Fire, Grace and Passion
The Quattroporte Sport GT Automatic is Made for Enthusiasts

Sometimes life is very, very good. This is one of those times. The assignment is to drive one of the first Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT Automatics, tagging along with the factory photographers who will shoot the stills for the product brochure, ahead of the car’s unveiling at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, giving me the incredible opportunity to experience this highly anticipated car two months before the motoring press. They get their chance in late January; you get your chance with me now.

I have to reveal my biases first. I am a huge fan of the Quattroporte, especially in Sport GT guise. I’m also an admirer of the sequential manual DuoSelect gearbox, which has on numerous occasions made me seem a far more skilled driver than I am. I was curious about the automatic version of the car, but not necessarily enthusiastic. I assumed automatic versions of sports cars tend to isolate the driver, take the edge off the car, enhance comfort a bit, but at the cost of excitement. That was before I drove the QP Sport GT Auto.

If the Quattroporte is a sedan as only Maserati can do one, then the Quattroporte Automatic is an automatic as only Maserati can do one. Through a combination of engineering wizardry and innate sense for what makes a car right and fun, Maserati has whipped out a winner: an automatic sports car that seats five and makes you want to drive challenging roads coast to coast every weekend.

So it’s a Quattroporte that drives brilliantly? Yes it is, and since that isn’t ordinarily anything unusual, let’s first examine what is new about the car. Nestled behind the engine is a 6-speed ZF automatic transmission developed specifically to maintain the Quattroporte’s natural dynamic characteristics. It allows the engine to rev to a thrilling 7,200rpm, higher than any other automatic-equipped sedan, and it can shift at that engine speed to tractably maintain astounding forward thrust. Maserati engineers managed to position the auto-box so as to keep the Quattroporte’s definitive rear weight balance, a key to its sports car handling.

Tanganyika wood trim

Inside, Maserati has expanded standard features across the 2007 Quattroporte line. The generous standard features now include heated front seats, the HomeLink communications system, cabin-mounted CD-changer, power sunroof, rear park sensors and metallic paint deep enough that it seems to bend light. Virtually unchanged is the superior design of the cabin, and the impeccable finish of Poltrona Frau leather and, in the Sport GT Automatic, exceptional carbon fiber. The Executive GT accompanying us on this shoot was graced with Maserati’s attractive new Tanganyika wood trim which perfectly highlights the modern design of the dash and console. Speaking of the console, it houses the new automatic shift lever and twin cup holders which are the only clue to the car’s altered transmission. I found this as impressive as the car’s weight balance, a real testament to the care and skill of Maserati engineers since the automatic unit is physically larger than the DuoSelect gearbox which has hitherto occupied the same space. Suffice to say, the Quattroporte Automatic is still the most luxurious and inviting true sports sedan on the market.

The driving experience is not dominated by the new 6-speed ZF transmission. It is dominated, as before, by the superlative Ferrari-derived 4.2ℓ V8, burbling with 400bhp and breathing with a little extra freedom in the Sport GT thanks to its performance tuned exhaust. This is as it should be; Maserati’s V8 is renowned as the best all around power plant in the class, and the most tractable. In the Automatic it still revs with what seems like inertia-less ease, and its 7,200rpm redline genuinely differentiates the Quattroporte Automatic. A number of sports sedans leap forward when the throttle is fully depressed and the torque converter locks up; no others hold that locomotive push to the small of your back because no others rev so quickly and so high.

If the engine still dominates the driving experience, closest support comes from the dynamic engineering of this superb chassis. Steering is razor sharp and unusually accurate. There’s no slack here so, like any great sports car, the Quattroporte actually goes where you point it without plowing or wallowing as some big sedans are wont to do. The double wishbone suspension setup, enhanced and controlled by the adaptive Skyhook damping system allows one to drive the four door five-seater as if it were a Trofeo GranSport. We surprised the heck out of more than a few AMG, Quattro and M-division drivers during the shoot, scooting the big Italian through gaps the Germans could not seriously consider, loving every second of that familiar feeling when the tires bite and the suspension loads, and the car transitions through a corner with supreme confidence and ability.

The specially designed Brembo brakes aid the superb handling, of course, shedding speed with such ease and control that one must check the rearview when braking in traffic. If you think this handling prowess might be a feature unique to the Sport GT, with its 20” wheels and tires, recalibrated suspension and cross-drilled brakes with steel-braided lines, I can assure you that the Executive GT showed equal aplomb on the few occasions when the photographers relinquished their luxurious perch so I could have a go in it. Conclusion: Maserati’s engineers hit the mark squarely by ensuring the Quattroporte Automatic kept a rear weight distribution; it’s still the best handling sports sedan.

So what of the Automatic? The highest compliment must be reserved for it because it is magically unobtrusive. Enjoyment of a Quattroporte is in no way compromised by the optional transmission, and it is positively enhanced for those who prefer to let the car shift itself. It does so beautifully. At all engine speeds the torque converter does its job superbly, enabling shifts that range from almost imperceptible under moderate load, to crisp but creamy smooth under full throttle. Kickdown is virtually instant when requested, and acceleration is jovially explosive. With the column-mounted shift paddles, a standard feature of the Sport GT Automatic and available in all models, the driver is as engaged as they wish to be.