Quattroporte (pronounced Quat-rah-port-eh)
(1) An
Italian term (literally “four door”) for a berlina
(a four-door sedan) (not with initial capital).
(2) A
model name for a Maserati berlina,
produced over six generations since 1963 (with initial capital).
1963:
An Italian compound, the construct being quattro
(four) + porte (door). Quattro was from the Latin quattuor, from the Proto-Italic kettwōr, from the primitive Indo-European ketwṓr, neuter plural of ketwóres
(cognates of which include the Sanskrit चतुर् (catur), the Old Armenian չորք (čʿorkʿ), the Ancient
Greek τέσσαρες (téssares) and the Old
English fēower (source of the Modern English
four)). Etymologists note the change of
e to a is unexplained and under the usual conventions which evolved, the
expected form would be “quettuor”. Porte was from the Old French porte, from the Latin porta,
from the primitive Indo-European root per-
(to pass through), ultimate source also of the Modern English portal.
Everything
said in Italian tends to sound better than anything said in English, regardless
of the content Italian seems always to sound poetic and occasionally the
Italians even improve upon themselves. A
(conventional three-box) four door car is in English a saloon or sedan which
sounds OK but in Italian it’s the even more pleasing berlina. Berlina was from the late nineteenth century French
berline (an automobile with the front and rear compartments separated by a
glass partition, as some limousines), from the seventeenth century German
Berlin & Berline (a four-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage with a separate,
enclosed compartment for two, noted for its lightness and durability and named
after the city where it was designed). However,
pleasing to the ear though Berlina was, when in the early 1960s Maserati decided
to enter the then quite novel (and barely contested) market segment that was
the high-performance four-door sedan, they decided on a new name which, while
etymologically merely descriptive, was the most pleasing “Quattroporte”. To Italian ears it may have been nothing
special but in the English-speaking world, one needed only to her the word to
know it was attached to something exotic.
Six
generations of the Maserati Quattroporte
First
generation, Series 1, 1963-1966: Although it later gained the reputation, the
early Maserati Quattroporte may not have been the world’s fastest four-door sedan
but the 210 km/h (130 mph) of which it was capable was a match for the rare Lagonda
Rapide and it could outrun the fastest of the Jaguar saloons. Styled by Pietro Frua (1913-1983) who aimed to make a
four-door version of the very
expensive 5000GT which had been produced in a run of thirty-two bespoke creations
after the interest generated by the original made for the Shah of Iran, the coachwork
was actually built by Carrozzeria Vignale with a modern sheet metal structure atop box-section
rails instead of Maserati’s traditional tubular frame. Maserati were at the time in the throes of their final fling in Formula One and weren't out to create a Rolls-Royce. The 4.2 litre (252 cubic inch) V8 engine,
although derived from the unit used in the 5000GT, was detuned in the quest for
a more refined experience although purposefully, its origins on the race track were never entirely disguised. In
the way things were done in the 1960s, seven of the first series cars were
built with 4.7 litre (288 cubic inches) engines which yielded a top speed of
230 km/h (143 mph) and that did set the mark as the fastest four-door of the
decade.
Although
visually little changed on the outside, the second series cars underwent
significant change. The four round
headlamps, previously reserved only for the US market in deference to their
protectionist regulations, were now fitted as standard across the range and the
interior was transformed into something more luxurious, a fully integrated
climate control system included as standard equipment. That attracted much favorable comment but
one downgrade was the replacement of the very capable de Dion rear axle with a
more agricultural rigid layout with semi-elliptic springs, a system Maserati
used on other models. Still the
downgrade probably pleased most customers, the leaf-sprung rear much quieter
that the chattering de Dion, the advantages of which few drivers of a car like
the Quattroporte were likely to explore and it suited Maserati too, lowering
the cost of production. Most of the
series 2 Quattroportes were fitted with the 4.2 litre engine but seven received
the 4.7 and two, supplied to special order, received the 4.9 litre (301 cubic
inch) unit from the Ghibli (1967-1973) sports car.
