Modena, April 24, 2002 |
At | the | ”Artedinamica” | exhibition | at | the | Tokyo | Museum | of | Contemporary | Art, | the |
Italian | sportscar | manufacturer | Maserati | and | Pininfarina | presented | the | first |
drawings | and | a | clay | model | of | the | new | Maserati | quattro | porte. | The | exposition, |
dedicated to the legendary sportscar designs of Ferrari and Maserati, opened | on |
April 27, 2002. |
Since | Maserati’s | takeover | by | Ferrari | in | 1997, | many | things | have | changed | at | the |
world-famous | sportscar | factory | of | Modena. | The | entire | production | plant | was |
renewed, rebuilt and enlarged, and the current products are all-new as well: After |
the launch | of | the | new | Maserati | Spyder at | the | Frankfurt | International | Motor | Show |
in | September | of | 2001 | and | the | presentation | of | the | new | Maserati | Coupé | at | this |
year’s Detroit Motor | Show in | January, Maserati has | the youngest | model range | of |
all sportscar manufacturers. |
Since the mid-1960’s, a sporting yet luxurious four-door limousine has been part |
of | the | Maserati | programme | for | most | of | the | time. | Since | 1964, | this | model | had |
simply been called ”Quattro | Porte” or later ”Quattroporte” | (Italian for ”Four | Door”). |
Four generations | of | Quattroporte | models | were built | between | 1964 | and | 2001 | — |
with | several | breaks | caused | by | the | oil | crisis | and | other | events | in | the | partly |
troublesome | history | of | Maserati. | When | the | production | of | the | Quattroporte | V8 |
Evoluzione | came | to | an | end | in | 2001, | the | last | model | dated | back | from | Maserati’s |
pre-Ferrari era left the building. |
To complete | the | current | model | range, | Maserati announced | the | launch | of | a | new |
four | door | model | in | late | 2003. | At | the | above | mentioned | Artedinamica | exposition, |
Maserati | presented | the | first | drawings | and | a | clay | model | of | this | new | car: | The |
quattro | porte | V. | Maserati | have | decided | to | keep | up | the | traditional | model |
designation | for | their | new | limousine. | For | the | very | first | time, | a | Maserati | four | door |
production | car | will | be | designed | by | Pininfarina | — | a | novelty | in | Maserati’s | history |
that | was | unveiled | in | a | recent | interview | by | Maserati’s | CEO, | Luca | Cordero | di |
Montezemolo, | in | which | the | latter | announced | that | Pininfarina | was | chosen | to |
design | Maserati’s | future | four | door | models | while | Giugiaro’s | Italdesign | would |
remain | the | sculptor | of | the | marque’s | two | door | coupes | and | spyders. | Up | to | now, |
the only production Maserati ever to wear a bodywork by Pininfarina had been the |
A6G 1500 of the early 1950’s. |
As revealed by Pininfarina’s | drawings, the return to | the spelling of ”quattro | porte” |
in two | words | will | not | be the | only | reminiscence | to | the Maserati | Quattro | Porte | I | of |
1964: | The | kidney-shaped | front | grille | is | a | modern | re-interpretation | of | the | nose |
section | of | the | first | Quattro | Porte | and | also | reminds | the | insider | of | the | classic |
Maserati A6 GCS | from the | 1950’s. The | shape of | Pininfarina’s quattro | porte V | fits |
very | well | to | Giugiaro’s | design | of | both | the | current | Maserati | Coupé | and | Spyder |
without | losing | its | ”Pininfarinarity”: | Its | prominent | ”hips”, | its | soft | lines | and | its |
crouching | aggressiveness | will | for | sure | make | the | Maserati | quattro | porte | V |
become another masterpiece of Italian automotive design. |
Nothing has yet been revealed in regard to the quattro porte’s engine. It is very likely that the very modern 390 hp aggregate used in the Maserati Spyder and Coupé will provide an adequate performance to the future four door model, too, but who knows… |
Andreas Birner |