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Maseratti Quattraporte

Started by AMG69, 02 July 2006, 06:41 AM

AMG69

Perth car dealer Alf Barbagello pulled up next to me in his 2006 silver Quattraporte sedan (Alf owns the Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin and Maseratti dealerships in WA).  (at least I think it was him - cant be many in Perth); I have to say that is one BIG car; and gee did it sound good when it gave it the beans at the lights - they do make nice sounding V8's the Italians!!  I was left some way behind.... :-\
sigh....sitting back contemplating the next purchase..!

BAR

I too drew alongside a Maseratti QP [Maserati Quattroporte - quattro being Italian for 4] on the weekend.

Looks nice, sounds nice [Ferrari V8] and goes nice too.  Don't be too sad about the pace of the 450: it was around 8 secs 0-100KmH when new.  Today that pace is beaten by any Japanese rice rocket, Euro hot hatch and anything out of Germany with a V6 or bigger engine.

If Maseratis Quattroporte has an Achilles heal, it isnt styling, or its sumptuous interior, phenomenal active suspension system or glorious Ferrari-derived V8 engine. No, only its F1-inspired, paddle-shift actuated, six-speed sequential-manual transmission, also sourced from Ferrari, has received criticism.

While ideal for the prancing horse brands mid-engine F430 supercar or Maseratis GT Coupe and Spyder Grand Sport models, the Cambiocorsa electrohydraulic gearbox, reconfigured from its Ferrari roots for smoother shifts, is nevertheless considered by some to be too course and balky for a luxury car.

The Quattroporte is considered by premium buyers, to offer excellent value considering the marques prestigious pedigree and the high quality of the cars. The sedan is Maseratis most approachable, at $108,750, less expensive actually than comparatively powered top-tier models from BMW (760Li is $118,900), Mercedes-Benz (no 2007 S55 AMG or 2005 S600 are yet available) and even Audi (A8 W12 at $118,190).

SO compared with these other 'new' cars the Maser is not quite such great value for money.  Yet it does offer the benefit of not looking like your neighbours expensive car [BMW, Jag, Porche or S Class].