Super-saloon
The Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S. A bit of a mouthful?
It is, but Quattroporte sounds better than ‘four-door’ – which is the literal translation – and when the whole thing is said in an Italian accent then there are few more evocative names on the market. Add Sport GT S to that and you’re now looking at the most focused Quattroporte yet. The Quattroporte Sport GT S (and no, I’m not paid by the word) builds on the Sport GT package but takes this saloon one sporting step further. The Italian company, which turned a profit this year for the first time in 17 years of Fiat ownership, claims the car is designed to provide ‘exceptional dynamic behaviour and uncompromised handling’. Having said that, the Quattroporte will only come with the six-speed automatic transmission that appeared at the start of 2007.
So what are the changes to make this the most sporting Quattroporte yet?
First up are new fixed dampers, doing away with the adaptive Skyhook system. The Sport GT S also sits 10mm lower at the front and 25mm at the rear than the non-S version to benefit the handling and the car’s appearance. And just below the suspension are so-called ‘co-fusional brakes’. The discs – co-developed with Brembo – are made of iron and aluminium and are supposed to increase both brake feel and resistance to fade. Clamping these up-front are new six-piston callipers.
And what about this sinister black trim?
Taking its styling cues from Darth Vader, the Sport GT S has a black mesh grille, window trim and exhausts. The door handles are body-coloured and the dark chrome 20-inch wheels are wrapped in specially-developed Pirelli tyres. Inside there are leather seats with Alcantara inserts, and that same material features on the door panels and steering wheel. The dashboard is finished in ‘carbonfibre with a new woven aluminium design’, whatever that may mean. Finally, the rear seats are said to be more cosseting, though if our experiences of the Sport GT are anything to go by, the only place you’ll want to be is the driver’s seat. No word yet on prices but the regular car costs £83,302, so expect to shell out near-£90k for the coolest four-door on the planet.