Maserati Quattroporte is one of those cars whose name says exactly what it is while explaining almost nothing about why it matters. Quattro porte simply means “four doors” in Italian. In 1963, however, putting four doors on a Maserati was not a mundane packaging decision. The company was known for competition machinery and fast grand tourers, and the idea of combining a large V8, genuine high-speed ability, a luxurious cabin and four-door practicality created a type of Maserati that had not previously existed.
Across six principal generations, the Quattroporte repeatedly changed its engineering philosophy. The first was a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive V8 sedan in the grand-touring tradition. The second, created during Citroën ownership, used front-wheel drive, hydropneumatic suspension and a V6. The third returned to a V8 and rear-wheel drive. The fourth became smaller and relied on twin-turbocharged engines from the Biturbo era. The fifth paired a naturally aspirated V8 with a transaxle layout before moving to a conventional ZF automatic. The sixth adopted twin-turbo V6 and V8 engines, an eight-speed automatic and, for the first time in the model line, optional all-wheel drive.
That lack of mechanical continuity is not a flaw in the story. It is the story. Quattroporte has usually reflected the condition of Maserati itself: its ownership, financial circumstances, engineering resources and ambitions at a particular moment. What survived was the role of the car. It was supposed to be a flagship sedan that felt closer to a grand tourer than to a conventional chauffeur-oriented limousine.
By 2023 Maserati said that more than 75,000 Quattroportes had been built across six generations. That total is modest beside the lifetime volumes of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or BMW 7 Series, but enormous in the context of Maserati. A car that began as a low-volume experiment became one of the most persistent names in the company’s road-car history.
The original idea: a Maserati for four doors
By the early 1960s Maserati had already established a reputation for fast road cars through models such as the 3500 GT and 5000 GT. The next question was whether the qualities associated with those cars could be transferred into a large sedan without turning it into an ordinary luxury vehicle.
The project, Tipo AM107, was developed under the direction of engineer Giulio Alfieri. Pietro Frua designed the body, while Vignale built the coachwork. The result was a conventional three-box sedan in basic architecture, but its proportions were far removed from those of a formal state limousine. The hood was long, the glass area generous, the roof relatively low and the overall stance lighter than the car’s size suggested.
Underneath, the structure was a steel monocoque with a front subframe. That construction already marked a departure from the tubular frames associated with some earlier high-performance Maseratis. More important was the engine. Maserati installed a 90-degree V8 derived from the unit used in the 5000 GT.
The company’s archive lists the 4.2-litre version at 260 hp at 5,000 rpm and a maximum speed of 210 km/h. A 4.7-litre variant was rated at 290 hp and 230 km/h. Maserati described the original Quattroporte as the fastest four-door production car of its time. Historical superlatives always need a category and period context, but there is no question that 230 km/h placed it in extraordinary territory for a full-size sedan in the mid-1960s.
The first Quattroporte appeared publicly at the Turin Motor Show on 30 October 1963, with series production beginning in 1964. Early cars used a De Dion rear axle, a layout that keeps the differential mounted to the body and reduces unsprung mass compared with a conventional live axle. It was a relatively sophisticated solution for a large luxury sedan.
Maserati revised the car in 1966. The second series replaced the rectangular headlamps with twin round units and, more significantly, substituted the De Dion arrangement with a more conventional rigid rear axle on leaf springs derived from the Mistral. According to Maserati’s own archive, the change addressed complaints about road noise and could reduce interior noise at higher speeds substantially. A new dashboard and integrated climate-control system also made the car more mature as a luxury product.
Production remained small by mass-market standards but significant for Maserati. The factory records 252 examples of the 4.2-litre first series and seven 4.7-litre cars. The second series added 437 4.2-litre cars and 64 4.7-litre examples; two more were fitted with a 4.9-litre engine. That gives a total of 762 Quattroporte I cars.
The clientele reflected the intended position of the model. Maserati lists Anthony Quinn, Marcello Mastroianni, Alberto Sordi and Prince Rainier III of Monaco among the owners. Famous ownership does not prove a car’s engineering merit, but it does show how the Quattroporte was perceived: not as a practical derivative of a sports car, but as a status object that also happened to be exceptionally fast.
Why the first Quattroporte was different
The significance of the first generation becomes clearer when viewed against its period. Luxury sedans of the early 1960s could be very powerful, but the most prestigious models often emphasised isolation, ride comfort and rear-seat accommodation. Maserati approached the problem from the opposite direction. It began with the idea of a high-speed GT and expanded it to accommodate four doors and more passengers.
