Maserati's new tranny a shift in right direction
The Maserati Quattroporte is the most beautiful, best-handling super-sedan on the planet. Oh, if only that were enough.
Big and inexpressibly masculine, broad and low, with a rising rhythm from nose to tail and perfect isometric tension, the QP has a self-possession and élan that make its six-figure, four-door competitors — Mercedes-Benz AMG S-class, Audi S8, BMW 760Li — look like prison dentistry.
But then, looks were never this car's problem. Neither was exclusivity. Only about 1,500 QPs were sold in the United States last year.
Nor were driving dynamics. The QP is fierce, heroic, surgically precise, magically delicious.
And when you drove the car hard, the gearbox performed sensationally. But unless your hobby is transporting organs on ice between hospitals, the appreciation curve was precipitous. The around-town Automatic mode was a balking, stumbling horror show.
The result: Despite hosannas from the enthusiast media, ultra-cool product placement on shows such as "24" and "Entourage," and owners such as Nobel-winner-in-waiting Bono, the QP has been a sales dud.
The cure comes in the form of the QP Automatica, a conventional six-speed automatic transmission — a wonderful and transparent alteration that merely required Maserati to re-engineer the whole flipping car.
No one knows how much it cost Maserati — and its new paymaster, Fiat — to retrofit the automatic to the QP. But when you monkey with floor pans and engine mounts, add interior gearshift consoles and subtract rear transaxles, you start spending real money.
Was it worth it? I'm not sure. The QP Automatica is infinitely easier to drive around town. Stick the wood-trimmed gear shifter in D and be done with it.
It still feels like a QP. This car, which weighs nearly 4,400 pounds, is sprung tightly, with a stiff, trembling low-ride ride that is quintessentially exotic.
Out on the mountain roads, the magic returns full force, and it's clear that the QP's suspension — with the Skyhook adaptive damping system — works better when it's getting exercised. One of the most astonishing things about the QP is its steady-state cornering grip. This car just hangs on like Bob Barker.
The car's 4.2-liter, naturally aspirated engine puts out 400 horsepower. And you have to love the little touches that tell you this car is meant to corner, hard and often. The cup holders have the grip of a Marine recruiter.
Base price: $116,000
Price as tested: $130,000
Details: 4.2-liter, V8, 400 horsepower, six-speed automatic transmission
with manual-shift mode, rear-wheel drive.
Mileage: 14 mpg city /
19 highway
Los Angeles Times