Maserati Quattroporte S | PH Auction Block

We've all been tempted by a four-door Mazzer - good luck trying to ignore this one

By Cam Tait / Wednesday, 9 August 2023 / Loading comments

Whenever the Maserati Quattroporte is brought up in conversation, someone inevitably pipes up with ‘you know it just means four doors, right?’, which is swiftly followed by a deep sigh from literally everyone. Some might say it’s the laziest name in automotive history (though I’d remind them Maranello went with LaFerrari for its V12 flagship), but the fact of the matter is that the Quattroporte was so ridiculously cool that a more fanciful name would have just seemed unnecessary.

That, and when the original Quattroporte arrived in 1963 it was the four-door Maserati and has been through five generations until the latest Ghibli joined the party as the entry-level saloon. When you think of it like that, the name doesn’t seem quite as lackadaisical as some would have you believe. It's a name that goes way back, although I can’t be the only one who associates 'Quattroporte' most with the fifth-generation car.

For good reason, too. When it arrived in 2003 it marked a giant leap for Maserati, which had been nailing style and power while falling behind on the chassis side. The company hit the ground running with the Mk5 Quattroporte, though, it boasting a super-fast and precise steering rack that prevented the four-door saloon from feeling like an oil tanker in high seas. Adaptive Skyhook dampers helped keep body roll in check, too, while the six-speed automated manual was mounted at the back to improve weight distribution. The result was a car that was every bit as opulent as its British and German counterparts, yet was one of the few luxo barges that was also a genuine hoot to drive.

Of course, it helped that it had a Ferrari-developed, cross-plane crank V8 to power it. Early cars came in 4.2-litre form with 400hp and one of the all-time great exhaust notes unlocked way up at 7,000rpm. Sure, it wasn’t the only V8-powered saloon at the time, but while others tried to be exceptionally refined (i.e. a bit quiet), a Maserati eight-cylinder grumbles and rumbles in a way that only a supercar does. That, in a ‘humble’ saloon, is a huge part of the Quattroporte’s charm.

However, what we have here is the Quattroporte S, which arrived as part of a major model refresh in 2008. The S gets Ferrari’s 4.7-litre V8 (codenamed F136 Y), bringing with it an extra 35hp and beefier, cross-drilled Brembos for better stopping power. Crucially, the automated manual was replaced with a proper automatic which, as you can probably imagine, was far happier at changing gear for you than its predecessor. The Quattroporte is a superb driver’s car, but the S was arguably the better grand tourer.

Perhaps a better ownership proposition, too. Old Italian saloons with exotic engines are always going to require a degree of care and attention, but the Quattroporte S did fix some of the original car’s ‘quirks’. Still, regular servicing trumps all with a Quattroporte, so you can breathe a sigh of relief that this example has extensive history documenting around 72,000 miles of use since 2008. So while the listing suggests there are some cosmetic blemishes here and there, the mechanical bits should have received just the right amount of care. Quattroporte ownership has always been a decision for the heart, but this one might just be worth a nod of the head, too.

SPECIFICATION | MASERATI QUATTROPORTE S

Engine: 4,691cc V8
Transmission: six-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 435@7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 361@4,750rpm
MPG: 18
CO2: 355g/km
Year registered: 2008
Recorded mileage: 72,000