That difference affected the car’s whole personality. The V8 was not simply a large-displacement engine chosen to move a heavy body. It belonged to Maserati’s high-performance road-car lineage. The styling did not disguise the length of the hood or the low stance. Even the first-series rear suspension reflected an attempt to preserve mechanical sophistication in a segment where comfort alone could have justified a simpler solution.
This became a recurring Quattroporte theme. The best versions would rarely be the quietest, softest or most electronically elaborate sedans in their classes. Their attraction came from the impression that the driver had not been forgotten when luxury was added.
Quattroporte II: the Citroën experiment
The second generation, Tipo AM123, emerged from a radically different corporate environment. Maserati was then controlled by Citroën, and the French company encouraged extensive use of its own technology. The Quattroporte II, introduced in 1974, was therefore less an evolution of the original than a technical reset.
It used front-wheel drive and hydropneumatic suspension, with its architecture closely related to the Citroën SM. Power came from a 2,965 cc 90-degree V6. Maserati’s historical specification lists 210 hp at 6,500 rpm and a maximum speed of 200 km/h. Bertone designed the body.
On paper, the Citroën influence brought real advantages. Hydropneumatic suspension could provide exceptional ride comfort while maintaining ride height under varying loads. Front-wheel drive freed the designers from some of the packaging constraints imposed by a propeller shaft and rear differential. For a luxury sedan, none of those choices was inherently irrational.
The problem was identity. Compared with the V8, rear-wheel-drive first generation, the new car offered lower performance and a very different dynamic character. Maserati’s own modern description notes that it was not well received by marque purists even though its comfort, equipment and build quality were strong.
Corporate instability then did more damage than engineering controversy. The relationship with Citroën ended in 1975, Maserati faced severe financial problems, and the Quattroporte II never achieved European homologation. Production was tiny and the surviving factory information is internally inconsistent. Maserati’s descriptive text says only 12 cars were produced and all went to customers in the Middle East, while the specification table on the same model page lists 13.
That discrepancy should not be hidden behind false precision. The safest conclusion is that Quattroporte II was built in roughly a dozen examples and never became a normal production model.
It remains important precisely because it was such an outlier. No later Quattroporte would move as far toward a comfort-led, front-drive interpretation. The second generation demonstrated how strongly platform sharing and ownership structure could reshape a marque’s flagship.
Quattroporte III: De Tomaso restores the traditional layout
When Alejandro de Tomaso took control of Maserati, abandoning the Citroën-era technical philosophy became part of the company’s recovery. The third-generation Quattroporte, Tipo AM330, returned to a front-mounted V8 and rear-wheel drive. Some of its mechanical foundations came from the Maserati Kyalami.
Giorgetto Giugiaro designed the body. The contrast with Frua’s first-generation car was dramatic. The new sedan used the crisp planes and formal geometry associated with late-1970s design. It was large, upright and deliberately imposing. Steel body shells were produced at the Innocenti plant near Milan before final assembly in Modena.
Two V8 displacements dominated the range. Maserati lists the 4.2-litre version at 255 hp and 215 km/h, while the 4.9-litre model produced 280 hp and could reach about 220 km/h. The larger engine became the more important version commercially.
The later Royale pushed the luxury theme further. It used a 4.9-litre V8 rated at 300 hp, and Maserati built only 51. The cabin received richer leather, extensive wood trim and equipment aimed squarely at high-level executive use. Maserati’s heritage material also describes details such as a radio telephone and small folding tables in the rear doors.
Production figures show how decisively the third generation restored the nameplate. Maserati records 69 examples of the 4.2, 2,025 of the 4.9 and 51 Royales, for a total of 2,145 cars.
The Quattroporte III also developed a strong institutional association in Italy. On 14 December 1979 Maserati presented automatic and manual examples at the Quirinal Palace to Italian President Sandro Pertini. In 1982 the office of the President ordered an armoured Quattroporte, and in 1983 Maserati supplied Pertini with a dark aquamarine car with a beige velvet interior that became closely associated with his official appearances.
That role says something important about the model’s evolution. The original Quattroporte had been a high-speed GT stretched into sedan form. The third generation moved closer to the idea of a formal flagship that could carry a head of state, yet it retained a large Maserati V8 and rear-wheel drive. It was more limousine-like without becoming technically anonymous.
