Difference between revisions of "Quattroporte"

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The '''Maserati Quattroporte''' is a luxury four-door [[sedan]] made by [[Maserati]] of [[Italy]]. There have been five generations of the car, each separated by a period of roughly five years.
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#redirect [[Maserati Quattroporte]]
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==Quattroporte I (1963 – 1969)==
 
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In the early 1960s, Maserati's reputation was at a high. With growing sales, Prince Karim Aga Khan ordered a special Maserati 5000 WP, chassis no. 103,060, designed by [[Pietro Frua]]. The following year, Maserati showed the first-generation Quattroporte of [[1963]], which bore a striking resemblance to the earlier drawing.
 
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Also designed by Frua, the 1963 'Tipo 107' Quattroporte (Italian for 'four doors') joined two other notable grand tourers, the [[Facel Vega]] and the [[Lagonda Rapide]], which could comfortably do 200 km/h on the new motorways of Europe. However, the Quattroporte could be said to have been the first car specifically designed for this purpose.
 
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It was equipped with a 4.1 L (4136 cc/252 in³) V8 engine, producing 256 hp ([[horsepower#hp (SAE)|SAE]]) (191 kW) at 5,600 rpm, and either a five-speed ZF manual transmission or a three-speed automatic. Maserati claimed a top speed of 230 km/h (143 mph).
 
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Between 1963 and [[1966]], 230 examples were made.
 
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In 1966, Maserati revised the Tipo 107, adding twin headlights (already on the [[USA|US]] model) and, from [[1968]], a 4.7 L, 295 hp (SAE) (220 kW) engine. Around 500 of the second series were made. Production stopped in [[1969]].
 
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==Quattroporte II (1974 – 1978)==
 
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In [[1971]], Karim Aga Khan ordered another special on the [[Maserati Indy]] platform, given the reference code AM 121. In [[1974]], at the Turin Show, Maserati presented its Quattroporte II (Tipo 123) on a [[Citroën SM]] chassis, since Citroën had purchased the Italian company. It had an angular [[Bertone]] body, fashionable at the time, and was the only Maserati with a [[hydropneumatic]] suspension and front wheel drive. However, the [[1973 oil crisis]] had intervened and demand for such cars disappeared. Furthermore the technical backbone didn't convince the customers. Maserati made 13 Quattroporte IIs, 6 of them originally were pre-production models and the other seven were built to order between 1975 and 1978.
 
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==Quattroporte III (4porte 1976 – 1979, Quattroporte 1979 – 1990)==
 
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[[Giorgetto Giugiaro]] presented two [[ItalDesign]] show cars on Maserati platforms, called the Medici I and Medici II. The latter, in particular, featured hallmarks which would make it into the production of the third-generation Quattroporte. By the end of 1976, Maserati announced the Quattroporte III (Tipo AM 330), which took much from the Medici show cars, based on Maserati's [[Maserati Kyalami|Kyalami]] coupé, which in turn was based on the [[De Tomaso Longchamp]].
 
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In 1976 the Quattroporte III was launched as "4porte" with a 4.2 L engine producing 251 hp (SAE) (187 kW), later 238 hp (SAE) (177 kW). 1979 the Quattroporte got its true name back and was built with the 4.2 L and a new 4.9 L engine 278 hp (SAE) (207 kW). The latter initially had a three-speed Borg–Warner [[automatic transmission]], soon replaced by a Chrysler Torqueflite 'box. The smaller engine was phased out in [[1981]].
 
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In [[1986]], the '''Maserati Royale''', an ultra-luxury version of the Quattroporte III, appeared. The engine was uprated to 295 hp (SAE) (220 kW).
 
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In all, 2'141 Quattroporte IIIs were made, one of them being for Italian presidential usage. Production ceased in [[1990]].
 
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==4-door Biturbos (1983 – 1994)==
 
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The 4-door Biturbos such as the original 425 weren't aimed at the same customers like the big Quattroporte I, II and III.
 
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All 4-door Biturbos carry the figure "4" in their model name and are based on the 2-door Biturbos with an extended wheelbase. They were available in various "tastes": 11 different models each equipped with a different version of the V6 Biturbo engine (2.0 L, 2.5 L and 2.8 L). Besides being fairly successful as a general model some versions are extremly rare, e.g. the 4.18v was built 77 times and sold solely in Italy. The 4-door Biturbos were the only sedans available from Maserati between [[1990]] and [[1994]] and in several markets even between [[1986]] and 1994 (where the Royale wasn't sold due to emission problems).
 
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The 430 4v was the last version of the 4-door Biturbos. The technical backbone (engine, drivetrain, suspension, AC etc.), general layout and interior design were used for the Quattroporte IV.
 
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==Quattroporte IV (1994 – 2000)==
 
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[[Image:quattroporteiv.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Maserati Quattroporte (IV)]]
 
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At the height of Fiat's styling prowess, Maserati was confident to be more adventurous with Quattroporte IV from [[1994]]. Designed by [[Marcello Gandini]], who had penned the [[Lamborghini Countach]], the new car was smaller, very aerodynamic (0.31 [[coefficient of drag|cd]]), and featured Gandini's trademark angular rear wheel arch.
 
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A 2.8 L Biturbo V6 was installed, producing 280 hp (SAE) (208 kW), reaching a top speed of 255 km/h (158 mph) while the Italians even had a 2.0 L Biturbo V6 producing 283 hp (SAE) (211 kW) on their price list. A V8 3.2 L Biturbo was announced in [[1995]], developing 330 hp (SAE) (246 kW) and reaching 263 km/h (163 mph).
 
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When [[Ferrari]] took over Maserati, it introduced a '''Quattroporte Evoluzione''' in [[1998]]. This improved model saw the famous oval Maserati clock disappear from the interior. Production stopped in [[2000]].
 
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==Quattroporte V (2004 – today)==
 
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[[Image:quattroportev.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Maserati Quattroporte (V)]]
 
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In [[2004]], [[Maserati]] started production of the '''Quattroporte''', with the same 4.2 L engine as the [[Maserati Coupe|Coupe]] and [[Maserati Spyder|Spyder]] but improved to 400 hp (SAE) (298 kW).  Due to the greater weight than the Coupe and Spyder, the 0-60 time for the Quattroporte to 5.2 seconds.  The Quattroporte made its US première at the [[2003]] [[Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance|Pebble Beach Concours d'Élégance]].  It continues the long tradition of Quattroporte luxury sedans in the Maserati line-up.
 
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The future most likely will see a long wheel-base version of the Quattroporte equipped with a bigger and more powerful engine. Rumored engines include a 5.0 L V8 engine producing 470 hp (SAE) (350 kW) (a bored-up 4.2) and even a Ferrari-612 sourced 5.4 L V12 engine producing 540 hp (SAE) (402 kW). In addition, the new Gran Turismo (Coupé 4-seater; Spyder 2-seater) will use the shortened floorpan of the Quattroporte while the GT Wagon (former Maserati Kubang) could be presented in 2006: a 4x4 SUV based on the Quattroporte.
 
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[[Category:Maserati vehicles|Quattroporte]]
 
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[[Category:Luxury vehicles]]
 

Latest revision as of 06:26, 9 May 2009

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