Next generation Maserati Quattroporte at 'Artedinamica'

April 24, 2002 – It has taken a very long time but finally Pininfarina has had its way and has succeeded in the design of a top class four-door sport sedan for Ferrari. Well, almost... The car designed at Pininfarina’s Ricerche e Sviluppo (R&D) centre in Cambiano has been commissioned by Ferrari, but for the Maserati brand.

For quite a long time in the early 80s, Enzo Ferrari and his executives were pondering on the V 12 cylinder Ferrari Pinin luxury sport sedan, that Pininfarina created in 1980 to celebrate their association with Ferrari. Their decision was that a two door, four seater coupe was the limit and consequently there was no place in Ferrari history and future for a four door sedan - no matter how sporty and stylish.

On the contrary, Maserati has a long established tradition for a four door Sport Sedan, even though the latest, very compact and attractive Quattroporte designed by Marcello Gandini had to be dismissed for a number of reasons that have nothing to do with design or customer demand.

These days Ferrari are doing so well that they are not afraid of being too bold and of breaking the rules. Not only have they approved plans for a new Quattroporte, and have let the Ferrari specialist design this Maserati, but they have even decided to show the world what sort of car Pininfarina has designed for them.

The opportunity has been provided by the exhibition 'Artedinamica: Ferrari and Maserati at the Contemporary Art Museum of Tokyo' which runs from April 27th to July 14th. There, alongside the Ferrari FX the Italian specialist is presenting three renderings of the new Quattroporte, and two 1:5 scale models.

The actual car is scheduled to be unveiled late in 2003 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The new Maserati will share the same powertrain of the current 4.2 litre V 8 Maserati Coupé and Spyder, though more properly tuned (a bit less power, more low end torque) for a sedan, and with gear rates more appropriate to a car that is almost five metres long and which will be significantly heavier.

Whereas the powertrain will be carried over from existing models, the bodywork will be completely new, with the wheelbase marginally shorter than three metres.

How the Maserati Sport design will look in reality is still a matter of imagination but at least we are entitled to expect a very sensual, sexy, exclusive, and very Italian flagship that will be bad news for Jaguar and – why not – the BMW 7 series and Mercedes-Benz S Class.

Related stories:
Ferrari FX prototype to be revealed in Tokyo

	First glimpse of next-generation Maserati Quattroporte at 'Artedinamica' by Giancarlo Perini
	Click for larger images	April 24, 2002 – It has taken a very long time but finally Pininfarina has had its way and has succeeded in the design of a top class four-door sport sedan for Ferrari. Well, almost... The car designed at Pininfarina’s Ricerche e Sviluppo (R&D) centre in Cambiano has been commissioned by Ferrari, but for the Maserati brand. For quite a long time in the early 80s, Enzo Ferrari and his executives were pondering on the V 12 cylinder Ferrari Pinin luxury sport sedan, that Pininfarina created in 1980 to celebrate their association with Ferrari. Their decision was that a two door, four seater coupe was the limit and consequently there was no place in Ferrari history and future for a four door sedan - no matter how sporty and stylish. On the contrary, Maserati has a long established tradition for a four door Sport Sedan, even though the latest, very compact and attractive Quattroporte designed by Marcello Gandini had to be dismissed for a number of reasons that have nothing to do with design or customer demand. These days Ferrari are doing so well that they are not afraid of being too bold and of breaking the rules. Not only have they approved plans for a new Quattroporte, and have let the Ferrari specialist design this Maserati, but they have even decided to show the world what sort of car Pininfarina has designed for them. The opportunity has been provided by the exhibition 'Artedinamica: Ferrari and Maserati at the Contemporary Art Museum of Tokyo' which runs from April 27th to July 14th. There, alongside the Ferrari FX the Italian specialist is presenting three renderings of the new Quattroporte, and two 1:5 scale models. The actual car is scheduled to be unveiled late in 2003 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The new Maserati will share the same powertrain of the current 4.2 litre V 8 Maserati Coupé and Spyder, though more properly tuned (a bit less power, more low end torque) for a sedan, and with gear rates more appropriate to a car that is almost five metres long and which will be significantly heavier. Whereas the powertrain will be carried over from existing models, the bodywork will be completely new, with the wheelbase marginally shorter than three metres. How the Maserati Sport design will look in reality is still a matter of imagination but at least we are entitled to expect a very sensual, sexy, exclusive, and very Italian flagship that will be bad news for Jaguar and – why not – the BMW 7 series and Mercedes-Benz S Class. Related stories: Ferrari FX prototype to be revealed in Tokyo