Quattroporte IV: Biturbo DNA in a smaller package
The fourth generation, Tipo AM337, debuted at the Turin Motor Show in April 1994. It was the first Quattroporte introduced under full Fiat ownership, and it changed scale again.
Marcello Gandini designed the body. Compared with the substantial Quattroporte III, the new car was much more compact, with steeply raked pillars, short overhangs and the clipped, wedge-influenced surfaces associated with Gandini’s work of the period. It looked less like a direct rival to a traditional long-wheelbase luxury sedan and more like a four-door performance car.
The engineering came from the later phase of Maserati’s Biturbo family. Depending on market, buyers could choose twin-turbocharged V6 or V8 engines. The Italian-market 2.0-litre V6 was listed at 287 hp, while the 2.8-litre V6 produced 284 hp. From 1996 a 3.2-litre twin-turbo V8 joined the range, rated around 300 hp in Maserati’s English-language historical material. Maximum speeds were listed at approximately 260, 255 and 270 km/h respectively.
Those figures made the point: the fourth-generation Quattroporte was physically smaller than its predecessor but much faster. It was also more obviously connected to Maserati’s performance sedans and coupes of the Biturbo period than to the stately Quattroporte III.
The first phase of production amounted to 587 examples of the 2.0, 668 of the 2.8 and 415 of the 3.2 V8, or 1,670 cars. Yet performance was not the whole story. Maserati’s own current heritage material openly states that the fourth-generation Quattroporte suffered reliability issues.
That admission matters because it is stronger evidence than a collection of anecdotes from individual owners. By the mid-1990s, the challenge for Maserati was not only to build fast and charismatic cars, but to deliver the consistency expected at the price level.
Ferrari control and the Evoluzione
Ferrari assumed control of Maserati in July 1997. One of the priorities was quality. Maserati says the production process was comprehensively revised and hundreds of Quattroporte components were redesigned. The result appeared in 1998 as the Quattroporte Evoluzione.
Externally, the changes were restrained. This was not a styling exercise designed to create a visibly new generation. The important work took place in the structure of the product and the manufacturing process.
Maserati records 200 examples of the 2.0 Evoluzione, 190 of the 2.8 and 340 V8 3.2 Evoluzione cars. The V8 version was listed at 335 hp. Together those numbers account for 730 Evoluziones, bringing total fourth-generation production to 2,400 cars.
That makes Quattroporte IV unusually revealing in company history. Mechanically it belongs to the Biturbo world of the De Tomaso and early Fiat years. Organisationally, the Evoluzione already points toward the Ferrari-led reconstruction of Maserati. The same basic model therefore spans two very different approaches to product development and quality control.
Quattroporte V: Pininfarina and the return to the upper luxury class
The fifth-generation Quattroporte, internal code M139, was unveiled at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was one of the most consequential modern Maseratis because it moved the name back into the large luxury-sedan class while retaining a distinctly driver-focused mechanical layout.
Pininfarina designed the body. The proportions were defined by a long hood, a cabin pushed rearward and a roofline that avoided the upright formalism of many luxury sedans. The design made the mechanical layout visible: the car looked front-engined, but the engine sat well back in the chassis rather than hanging over the front axle.
The original powertrain used a 4.2-litre naturally aspirated V8 from the Ferrari-Maserati F136 family. Maserati lists 400 hp at 7,000 rpm. More unusual was the transmission arrangement. The six-speed DuoSelect automated manual was mounted at the rear in a transaxle with the differential. Combined with the rearward engine placement, the layout produced a strong rear bias in static weight distribution.
For handling, this was exactly the kind of solution enthusiasts wanted from Maserati. The front axle carried less concentrated drivetrain mass, the car could rotate more naturally, and the powertrain architecture made the sedan feel conceptually close to a grand tourer.
For luxury-car use, however, DuoSelect created a conflict.
The gearbox was not a torque-converter automatic. It was an automated manual using a computer-controlled clutch. At high load and during decisive shifts it could feel fast and direct. In slow urban traffic, parking manoeuvres or gentle acceleration, it could be abrupt unless the driver learned how to work with it. Contemporary road tests praised the V8’s response, sound, seating position and chassis balance while criticising low-speed shift quality and a ride that could be too busy on short, sharp imperfections.
That contradiction became central to the M139 story. Maserati had built a sedan around a layout that benefited enthusiastic driving but compromised the smoothness expected in a flagship luxury car.