There
was a coda to the first generation. In 1971,
receiving a commission from the Aga Khan, Carrozzeria Frua had built a
four-door sedan based on Maserati’s 2+2 coupé, the Indy (1969-1975). Elegant and in the vein of the contemporary Iso
Fidia, Maserati had Fura construct a production-ready prototype for what was
intended to be the Quattroporte II but Citroën, after assuming ownership of
Maserati instead insisted the new car be based on their top-of-the-range SM. That didn’t end well but, given the events
which were to unfold in the 1970s, there’s no guarantee that had the prototype
reached production it would have long been successful, such indulgences rapidly
rendered unfashionable by the first oil shock (1973). However, built on the solid platform of the Indy, even if a commercial failure, it would have been a less costly one than the SM-based
debacle proved.
Second
generation, 1974-1978:Beset by political, industrial and economic
turmoil, the second generation aptly reflects the state of Italy in the
mid-1970s. Styled by Marcello Gandini (b
1938) at Carrozzeria Bertone, the Quattroporte II was developed while Maserati
was owned by Citroën and was technically almost identical to the French machine
which meant it was a 3.0 litre (181 cubic inch) 90° V6 with front wheel drive
and hydro-pneumatic suspension. It’s not
entirely accurate to think of it as a four-door SM (eight of which were
actually built by coachbuilder Henri Chapron including two which served for a
time in the mews of the Élysée Palace as the presidential limousine) but the Italian
variation certainly encapsulated all the virtues and vices of the
original. It was opulent and the hydro-pneumatic
suspension guaranteed a superb ride but it was slower than its illustrious V8
predecessors, the added weight and some sacrifice in aerodynamic efficiency
meaning performance was blunted compared even to the SM. There had been plans to use a V8 but the old
Maserati engine, its roots in 1950 sports car racing, was both too big to fit
and in its last days, the modifications required to conform with upcoming
legislation prohibitively difficult and expensive. There had been plans to develop a V8 from the
V6 and the prototypes built and tested in an SM proved satisfactory but the future
of the company was uncertain and, after being sold in 1975, the project was
cancelled. On paper though, the V6 Quattroporte
II survived the corporate re-structure, largely because so much of the tooling required
for production had been built but such was the financial chaos in the era that
funds were never allocated for the certification programmes required for it to
be sold in major markets like the US, the UK and Europe so it languished until
1976 when it was made available, on special order, for markets where
regulations were scant and, if affecting the rich, rarely enforced. In the three years it was sold between
1976-1978, it attracted a dozen buyers, mostly in the Middle-East although two
were reputedly shipped to Spain which, post-Franco but pre-EU, also had few
regulations. Tellingly, most models from
Ferrari or Maserati with a run of only twelve are rare, collectable and
expensive but the Quattroporte II is mostly unremembered, unlamented and, when
offered for sale, sometimes unsold.
Alejandro De Tomaso (1928-2003) who purchased Maserati from
Citroën was an Argentine-born former race-car driver of Italian descent who had
married well, enabling him to commence production of a number of flawed but
compellingly attractive cars which combined performance with a low TCO (total
cost of ownership) made possible by dipping into the mainstream parts bin. He disapproved of front wheel drive, regarded
hydraulic suspension as a good idea for a truck or bus and thought no good had
ever come from the French being involved in the design of Italian cars. The Quattroporte III was therefore based on De Tomaso’s 2+2 coupé, the Longchamp (1972-1989) which would also begat the Maserati Kyalami (1976-1983), all three cars on a platform which began life as the De Tomaso Deauville (1971-1985), something of an Italian take on the original Jaguar XJ6 (1968) though rendered with lines which anticipated Pininfarina's work on the Series 3 XJ (1979-1992). The important point was that the Quattroporte was again
configured with a V8 engine and rear wheel drive. The body, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro (b
1938), hasn’t aged as well as the early Quattroportes but that’s something
which can be said of much which emerged from the 1970s and in the context of
the time, it was an expression of current thinking and the marked responded,
the car successful immediately from its debut in 1979. In production until 1990, it was little
changed over its run, only the Royale version with some minor restyling, upgraded
interior appointments and a slight increase in the power from the 4.9 litre V8 was
offered as a limited-edition variation to mark the marque’s sixtieth
anniversary.
Presented at the Turin Motor Show in April 1994,
the Quattroporte IV was the first Maserati released since Fiat assumed ownership.
The new car was smaller than either its predecessors
or successors and reflected Fiat’s interest in the lucrative premium end of the
compact-executive market now defined by the BMW 3-series but in which neither
the Fiat nor the corporate companion Lancia brand-name was likely to attract
buyers. Gandini’s design, recalling
aspects of his earlier, spectacular, Maserati Shamal (1990-1996) was much
admired and the lavish interiors, all wood and leather though in an Italian
rather than an English manner, seduced many.
