Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S
According to chief engineer Paul Fickers, it’s the car the Quattroporte always should have been. There are six Quattroporte variants – three with a semi-auto, three with a full auto – and it’s the ‘proper’ auto Sport GT S that’s expected to now form the majority of sales. Why? Because, like the Ford Fickers once worked on, it’s been 'focused'.
Key change? Out goes the Skyhook adaptive damping, and in comes single-rate Bilstein dampers, biased towards handling to exploit the Quattroporte’s advantageous layout. Fickers is adamant that cars only feel right if the fundamentals are so. By this, he means a front mid-engine with all the weight behind the front axle and near-perfect weight distribution: for example, the Quattroporte.
The suspension has been lowered by 10mm at the front and 25mm at the rear compared to the Sport GT, while the mountings have been uprated to cope with the all-new set-up. There are also bespoke 295/30 section rear tires, aiding turn-in and traction, while Fickers’ obsession with minimizing bump steer has kept the Maserati test drivers occupied for months.
Mean and moodiness is enhanced by a ‘dark chrome’ finish for the exterior, including the wheels and exhausts, while the doorhandles are now body-colored. Result? Frankly, it looks superb.
Inside, there’s an Alcantara overload. Steering wheel, seats, rooflining, gearlever – if the Comfort fabric softener people drove supercars, they’d have an interior like this. The real carbonfibre on the center console has thin strips of aluminum woven through it, while the seats themselves boast beefed-up bolsters. With a low dash, and with the close-set steering wheel giving you the impression of being sat well back in the chassis, BTCC-style, it sure feels purposeful.
The 4.2-litre V8 remains the same. Still punching out 400bhp, a deep, muscular warble is the order of the day, with an exhaust note that could be straight out of the movies. It’s a super-smooth delight, even if 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds isn’t as rapid as it sounds.
The six-speed ZF auto is superb, wired into your desires, and justifies Maserati’s decision to 'sportify' it, rather than trying to change the more Ferrari-like semi-auto.
Throw in bumps and cambers, and the ride is transformed into an interference-free class act that is never knocked off course, stays keyed into the road and leaves you marveling at the quality of the damping.
The brakes are also a world first. They’re a new design by Brembo – the outer disc is fade-resistant, distortion-free aluminum, connected via an ‘interference fit’ to cast iron innards. Very clever. The pedal is weighty and a bit clumsy in town, but beautifully modulates at speed. And boy, are they powerful.
Downhill mountain passes that Italy does so well are simply not a problem for them, particularly the six-pot front anchors. Each piston is a different size, for perfect distribution of pressure around the disc. We can look forward to then featuring on other Fiat Group cars, too.
The Sport GT S seduces as soon as you set eyes on it. But what’s all the more pleasing is how this promise continues when you drive it. Different in character to any other Quattroporte, it’s a car packed with finesse, that has depth you won’t tire of. We like.