The 2007 automatic: less exotic, more complete
Demand for a conventional automatic never disappeared. Maserati responded with the Quattroporte Automatica, introduced at the 2007 Detroit Motor Show.
The change was much more extensive than swapping transmissions. Maserati says that 4,800 of the roughly 16,500 components in the car were new. The powertrain was revised around a wet-sump version of the V8, a six-speed ZF automatic mounted conventionally behind the engine, a new propeller shaft and a revised limited-slip differential.
Moving the gearbox forward inevitably changed the weight distribution, but the car remained close to neutral, at roughly 49:51 in Maserati’s published material. The benefit in daily use was much greater smoothness.
Contemporary testers generally regarded the automatic as the more convincing luxury sedan. It preserved the direct steering, front-end confidence and balanced chassis that distinguished the Quattroporte, while removing much of the hesitation and clutch-management behaviour that made DuoSelect tiring in traffic.
This was an instructive moment in the history of the nameplate. The most exotic engineering solution was not automatically the best one. A Quattroporte still needed to behave credibly as a luxury sedan. The automatic version accepted a small theoretical compromise in layout to gain a large improvement in usability.
Maserati’s archive lists 10,639 DuoSelect cars and 6,050 standard Automatica examples before the main restyling, plus smaller numbers of additional derivatives. The scale was already far beyond any previous Quattroporte.
The 2008 restyling and the 4.7-litre era
Five years after launch, and after more than 15,000 cars had been built, Maserati updated the M139. Pininfarina revised the front and rear styling, the infotainment system was modernised, and the engine range expanded.
The 4.2-litre V8 remained, but a 4.7-litre version arrived for the Quattroporte S and Sport GT S. Maserati lists 440 hp for the Quattroporte S restyling, with a maximum speed of 285 km/h. The Sport GT S sharpened the suspension and visual treatment further, pushing the car toward the performance end of the luxury-sedan spectrum.
The restyled cars were automatic only; DuoSelect was discontinued. This effectively settled the argument Maserati had been having with itself since 2003. The Quattroporte could still be a sports sedan without forcing buyers to accept an automated-manual transmission.
The fifth generation eventually exceeded 25,000 units. For Maserati, that was transformative. The previous Quattroporte had totalled 2,400 cars. The M139 did not merely receive better reviews or greater cultural visibility; it changed the scale at which the flagship could contribute to the company’s business.
Why the fifth generation became the modern reference point
Every Quattroporte involves a negotiation between being driven and being driven in. The M139 shifted the balance unusually far toward the person behind the wheel.
Instead of competing primarily through rear-seat gadgetry or maximum isolation, it relied on mechanical fundamentals. The V8 sat far back in the chassis. The suspension was tuned to control a large body rather than float it over the road. Steering feedback mattered. The powertrain was designed to sound and respond like something from a GT.
That approach also exposed the car’s weaknesses. The original DuoSelect transmission was expensive to maintain and sensitive to how the clutch was used. The cabin’s electronics aged faster than the exterior design. Suspension, braking and engine maintenance remained expensive even after used values fell dramatically.
That last point is especially important in the modern used-car market. Depreciation can make an old Quattroporte V appear inexpensive to buy, but depreciation does not reduce the complexity or original engineering standard of the car. It remains a luxury sedan with high-performance components. Purchase price and ownership cost can therefore diverge sharply.
The M139’s reputation today comes partly from that duality. It is beautiful and mechanically distinctive, but it punishes neglect. It is one of the clearest examples of a depreciated exotic-luxury car becoming affordable to acquire without becoming cheap to maintain.
Quattroporte VI: turbocharging, Q4 and a broader business strategy
The sixth generation arrived at the Detroit auto show in January 2013. It was larger than the M139, with a longer wheelbase and substantially more cabin space. The design was created within Centro Stile Maserati under Lorenzo Ramaciotti.
Some visual cues remained familiar, including the tall grille, three side vents and the shape of the C-pillar. Yet the car was cleaner and more modern, designed for a period when Maserati intended to expand significantly in global volume.
The powertrain strategy changed as well. Naturally aspirated V8s gave way to twin-turbocharged engines developed by Maserati Powertrain and assembled by Ferrari in Maranello. At launch, the 3.8-litre V8 produced 390 kW, quoted by Maserati as 530 CV, and up to 710 Nm on overboost. The factory claimed 0-100 km/h in 4.7 seconds and a maximum speed of 307 km/h.