Offered variously with V6 and V8 engines between 2.0 (122 cubic inch) and
3.2 litres (196 cubic inch), performance was class-leading, 270 km/h (168 mph)
the top speed of the most powerful. It
was certainly a different sort of sedan than was offered by Mercedes-Benz, a
six-speed manual gearbox always standard equipment although in most markets,
the optional automatic attracted most buyers.
The Quattroporte IV is notable too as the car which best reflects the
improvements rendered when Fiat in 1997 passed control to Ferrari, the
objective being to raise build quality and enhance reliability, then the
greatest impediment to greater success. The
Quattroporte IV had from the start been praised for its dynamic qualities but
the patchy reputation gained early hadn’t improved and it was this Ferrari
sought to address and, there being little wrong with the basic design, focused
on the production process and the quality control imposed on component
supply. The result was the much-improved
Evoluzione model presented in 1998.
Bigger than its predecessor, the Quattroporte V
focused less on outright performance and returned Maserati to the upper premium
segment, very much in the spirit of the first generation cars of 1963. The Pininfarina-designed body was probably the
most sensuously attractive four-door sedan since the Jaguar XJ6 in 1968 and, now
underpinned by Ferrari’s engineering including 4.2 and 4.7 litre V8s and a robotized transaxle to optimize weight distribution, the dynamic qualities attracted
praise, awards and commercial success soon following. The popularity proved enduring, the fifth
generation cars the biggest selling Quattroporte yet but feedback confirmed the
only thing restricting appeal was the lack of a fully automatic gearbox, the
Duoselect an ideal companion in a sports sedan but there were many who adored
the slinky style but wanted something more effortless. Accordingly, the automatic version was
displayed at the 2007 Detroit Motor Show, the US clearly expected to be the
biggest market which it proved to be. More
than 15,000 had been produced by 2008 when a re-styled version was released
including variations on the Quattroporte S and Quattroporte Sport GT S
although, in a sign of the times, the restyled models were available only with
an automatic six-speed transmission only, the Duoselect option discontinued.
In another sign of the time, the sixth generation Quattroporte was
actually offered with a diesel engine, albeit one which could still allow the
car to reach 250 km/h (155 mph) but for those who remembered the way things
used to be done, the most powerful of the traditional petrol-powered models,
the Quattroporte Trofeo, now with a twin-turbocharged 3.8 litre (232 cubic
inch) V8 rated at 572 horsepower, could attain 326 km/h (203 mph), faster than any Maserati Grand Prix car had ever travelled. The new body-shape was obviously an evolution
of the fifth generation and was well-executed but, lacking the languid
look and the originality of the earlier car, it attracted less comment and was
thought essentially derivative. Another
innovation was the all-wheel-drive (AWD) system offered on some of the V6s but
the most profitable was said to be the Zegna Limited Edition, one-hundred of
which were made in 2015. Based on the
GTS, it was mechanically unchanged but, trimmed in collaboration with Italian
fashion house Ermenegildo Zegna in a manner which might be expressed as “the
acceptable face of bling”, the exterior details including a platinum-metallic
silk paint scheme with aluminum pigments, the twenty-inch wheels color-coordinated. Inside, the seats, panels, roof lining and
sun visors were covered variously in silk, leather in a shade exclusive to the
model or a woolen herringbone.
Hofit Golan and Lindsay Lohan attending Summer Tour Maserati in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, July 2016. The Quattroporte is a 1964 Series I.
The
fastest four-door sedan of the 1960s
1958
Chrysler New Yorker with 392 Hemi.The straight-eight Dusenbergs had in the 1930s
set the standard but by the late 1950s, powerful engines in four-door sedans
had again become a thing and in 1958, Chrysler’s 392 cubic inch (6.4 litre)
Hemi V8, used in the two-door 300s, could be fitted to the four-door New Yorker
and was standard on the Imperial line.
Rated at 345 horsepower (chronic unreliability meant the fuel-injected
Electrojector option which promised 390 hp proved abortive) and contemporary
reports suggest 130 mph was possible. The
Hemi however was discontinued after 1958, its 413 cubic inch (6.8 litre)
wedge-headed successor proving displacement was a cheaper path to power. However, seeking success on the track,
Chrysler resumed production of a hemi-headed V8 in 1964. Now 426 cubic inches (7.0 litres), it was intended
only for the track and not the general public, an attitude which displeased the
sanctioning body for the competition in which it was used; deciding to ban the
thing, NASCAR claimed the use of a custom race engine in what was called a
“stock car” series was hardly in the spirit of the rules. Actually, the cars hadn’t for many years been
close to “stock” but NASCAR ignored that argument and banned the Hemi anyway.
