Earlier this year, as we were driving south of Denver. I looked in the rear-view mirror and got more excited than normal–the reason being that I saw a very rare sight indeed. As I handed my wife my cellphone and told her to start shooting pictures, I moved over a lane to let the car pass. As it drew abreast, I realized it was a first-generation Maserati Quattroporte.
Quattroportes are rare in general but this one got me even more excited, as it was clearly not a garage queen. While not very obvious in these pictures, this one was dimpled with hail damage, which is not uncommon around here, especially in the last few years. Added to that, the paint was not particularly lustrous and the car was smoking when off the gas (as seen in the picture below). But it did make a wonderful noise and had more presence than anything else on I-25 that morning. And the name! How can “four door” sound so good, even in Italian? I just like saying it, all of a sudden every car sounds more appealing – Hey look, a Hyundai Sonata Quattroporte! And over there, an Oldsmobile Ciera Quattroporte! I could go on all day…
As I did some basic research I came to realize how rare this car really was. Produced between 1963 and 1969, less than 800 examples left the factory in Modena. Though designed by Frua, bodies were made by Vignale; however, some of that production was then further farmed out to O.To.Car by Vignale. There are Series I as well as Series II versions (although some people claim that there is also a Series II.5), the major change between Series I and II being the engine (4.1L V8 vs. 4.7L V8), while further minor changes distinguish the Series II.5 .
Maserati being a very small manufacturer, many production items were bought from other manufacturers (obviously, a situation which with larger companies still exists to this day): Gearbox by ZF, brakes from Girling, ashtrays from BMW, many switches from Alfa Romeo, first-series headlights from Citroen’s Ami 6, etc., all put together in Modena, where the chassis and engine were built in-house. By the way, those who claim to be able to distinguish the different series by the headlights are wrong, as one could order quad US headlights for the first series as well.
image: themotoringenthusiast.com
This car was considered the fastest four door available during its production years, and looks so even at the relatively sedate 55 mph we were driving that day. It’s a shame I couldn’t get a picture of the front, as I probably prefer that angle to all others; still, I’m happy with what I got (this shot is from the Web). It certainly served to make our mundane drive quite a bit more interesting and exciting. (Much of my information came from the excellent tipo107.com website that maintains a thorough registry of these cars, along with many pictures and additional information.)
Nice looking car except for that back end. Looks like the designer ran out of ideas when he got back there 😀 .
Not quite, to me: it shows the same concept as in the Lancia Fulvia Coupe’ – really the lights have a similar shape – in connection with the raised line of the rear fenders.
Indeed the plastics are the same as those used on other models, i.e. my dad’s Mistral.
By the way, down here (Italy) I don’t remember ever seeing one who hadn’t four front lamps. I suspect very few examples were built with the single square ones.
Edit: sorry, Teddy, you came first, I had not gone through all comments.
The designer did not run out of ideas, stupid thing to say!
It is a well resolves design in the upmarket refined style that was expected in this segment of the market.
Just tasteful and restrained .
Frua style was very influential, French adopted many cues or they were shared around, Simca. Lancia with the earlier Flavia sedan and coupe.
Volvo 1800 coupe, a nice rendering of his ideas.
MV 600 bike lovely bike in the same style .
Most people just do not understand style , how it evolves and progresses, in part because these cars are so rare that people are generally not aware of them .
In it’s time it would have seen as haute couture and very, very posh.
The engine bay is a delight , car porn!
The color, taillights, and license plate frame look exactly the same as the mid-1960s Lancia Fulvia Murilee Martin took photos of for his DOTS Series. Both very lovely looking cars that I woul love to see in person and I assume this Maserati owner also had to cut their rear plate to fit. I am concered about the Hail damage though since I do not know if this Maserati has safety glass and where does the owner get replacement glass if Hail damages a pane.
They do look quite similar from the rear, the Maserati’s tail is a bit taller proportionally and overall it is a much larger car. But you’re right and I did think it looked familiar. The Fulvia is one of my favorite Italian cars and still “somewhat” attainable. You’ll be surprised at how tiny they actually are if you see one in person.
Both cars were introduced at similar times, Fulvia at Geneva ’63 and the Quattroporte during ’63, but based an a slightly earlier design so who knows who looked over another’s shoulder. However, the back is probably the plainest aspect of either car and really does not seem to show much “design” in either case, not that I am in any way qualified to judge.