A 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 added a lower performance and price point. In early high-output form it was rated at 301 kW, quoted as 410 hp in Maserati’s international material, with 550 Nm.
All major versions used an eight-speed ZF automatic. For the first time in Quattroporte history, buyers could also choose Q4 all-wheel drive on selected V6 versions. The system remained rear-biased in normal operation and could send torque toward the front axle when traction required it.
The chassis used double wishbones at the front and a multi-link rear arrangement. Maserati promoted near-50:50 weight distribution and extensive use of aluminium in the body and suspension. The aim was to preserve the dynamic character of the outgoing model while improving space, refinement, traction and market coverage.
Diesel Quattroporte and the reality of the European market
A 3.0-litre V6 diesel later joined the European range. In 275 hp form it produced 600 Nm. From a purist perspective, a diesel flagship carrying the Quattroporte name seemed far removed from the V8 car of 1963.
Commercially, however, the decision made sense in the first half of the 2010s. Large premium sedans in Europe were frequently bought as high-mileage business cars, and diesel engines offered the torque and fuel economy expected by that market. Maserati could not expand into a broader premium segment while pretending those customer preferences did not exist.
The diesel therefore illustrates a recurrent Quattroporte pattern. The model has never survived by following one immutable technical formula. Maserati has repeatedly altered the engineering to match the market while attempting to retain a recognisable driving identity.
The 2016 restyling: technology catches up
By the middle of the decade, the standards of the luxury-sedan market had moved quickly. Chassis balance and engine character were no longer enough. Driver-assistance systems, connectivity, interface quality and aerodynamic efficiency had become central competitive criteria.
Maserati gave the sixth-generation Quattroporte a substantial update in 2016. Redesigned bumpers, a revised grille and an electrically controlled front air shutter improved aerodynamic drag by a claimed 10 percent. The dashboard gained a new high-resolution 8.4-inch capacitive touchscreen and a redesigned centre console.
The assistance package expanded to include adaptive cruise control with Stop&Go, lane-departure warning, forward-collision warning, advanced brake assist, automated emergency braking and a surround-view camera.
Maserati also introduced GranLusso and GranSport specifications to separate the car’s luxury and sporting personalities more clearly. The V8 GTS gained a claimed maximum speed of 310 km/h, while V6 versions received power and performance revisions depending on market.
Independent reviews continued to identify the Quattroporte’s steering weight, body control and engine response as points of distinction. The criticism was equally consistent: some cabin materials, switchgear and electronics did not match the perceived quality of the best German rivals at the price.
That criticism matters because it shows where the sixth generation’s competitive problem lay. Maserati could still make the car feel different from an S-Class, 7 Series or A8. The harder task was convincing buyers that difference justified compromises in areas where those competitors had become extraordinarily polished.
Trofeo: the fastest production Quattroporte
In 2020 Maserati expanded the Trofeo name to Ghibli and Quattroporte. The Quattroporte Trofeo used a 3,799 cc twin-turbo V8 rated at 580 hp and 730 Nm in the main European and North American specifications.
Power went to the rear wheels through the eight-speed ZF automatic and a self-locking differential. Maserati quoted 0-100 km/h in 4.5 seconds and a maximum speed of 326 km/h. The company described the Ghibli Trofeo and Quattroporte Trofeo as the fastest Maserati sedans it had produced.
The Trofeo also received a Corsa driving mode with Launch Control, revised calibration for the vehicle-control systems and additional carbon-fibre exterior detailing.
The raw numbers did not necessarily make it the quickest sedan from a standing start in its market. Contemporary testing noted that rear-wheel drive limited how effectively the car could deploy 580 hp at low speed compared with high-output all-wheel-drive rivals. But that limitation was also part of the point. Maserati kept the Quattroporte Trofeo rear-driven, preserving a more traditional performance layout rather than chasing launch figures above all else.
In that sense the Trofeo was an appropriate ending for the combustion Quattroporte. It emphasised speed, V8 character and rear-drive behaviour at a time when much of the segment was moving toward heavily electrified, highly computer-managed performance.
Quattroporte Grand Finale and the end of the V8 era
Maserati had already announced that production of its V8 engines would end as the company moved deeper into electrification. The symbolic closing chapter arrived with a one-off Quattroporte Grand Finale delivered in 2024.