1966
Dodge Coronet Sedan with 426 Street Hemi.
Dodge’s butterfly-shaped tail-lamps are also a footnote in legal
history, being a matter of dispute in the legal proceedings pursuant to the infamous
1966 triple-murder in which the defendants were the boxers Rubin
"Hurricane" Carter (1937–2014) & John Artis (1946-2021).
Chrysler’s
reaction was to detune the Hemi (a little), quieten it (a lot) and, as the “426
Street Hemi” offer it in 1966 as an option in the road cars. That way, as long as enough were sold, it
would become a “stock” engine and eligible for competition and to ensure enough
were sold, the Street Hemi was made available in a wide range of vehicles and
while Chrysler didn’t sell as many (of what was a very expensive option) as
expected, they moved enough to satisfy the rules. In 1966, most went into big two-door coupes
(and a few convertibles) but five buyers ordered them in four-door sedans and
these, Chrysler duly built, two reputedly special orders for the Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI) although some doubt has been cast on that. All were fitted with the robust 727 Torqueflite
automatic transmissions, a final-drive ratio of 3.23 and a front anti-roll bar,
the build otherwise distinguished mostly by heavy-duty components, many from
the station-wagon which was rated for towing heavy loads.
Powerful
in the spirit of the Maserati Quattroporte but with few concessions to luxury,
like all the Street Hemi-powered cars there was no air-conditioning but the five
1966 sedans were more basic still, lacking power-steering, power brakes and
power windows and Chrysler also sold Hemi-powered cars to the public with
four-wheel drum brakes which, given the weight of the things and the
performance on tap, was about as bad an idea as it sounds. Chrysler never published any performance
claims for the Hemi-powered sedans but automobile-catalog.com’s ProfessCars™
estimation of the top speed of a two door with a manual transmission was 147
mph (236 km/h), impressive in 1966 especially given that on the same gearing
the ET for the standing ¼ mile
was 13.5 seconds which does demonstrate the advantages of using a genuine
racing engine as the base. Contemporary
reports confirm the efficient TorqueFlite barely affected things, the two and
four door Coronets were of similar weight, the frontal area the same and although
experience suggests the upright rear window of the sedan may have induced more
performance-sapping drag than the flatter line on the coupe, it seems likely the
1966 Hemi sedans were capable of more than 140 mph (225 km/h) and may have
matched the 4.7 litre Quattroportes sold that year. With only five of the former and seven of the
latter being produced, they can barely be considered production cars but
technically, both qualify. Interestingly, Chrysler that year did offer a 2.73
final drive ratio which, if fitted, would have pushed the (theoretical) top
speed towards 160 mph (257 km/h), a velocity which might have required enough
concentration from the driver to divert thought from those drum brakes.
Mercedes-Benz
had high hopes for the 600 (W100) Grosser (1963-1981), introduced at the
Frankfurt Motor Show in 1963. The true
successor to the 770K Grosser (W07: 1930-1938 & W150: 1939-1943), the
projections were at least a thousand would find buyers annually but by 1966, it
seemed clear this was too optimistic, the 345 sold in 1965 apparently the high
point rather than the encouraging start hoped.
It was clear the trend was downward and worse, an
unexpected on-rush of legislation would soon banish the 600 from sale in the
United States, always by far the biggest potential market. That rarity in automotive production, the
almost all-new vehicle (only the automatic transmission and a few suspension
components were modifications of earlier designs), the 600’s development
programme had been long and expensive and all indications were the W100 ledger
would continue to be written in red ink.
What was needed was a way to amortize the investment and the most
obvious way, increasing sales of the 600, was clearly impossible.
