Maserati Quattroporte GT
Photography by Richard Newton
We're a little bit disappointed that Maserati didn't show a V-12-powered Quattroporte at the Frankfurt show. While the car doesn't beg for more oomph from its 4.2-liter V-8, a twelve-cylinder engine would certainly add to the Quattroporte's exclusiveness. Regardless, Maserati did announce two new trim packages for its beautiful sedan: Sport GT and Executive GT.
The new Sport GT should help remedy the car's major malady--the clunky six-speed manu-matic transmission--as the car boasts a reworked gearbox that allegedly shifts 35 percent faster than the frustratingly slow-witted previous tranny. The Sport GT model also gets twenty-inch wheels, suspension tweaks, and special interior accoutrements such as carbon-fiber trim and blue and red stitching for the steering wheel and parking brake. A mean-looking, blackened crosshatch grille also adorns with the Quattroporte Sport GT.
The Quattroporte Executive GT also debuts in Frankfurt. For those who found the regular four-porte not quite marvelous enough, the Exec version wraps VIPs in an interior filled with extra chrome, wood, alcantara, and leather. A chrome, crosshatch grille replaces the standard Quattroporte's horizontal slatting.