Maserati described it as the final Quattroporte it would build and the last Maserati fitted with a V8. The Fuoriserie car was finished in Blu Nobile with colour-matched carbon-fibre body elements and brushed-aluminium brake calipers. In US specification, the engine was rated at 572 hp. Identification number 999999 appeared on the windshield and driver’s door, while the engine cover carried signatures from the Fuoriserie team and engineers involved in the project.
The Grand Finale mattered less as a separate technical derivative than as a marker. After six generations, the nameplate entered another period of absence, something that has happened before in Quattroporte history. There were already gaps between earlier generations, and each return brought substantial mechanical reinvention.
What comes next for the Quattroporte name
The future of the name is less certain than it appeared in early 2024.
In February 2024 Maserati published an electrification plan that explicitly placed a next-generation battery-electric Quattroporte in 2028. That schedule fitted the company’s broader Folgore strategy at the time.
Stellantis later adopted a more flexible multi-energy approach. In May 2026, the group’s FaSTLAne 2030 plan said that Maserati would be strengthened with two new E-segment vehicles, but it did not name them or specify their powertrains. Stellantis said a detailed Maserati roadmap would be presented in Modena in December 2026.
As of 1 October 2026, it is therefore too early to state that a 2028 battery-electric Quattroporte remains confirmed exactly as announced in 2024. The earlier plan is part of the public record; the later corporate strategy leaves the final model names, timing and powertrains unresolved.
That uncertainty is unusually appropriate for the Quattroporte. The name has never depended on one drivetrain architecture. Across six generations it has used naturally aspirated and turbocharged V8s, V6 engines, diesel power, rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, hydropneumatic suspension, a De Dion axle, conventional springs, adaptive dampers, an automated-manual transaxle and conventional ZF automatics.
If Quattroporte returns, continuity will come from its role rather than from any one mechanical recipe.
Design: Frua, Bertone, Giugiaro, Gandini and Pininfarina
Few nameplates provide such a compact survey of changing Italian design ideas.
Pietro Frua’s original car belonged to the early 1960s, with slim pillars, generous glass and carefully controlled chrome. It looked expensive without appearing massive. Its elegance depended on proportion rather than ornament.
The Bertone-designed second generation was more geometric and more obviously a product of the 1970s. Its styling matched the technical break represented by the Citroën-based platform.
Giugiaro’s Quattroporte III moved into formal monumentality. Straight edges, a tall greenhouse and a long, imposing body made it appropriate as an official car. The design no longer tried to make the sedan look delicate.
Gandini reversed that trend with Quattroporte IV. The car became visually smaller and more aggressive. Its wedge-like stance and tight overhangs made it read more like a performance sedan than a traditional flagship.
Pininfarina’s 2003 M139 restored length and visual elegance, but the proportions were still dictated by a driver-focused powertrain layout. The long hood and rearward cabin expressed the fact that the engine sat behind the front axle line as far as practical.
The sixth generation, developed by Maserati’s own design organisation, retained familiar brand signatures but simplified the shape for a broader, more industrialised product strategy.
There is therefore no single “correct” Quattroporte shape. The continuity lies in attitude. A Quattroporte has usually tried to look more dynamic and less ceremonial than another luxury sedan of similar size.
Engineering identity: a luxury sedan built with GT priorities
The engineering history is just as varied, yet several priorities keep returning.
The first generation used a large V8 with clear links to Maserati’s high-performance road cars. The third restored rear-wheel drive and V8 power after the Citroën experiment. The fourth made turbocharging and compact dimensions central to its character. The fifth used engine placement and a rear transaxle to shape chassis balance. The sixth relied on turbocharged engines, near-neutral weight distribution and sophisticated suspension while adding all-wheel drive and modern driver aids.
These choices usually put the driver close to the centre of the product concept.
They also created compromises. A Quattroporte has not always isolated occupants as thoroughly as the most comfort-led luxury sedans. Some generations have suffered from weak electronics, imperfect trim quality or demanding maintenance. The M139 DuoSelect is the clearest example of a technically interesting choice that made the car less convincing in slow everyday use. The pre-Evoluzione Quattroporte IV is the clearest example of performance being undermined by quality concerns.
The model’s appeal comes partly from refusing to eliminate every sensation in the name of refinement. The steering, engine, driveline and body movements have often remained more noticeable than in a conventional limousine. Buyers who want total isolation may see that as a deficiency. Drivers who want a large sedan to retain some GT character may see it as the point.