There’s one just up on eBay which can be yours for $65,000 OBO. Not a bad looking car. Pretty dash, too.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Maserati-Quattroporte-1967-maserati-quattroporte-series-i-4-2-litre-time-capsule-spectacular-5-spd-/271644958656?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3f3f4d1fc0&item=271644958656&pt=US_Cars_Trucks
Romance languages sound cool, which is why English-speakers over the centuries have often sprinkled their speech with French if they wanted to sound fashionable. Many American housing developments, at least out West, have streets with Spanish names. Would you rather live on White House Street, or Casablanca?
So this is why Cadillac had Sedan deVilles, whereas Lincoln only had Town Cars, which means exactly the same thing.
English loan-words are popular in Asia. Alas, no one sounds sexy using German.
German only sounds sexy in a BDSM situation.
Ha ha ha!! Sounds about right!
Great catch. I was very intrigued with these as a kid; somehow the idea of a genuine Maserati with four doors seemed almost outlandish (in a good way). It was a smart move on their part, as Enzo Ferrari wouldn’t have countenanced such a thing.
Not quite perfect design-wise, but very appealing nonetheless.
There was one of these sitting for years behind the Alfa (and later Peugeot) dealer near where I lived in the 1980’s that was in poor condition then but it was still apparent that this was a special car. Nice find!
This is certainly the catch of the day. Low production, very nice to look at, and still in use – is there a better combination?
And it is in very usable condition but not at all pristine, so no worries about parking or weather or whatever!
Beautiful car, not like the monstrosity of the 1980s they called Quattroporte. I like the new ones…but the 4-door Ghibli that’s around now is quite elegant and sexy.
Lets face it,”Quadroporte” sounds a lot better than 4 door sedan. Ahhhh,magic of the Italian language. Capiche?
Nice to see it driven, but replacement body parts must be really hard to find and expensive. But as long as it’s insured for it’s true value, why not enjoy it? The wood dashboard looks great. Not the most beautiful car on the road, but still a great find considering how few of these were built.
While researching, I found that since they were essentially hand-crafted, the body panels are considered to be not generally interchangable from car to car without some (or a lot of) fettling. It’s not like when Keith hits the junkyard in Minnesota looking for a replacement hood or fender for a Suburban…
The back looks like they xeroxed a Fiat Crusader+25% other than that a nice looking car, I havent seen an early one though a late model roams the streets here.
Great find! As far as language goes, Ferrari essentially means Smith doesnt it?
first-series headlights from Citroen’s Ami 6
What a difference. They sure did a lot more with the same basic components, given that this car is gorgeous while the Ami6 is one of the ugliest automobiles of all time.
I see some Studebaker Avanti in the profile. Not a very pretty car. I think the current Quattroporte is the best looking one ever. The Ghibli is selling well out here. People who used to buy Jag sedans seem to be buying Maseratis these days.
I reckon the Aga Khan’s Frua Quattroporte beats the current one.
That’s a greenhouse you could grow orchids in.
really nice find. old maserati’s are gorgeous.
i’ve been seeing a lot of the new ghibli’s here in manhattan. it’s become the it car for the nouveau riche. there’s something kind of mass produced looking about it, especially the interior which turns me off…
I had no idea Donald Fagen lived in Colorado.
hehehe
Donald Fagen drives a Kamakiri exclusively. Steam-powered, and containing its own vegetable garden.
Speaking of rockstar rides, Geddy Lee of Rush is an enthusiast of exotic Italian machinery — as the song “Red Barchetta” would suggest. But driving around his native Toronto in something head-turning like a red, door-stop-shaped Ferrari was getting him too much attention at stoplights. First the passengers in surrounding vehicles would be gawking at the car… and then they’d see it was Geddy Lee at the wheel and they’d go ape-poopie. So Lee decided he needed something more “demure,” and got himself a new Quattroporte. A rock star’s idea of an invisible, wallflower of a car 🙂
I sure hope we can see a true Alfa Romeo revival in the upcoming years. Just like we’re witnessing a true Maserati revival right now. Boy oh boy, their current sedan models are beauties. And commercially successful.
Wow, Jim – cool find! I like almost everything on the styling but that C pillars treatment. I could think of maybe a dozen different ways to resolve those lines, this one id just awkward.
And isn’t it a Series II.V? 🙂
Haha, yeah, I thought about that but you Americans don’t even think the metric system makes sense, so better not to get too far into the Roman numerals… 🙂
The current Quattroporte’s spectacular interior, featuring what are to me the most gorgeous seats ever installed in any luxury car. Like buttah.
It’s like a $20,000 Italian leather designer couch installed in a car.
Hi Jim, thank you for your compliments for tipo107.com
I’ll add your find on my registry (if only we knew the chassis number…! Gerhard