Review of the new Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S

You don't necessarily equate the concept of a sports saloon with an automatic gearbox, even when the saloon in question is a large, luxury four-door. There are exceptions however and Maserati's desirable Quattroporte is one of them.

The car has proved to be more popular for UK buyers since the option of a fully-fledged automatic 6-speed gearbox was introduced alongside the rather clunky 'DuoSelect' sequential 'manual' transmission used by early Quattroportes of this generation. The British boardroom has also responded quite positively to the wider trim choice that basically boils down to the driver-focused Sport GT models and the more luxury-orientated Executive GT variants.

Customers graduating to the Quattroporte from Maserati's coupe models usually went for the Sport GT variants but were surprised to find that apart from gearbox software able to shift cogs 35% faster, there were no mechanical changes to this version able to provide the kind of sports driving sensation promised by the badge. This was not the kind of feedback a performance-orientated brand like Maserati could afford to ignore.

Hence the introduction of the Quattroporte Sport GT S. This car does the whole sports saloon thing properly, thanks to the incorporation of a revised suspension layout, featuring single rate dampers and a "racing" set up. The car sits 10mm lower at the front and 25mm at the rear compared to other versions of the Quattroporte, and also features different, stiffer springs and dampers. The Sport GT S also boasts a unique braking system developed in collaboration with Brembo.This uses dual-cast brake discs, the first time such a set up has been employed on a road car. Unlike traditional cast iron discs, dual-cast discs are made of two materials, cast iron and aluminium, to ensure optimised braking, improving performance in the most extreme conditions and providing greater resistance to fade even at the highest temperatures. The Quattroporte Sport GT S's new braking system also benefits from new mono-block, six-piston callipers at the front and tyres developed especially for this car (front 245/35-R20 and rear 295/30-R20). The increased size of the rear tyres allows optimum use of the Maserati's V8 power, whilst the new tyre compound helps the brakes and set-up to guarantee a higher level of handling.

"If you're going to buy a luxury saloon with a serious sporting edge and real character, there aren't really any better choices."

The ordinary Quattroporte Sport GT model already has a pretty menacing look but on the 'S' version, this goes up another level. Along with the black-chrome mesh front grille (a characteristic element of sporty Maseratis), the side window trims and the two double exhaust pipes are also in black, whilst door handles are in the same colour as the body of the car. You also get eye-catching dark-chrome 20", seven spoke alloy wheels.As you'd expect, the choice of material for the interior of this model is intended to further reflect the car's sporty character. Traditional Poltrona Frau leather has been combined with Alcantara, which covers the central zone of the seats, the interior door panels and the steering wheel. Maserati has previously used Alcantara for the interior of the Trofeo race challenge models and the MC12 supercar. The dashboard is finished in new carbon fibre with aluminium treads, whilst front seats are characterised by a more cosseting sporty shape. It's all enough to make you feel very special indeed.

On the road, the 6-speed automatic gearbox works in well with this car's performance-orientated character. Since there are no engine modifications to the Sport GT S, the performance figures are of course no different from standard variants but should still be quite enough to please most potential buyers. Expect to get to 60mph from rest in 5.4 seconds (0.4 seconds adrift of the DuoSelect model) and run onto a top speed of 167mph. Out on a race track, it'll feel a little less alert but this is a Quattroporte, a car that likes to get its hustle on when blatting cross country on big roads, the 400bhp 4.2-litre V8 engine singing a magnificent baritone. Despite the GT S changes, point and squirt is still not this Maserati's forte.

This car is seriously lengthy. Measuring over five metres from tip to tail, the Maserati is longer than a BMW 7 Series, wider than a Mercedes S Class yet lower than a Jaguar XJ. The chassis is a clean sheet design with a classic longitudinally-mounted engine driving the rear wheels. The engine in question is a development of the powerplant found in the Maserati Coupe and cranks out a hefty 400bhp. The power delivery has been optimised for smooth low end torque rather than all-out top end power and the engine features a combination of classic race-derived design such as the dry sump lubrication system and the chain driven twin overhead cams, plus high-tech touches such as the CAN (Controlled Area Network) electronics system.

As you might expect, running a Maserati Quattroporte isn't a job for the terminally short of cash. Maserati quotes a rather optimistic combined fuel consumption figure of 19.2mpg for this automatic version but most drivers will typically see low teens for the car. That said, the ZF gearbox allows for relatively relaxed high-speed cruising which gives the car a decent range. Insurance is straight in at Group 20 although this is par for the course for this sort of model and it's possible to find insurers who will look upon the Quattroporte more favourably than they would a BMW M5 or a Mercedes CLS 63 AMG.

I doubt too many who hanker after a car like this will be overly worried about carbon dioxide emissions, but the Quattroporte GT S with its automatic gearbox emits 345g/km, which is surprisingly significantly better than the manual DuoSelect model which chugs out 370g/km. Depreciation is not the nightmare that many would expect, the Quattroporte having established a strong reputation in the used market.

If you're going to buy a luxury saloon with a serious sporting edge and real character, there aren't really any better choices than this Quattroporte. If you're going to buy the Sport GT variant (in which case, I'm very envious), don't until you've tried this model.