Production scale and the changing importance of the model
Production figures show how dramatically the role of Quattroporte changed.
The first generation totalled 762 cars. The second amounted to roughly a dozen. The third reached 2,145 and the fourth 2,400. These were still small numbers even by specialist-luxury standards.
The fifth generation changed the scale completely. More than 25,000 M139 Quattroportes were produced. The sixth generation continued the expansion. By the middle of 2016, after roughly three and a half years on sale, Maserati said more than 24,000 sixth-generation cars had been delivered in 72 countries.
At the model’s 60th anniversary in 2023, Maserati reported cumulative production of more than 75,000 Quattroportes.
That figure explains why the car matters to Maserati beyond nostalgia. It was not merely a halo product occasionally revived for historical reasons. At several points, especially in the fifth and sixth generations, it became an important commercial pillar and a visible ambassador for the brand in markets where coupes and supercars alone could not create sustainable volume.
Reliability, maintenance and the problem with simple reputations
Quattroporte reliability is often reduced to a broad statement that “Maseratis are unreliable.” That is too crude to be useful.
Different generations have different evidence and different failure modes.
For the fourth generation, Maserati itself acknowledges that reliability problems existed before Evoluzione and that Ferrari-led management revised the production process and hundreds of components. That is strong evidence of a genuine product-quality issue.
For the fifth generation, the early DuoSelect cars created another kind of ownership challenge. The automated manual depended on a conventional friction clutch. Driving techniques that caused prolonged clutch slip could accelerate wear, while the transmission’s low-speed behaviour encouraged some owners to treat it like a torque-converter automatic even though it was mechanically different. Later ZF automatic cars removed much of that particular concern.
As these vehicles age, original design defects must also be separated from normal deterioration. Bushings, dampers, cooling-system components, electrical connections, seals, leather, switches and infotainment systems all age. A twenty-year-old luxury car can require major spending without having been fundamentally defective when new.
Maintenance cost is a separate issue again. Even a reliable example can be expensive because it uses specialised engines, brakes, suspension components and electronics. Used-market depreciation can lower the entry price dramatically while leaving parts prices and labour requirements tied to the car’s original position in the market.
That distinction is critical for understanding old Quattroportes. Cheap to buy is not the same as cheap to own.
Cultural presence and the official-car role
Unlike Maserati competition cars such as the 250F, Tipo 61 Birdcage or MC12, the Quattroporte did not build its reputation primarily through motorsport.
Its cultural role came from being a luxury car that still signalled performance. Maserati says the model has appeared in more than 60 film and television productions. Early cars attracted actors and European royalty. The third generation developed a direct link with the Italian presidency. The fifth became visually prominent because of its Pininfarina design and distinctive V8 soundtrack.
This gave Quattroporte an unusual symbolic range. It could serve as a government car, a celebrity sedan, an executive express or a driver’s luxury car without looking like the obvious choice from the German establishment.
That relative rarity was part of its appeal. Even when Maserati increased production substantially, Quattroporte remained uncommon enough to communicate a different set of priorities from the mainstream premium flagships.
The legacy of six generations
Calling Quattroporte an “Italian S-Class” is convenient but incomplete. Maserati’s best versions did not succeed by copying Mercedes-Benz, BMW or Audi. They approached the luxury-sedan problem from a different starting point: give a driver four doors and serious comfort without erasing the sensations associated with a grand tourer.
The first generation created that formula. The second demonstrated how far the identity could be stretched by corporate platform sharing. The third restored V8 power, rear-wheel drive and formal status. The fourth condensed the Biturbo era into a compact flagship and then became a bridge into Ferrari-led quality reform. The fifth gave the name its clearest modern expression through Pininfarina design, naturally aspirated V8 power and a chassis engineered around weight distribution. The sixth broadened the formula with turbocharging, Q4 all-wheel drive, diesel power, modern driver assistance and much higher global volume before ending with the 326 km/h Trofeo and the one-off Grand Finale.
As of October 2026, Quattroporte is not part of Maserati’s current production range, and the final specification and timing of any successor have not yet been publicly settled under Stellantis’ latest strategy.
That makes the six completed generations unusually easy to read as a record of Maserati itself. Quattroporte was never one basic car refined continuously for six decades. It was a recurring question: how should Maserati build a luxury sedan without making it feel like the company has forgotten how to build a GT?
The answers changed radically. The question endured.