Thus
the 300SEL 6.3. The legend has always
been that famous engineer Erich Waxenberger (1931-2017), requisitioned one
of the 6.3 litre V8s (M100) developed for and then exclusive to the 600 and
fitted it to a 300 SE (W112) coupé which had failed quality control checks and
was scheduled for destruction. According
to Herr Waxenberger, he dreamed up the combination because he was annoyed by
the press suggesting the model range had become staid after the retirement of
the 300 SL (W198) roadster. Doubling the
size of the engine in a 300 SE certainly made for something more exciting and
the board, apparently impressed, authorized production on the proviso the long-wheelbase
four-door 300 SEL (W109) be used instead of the rather lovely coupé, a 6.3
litre sedan thought to have the greater sales appeal. So it proved, 6523 6.3s were sold between
1968-1972 and all at a very high price, a lucrative operation which, when
combined with the 7380 M100 powered (W116) 450 SEL 6.9s shifted between 1975-1981,
may well have covered any losses sustained in the 18-odd years (1963-1981) it
took to sell 2677 600s (all reputedly at a loss).
The
tale of a nostalgic engineer secretly building a hotrod which the board liked
so much they went on to build thousands is a good one but what Herr Waxenberger
never mentioned were the prior discussions within the corporation about the
disappointing sales of the 600 and the desirably of finding some way to amortize
the cost of the programme. The obvious
solution was to find a way profitability to share some of the unique components
used on the 600 with other, better selling vehicles and obviously, the 600’s V8
was a major component so putting it in a car which would, at a high price, sell
in much greater numbers was obviously a good idea. The factory has a bit of previous in
myth-making, for years circulating the story of how mechanics were in 1934
forced to work overnight scraping the traditional white paint from the W25
Grand Prix car because scrutineers had found it a solitary kilogram over the newly
introduced 750 KG limit. It wasn’t until decades later that researchers checked the rules for that race (the 1934 Eifelrennen) and
discovered the 750 KG formula didn’t that day apply to the “unlimited” class in
which the W25 had been entered. Their
appetite whetted, digging deeper they found photographs of the cars
arriving at the circuit in the bare aluminum skins in which they raced and of
the many photographs of the event which survive, never does a W25 appear in
anything but bare metal. Still, it’s a
good story and the factory’s website now tacitly acknowledges the dubious
relationship with the truth by referring to it as a “legend”. That seems a reasonable view and it is such a
good story it deserves to endure. The
story of the birth of 6.3 may too be a little murky. Everything Herr Waxenberger said was true and
things surely happened just as he recounted but the truth was perhaps
incomplete, his motives perhaps a little more practical than the lust to build
a gentleman’s hot rod.
It
certainly was a hotrod though, an air-suspended, 6.3 litre howler from a time when
BMWs were not yet three litres, Jaguar’s XJ12 was half a decade away and it was for years an autobahn favorite which could outrun the 4.2 litre
Quattroportes but couldn’t quite match the 4.7 litre cars in top speed, rated
by the factory at 220 km/h (137 mph), a figure confirmed by some contemporary tests. Aerodynamics rather than available power
seemed to be the issue, the later, heavier (and actually slightly less
powerful) 450SEL 6.9, although the factory claimed that only 225 km/h (140 mph) possible,
achieving 240 km/h (149 mph) when tested by those with enough road to let it
wind out.
1963
Lagonda Rapide.It’s thus a contested space but, all things considered, the 4.7
Quattroportes probably do deserve to be thought the fastest four door sedans of
the 1960s, even if they never managed some of the extraordinary speeds claimed in
some corners of the internet. The
other contenders from the era either couldn’t touch 225 km/h (140 mph) or came
too late. The Lagonda Rapide (1961-1964)
and Iso Fidia (1967-1975) both could exceed 210 km/h (130 mph) but not by much
and the Jaguar Mark X & 420G (1961-1970) not even that, the earlier 3.8
Mark II (1959-1968) managing 202 km/h (126 mph). The Australian Ford Falcon GTHO (1969-1972) did
top 225 km/h (140 mph) but not until 1971, the 1969 edition about 10 mph
slower. The De Tomaso Deauville
(1971-1985) and Monteverdi’s High Speed 375/4 (1971-1976) came later, the early versions Swiss 375/4 (with the most powerful (and toxic) of the 440
cubic inch (7.2 litre) Chrysler V8s it would use) truly impressive and able to reach 232 km/h (144 mph) attentive drivers reputedly able at that velocity to be amused by the discernible leftward movement of the fuel gauge.
Before, during & after. A 2009 (fifth generation) Quattroporte leased by Lindsay Lohan's father was damaged in minor traffic accident while her assistant was at the wheel, Los Angeles, March 2009.
