Quattroporte -- Maserati's four door

It's not a car that immediately comes to mind - or comes to mind at all - but the Maserati Quattroporte proved to be an outstanding blend of V8 muscle and Italian passion.

Mention the Maserati name and most think of a sleek Italian sports car that costs the earth and travels at speeds that outrun any urban myth.

But there's another side to this well-known, but seldom-seen brand that is rarely mentioned: the company's history as a builder of hand-crafted, high-performance passenger cars.

The four founding Maserati brothers began attaching their trident crest to vehicles as far back as 1926. But it wasn't until the early 1960s that the company added a four-door model to its mix of potent offerings. By then, sport coupes such as the 3500GT, Sebring and the all-new (and sensational looking) Mistrale - not to mention a number of thoroughbred race cars - had helped establish the Maserati family as an producer of elite vehicles.

The company's cars provided exceptional styling and engineering to the rich and famous, and the company had become Ferrari's main rival, both on the race track as well as in the garages of the comfortably well-off.

Hopeful of attracting a broader clientele, Maserati management set its sights on the high-end sedan market. The idea of making a full-size motor carriage seemed to be a natural, since no other Italian manufacturer - certainly not Ferrari - was producing such a vehicle.

At the time, the British were the dominant high-end European sedan generators with such offerings as Jaguar, Daimler, Rolls-Royce, Bentley plus a smattering of cottage-industry producers. Then there was that successful German sedan stand-by, Mercedes-Benz, fielding an assortment of premium cars for its well-heeled customers.

The design for a full-size, four-passenger sedan was left to Pietro Frua, creator of the Mistrale coupe as well as some earlier Maserati machinery. Frua kept the look understated yet stylish, with a tall greenhouse and low waistline that gives an impression of space and grace. There's also a generous amount of trunk space in keeping with the practical nature of the car. Chrome trim was kept to a minimum, but was used effectively around the window frames, above the rocker panels and on the delicate-looking wrap-around bumpers.

Not wanting to confuse Maserati's more sporting customers, the car was simply called Quattroporte (Qua-tro-pour-tay), which is Italian for "four doors." It doesn't get any simpler than that.

Under its low, sloping hood, the Quattroporte was fitted with a 253-cubic-inch (4.1-liter) V8. This slightly tamer version of Maserati's famed racing racing engine, complete with four two-barrel Weber carburetors, produced 260 horsepower and 263 pound-feet of torque. Transmission duties were handled by a German-built ZF five-speed gearbox while stopping power was provided by four-wheel Girling disc brakes.

You would expect any Italian-built exotic sedan to move about smartly, and the Quattroporte was certainly not built to disappoint on this front. Zero to 60 mph occurred in about 8.5 seconds with the car's top speed rated at 138 mph. Not much "wow" factor by today's standards, but in the early 1960s these numbers were pretty respectable for a two-ton people-mover. In fact, Maserati billed the car as the world's fastest four-door sedan, a fact few could dispute at the time since a fast four-door seemed like a contradiction in terms.

The Quattroporte's list of standard indulgences was typical for luxury cars of that period and included air conditioning, power windows, wood-rimmed steering wheel, Borrani-brand slotted wheels supporting 15-inch Pirelli tires and seats covered in soft, supple leather. Among the few options was a limited-slip differential, power steering, AM/FM radio and seat belts.

The launch of the new Quattroporte took place at the 1963 Turin (Italy) Auto Show, with full production of the $15,000 sedan beginning almost immediately.

The early version was equipped with an independent rear suspension but this was replaced by a stouter solid rear axle and leaf-spring setup that seemed to improve the car's overall ride and handling qualities.

For its final two years, the Quattroporte's power was upped to 290, courtesy of a larger displacement 4.7-liter V8 that also saw service in the Maserati Mexico. This model was essentially a coupe derivative of the Quattroporte with a shorter wheelbase.

Quattroportes were made until 1969, finally ceasing after nearly 700 copies were produced: a huge success for any hand-crafted luxury car. Unfortunately, Maserati's financial woes forced it to suspend production to concentrate on its more profitable GT coupes, as well as to supply Citroen (then the parent company of Maserati) with V6 engines for its SM luxury car.

The Quattroporte name would be used on two more occasions: in 1979; and again in 1995. However, neither of these four-door passenger cars lived up to the original and found little success in the marketplace.

Today, only a handful of first-generation Quattroportes have survived the rigors of our North American climate. Factor in the big sedan's dubious construction quality and finicky (not to mention expensive and hard to source) mechanical and electrical components and it's a wonder there are any left at all.

However, as with any work of art, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the quick, captivating Quattroporte easily holds its own in any classic car showcase.

Malcolm Gunn is a feature writer with Wheelbase Media. He can be reached on the Web at www.wheelbase.ws/media by clicking the contact link. Wheelbase supplies automotive news and features to