroporte changed all of that. Where the Quattroporte DuoSelect model features a manual box with a rear-mounted transaxle (gearbox and differential unit on the rear axle) and boasts a 47:53 per cent front/rear weight distribution, the Quattroporte Automatic is a rather different animal. Fitted with a more conventional front-mounted automatic gearbox built by German transmission experts ZF, the weight distribution changes to 49:51 per cent front to rear and the engines centre of gravity is set 9mm further back than the DuoSelect model. Its incredible that Maserati should go to these extreme lengths to tailor two solutions that, in practice, will appear blurred to many. Both transmissions can change gear for themselves, both feature six speeds and both can be manually overridden by the driver using paddles mounted behind the steering wheel.

"The character of the Maserati Quattroporte is such that it suits an automatic gearbox rather better than the rather herky-jerky DuoSelect manual."

One solution works better than the other and its the Automatic that comes out top dog. Smoother and more in keeping with the cars character, itll still get to 60mph from rest in 5.4 seconds (0.4 seconds adrift of the DuoSelect model) and run onto a top speed of 167mph.

Out on a race track, itll feel a little less alert but this is a Quattroporte, a car that likes to get its hustle on when blatting cross country on big roads, the 400bhp 4.2-litre V8 engine singing a magnificent baritone. Point and squirt is not this Maseratis forte. This car is seriously lengthy.

Measuring over five metres from tip to tail, the Maserati is longer than a BMW 7 Series, wider than a Mercedes S Class yet lower than a Jaguar XJ. The chassis is a clean sheet design with a classic longitudinally-mounted engine driving the rear wheels. The engine in question is a development of the powerplant found in the Maserati Coupe and cranks out a hefty 400bhp. The power delivery has been optimised for smooth low end torque rather than all-out top end power and the engine features a combination of classic race-derived design such as the dry sump lubrication system and the chain driven twin overhead cams, plus high-tech touches such as the CAN (Controlled Area Network) electronics system.

Maserati historians will know the Quattroporte badge dating back to 1963, but the latest model is resolutely forward looking. Gone are the days of boxy, ill-proportioned variants: the latest Quattroporte is the first Pininfarina-designed Maserati for fifty years and its a cracker. After designing the 1953 A6GCS Berlinetta Sport for Maserati, master stylist Pinin committed himself to Ferrari, then the Tridents fiercest rival. Now that Maserati and Ferrari are effectively under one roof, the Pininfarina design magic has returned to the marque. Maserati claim that the original 1963 model was inspired by the boom in motorway building that occurred in the late fifties.

This created a whole new breed of customer who wanted a sumptuously equipped, rapid but elegant mode of long distance ground transportation. The first Quattroporte to wear the badge shared an engine with what was then the worlds most powerful barchetta drop top, the Maserati 450S. Other highlights in Quattroporte lineage include the 1976 Giugiaro model that was selected as the personal transport of Italian President Sandro Pertini. It makes sense for a car that attempts to cover as many bases as the Quattroporte Automatic to allow a little specialisation.

The basic chassis is extremely talented, and as well as an entry-level car, the range is split into Sport and Executive GT models. This allows the company to fine tune the product into a more focused form. The Executive GT is targeted at high net worth individuals and business users looking for a car that offers cross continental capabilities coupled with effortlessly refined fixtures and fittings. A chrome mesh grille and chrome side grilles compete for attention alongside an external identification plate and 19-inch ball-polished alloy wheels.

A wood and leather-trimmed steering wheel and an Alcantara-trimmed head lining are nicely judged details while a comfort pack for rear seat passengers offers combined heating, ventilation and massage for rear passengers as well as electric adjustment of both seats and backrests, retractable wood rear tables matched to the rest of the interior and curtains for extra privacy and comfort. That said, virtually every aspect of the cars interior is in some way customisable if you have the money. Of course there are some customers who need four doors but secretly hanker after the handling and appeal of a sports coupe. These are catered for by the Quattroporte Sport GT.

As well as a carbon fibre theme for the interior, 20-inch alloy wheels, a sportier looking steering wheel and handbrake design and aluminium pedal covers, the Sport GT also adds gearbox software that can shift cogs fully 35 per cent faster when at maximum attack, shaving vital tenths off the sprint to 100mph, and paddle shifters behind the wheel. The brakes feature metal weave tubing, cross-drilled discs and titanium-coloured calipers. A revised exhaust system produces an even fruitier note when you let the revs rise and uprated Skyhook software allows the electronic shock absorbers to act in a more aggressive manner. As you might expect, running a Maserati Quattroporte isnt a job for the terminally short of cash.

Maserati quotes a rather optimistic combined fuel consumption figure of 19.2mpg for the automatic version but most drivers will typically see low teens for the car. That said, the ZF gearbox allows for relatively relaxed high-speed cruising which gives the car a decent range. Insurance is straight in at Group 20 although this is par for the course for this sort of model and its possible to find insurers who will look upon the Quattroporte more favourably than they would a BMW M5 or a Mercedes CLS 63 AMG.

I doubt too many who hanker after a car like this will be overly worried about carbon dioxide emissions, but the Quattroporte Automatic emits 345g/km, which is surprisingly significantly better than the manual DuoSelect model which chugs out 370g/km. Depreciation is not the nightmare that many would expect, the Quattroporte having established a strong reputation in the used market. The character of the Maserati Quattroporte is such that it suits an automatic gearbox rather better than the rather herky-jerky DuoSelect manual. If you want a car to pick up by the scruff of the neck and drive sideways like Tiff Needell, there are probably better options around.

If, on the other hand, youre looking for the automotive equivalent of an exquisitely tailored Italian suit, the Quattroporte comes up trumps. Smooth, beautifully finished and effortlessly raffish, the four-door Maserati is a car that never needs to try too hard. An F1-style sequential manual transmission smacks of just that, where the automatic gearbox barely breaks sweat. Gran Turismo cars in this classic tradition are increasingly thin on the ground but the market has proved that demand for this most elegant form of transportation still exists.

You can buy faster, bigger and brasher supersaloons but you cant buy anything thats quite so ice-cool as a Quattroporte Automatic. Preferably in Executive GT guise.

FACTS AT A GLANCE

CAR: Maserati Quattroporte Automatic
PRICES: £77,090-£85,990 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 20
CO2 EMISSIONS: 345g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 5.4s / Max Speed 167mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 12.9 (extra urban) 26.9 (combined) 19.2mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front,side and curtain airbags, ABS, stability and traction control, ISOFIX child seat fixings
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 5052/1895/1438mm