It is Easy Being Green
Quattroporte Adds Authentic Sparkle to Tinseltown

Los Angeles is a city where being seen, and being noticed, comes high on the list of many people’s priorities, a tendency which is accentuated in the two areas whose names have become synonymous with entertainment – Hollywood and Burbank. When we took a cruise through the area we may not have set out to get noticed, but that was the almost inevitable result in our car of choice – a Maserati Quattroporte DuoSelect.

Wherever we stopped, whether it was at a red light or a restaurant, we were the center of attention. Unfamiliar with its unmistakably stylish looks, people wanted to know more: is it really a Maserati? How fast will she go? What’s under the hood? Perhaps the somewhat unusual color of the car helped; you don’t see too many Maseratis with deep green paintwork. In our opinion, that’s something of a shame, since the dark metallic green – named Verde Goodwood – of ‘our’ car looked marvelous, in some lights shading almost to black, in others showing tremendous green depths.  In combination with grigio leather interior, it was a real testament to Officine Alfieri Maserati personalization. It would be tempting to say that admirers were green with envy, but, unlike some less subtle and sophisticated marques, Maseratis do not seem to engender negative responses from other people.

I say ‘our’ car because it was loaned to us by our authorized Maserati dealer, the Auto Gallery in Calabasas, California, for the trip. Having picked up the car at the showroom, we headed for Burbank – along the usual traffic-clogged LA freeway. The DuoSelect proved itself almost as adept at handling such conditions as the recently introduced Automatic; the ample torque from the 4.2-liter V8 engine meant that there were several gears to choose from for any given cruising speed, and the DuoSelect transmission reacts so quickly that a couple of nudges on the Down paddle sent the car surging forward to take advantage of any small opening.

Burbank is a remarkable place to drive, simply because it is filled with famous names – Universal Studios here, Warner Brothers there. Just up the road are the studios of NBC, where The Tonight Show with Italian car aficionado Jay Leno is recorded; even Burbank’s airport reflects the area’s entertainment industry heritage, having recently been renamed the Bob Hope International Airport.

As we took in the sights, it became clear that the Maserati Quattroporte wasn’t overshadowed. The beautiful design, styled by Pininfarina, drew admiring looks throughout the day. Wherever we parked, the Maserati was likely to draw a crowd. But we had some dynamic enjoyment in mind for our next destination, and so left the crowds and the traffic behind as we headed to one of the great urban roads: Mulholland Drive. Finding it was a little tricky, but it was certainly worth the effort; it winds its way through the hills, offering a true challenge to any car with sporting pretensions.

The Quattroporte is more than equal to the challenge, its handling little short of miraculous for what is, after all, a luxury four-seat sedan capable of transporting a family of adults in luxury. When we clicked it into Sport mode, tightening the suspension and instructing the DuoSelect transmission to change gears even more rapidly, the synergy of car, driver and road drew into yet sharper focus. In true Maserati fashion, the steering of the Quattroporte is both rapid and remarkably communicative, while the suspension provides excellent cushioning. The driver is always aware of the road surface and the level of grip, feedback most other cars may simply smother in an effort to isolate occupants, but which in the Quattroporte helps allow a greater margin of safety and driving enjoyment.

As the day drew to a close, we headed to historic Griffith Park. This is a great place to visit, particularly the famous Griffith Park Observatory, recently reopened following renovations, but not yet approachable by car.  Nevertheless, the park roads allow for some highly spirited driving as they include massive elevation changes, frequent “twisties” and even a few tunnels which are best enjoyed by lowering the window, dropping down a couple of gears and burying the throttle.  There’s some lovely scenery as well; indeed, some of the most classic Los Angeles architecture of the mid-Twentieth Century is to be found on the fringes of Griffith Park, heirloom mansions and cozy homes the style of which would be set off brilliantly by a QP in the driveway. 

In search of the real Hollywood, the Hollywoodland which the famous sign was built to promote, we descended from Griffith Park and began to climb the adjacent Hollywood Hills.  Wide boulevards quickly give way to roads that seem impossibly narrow for modern traffic and which wind sinuously between unique houses that seem to defy physics as they cling to the hills.  This is perhaps the best way to get a closer look at possibly the most famous ‘billboard’ in the world – the ‘Hollywood’ sign, perched on the side of a hill overlooking the neighborhood. Intended to be viewed from afar, it isn’t easy to get particularly close, but the excellent navigation system in our Quattroporte provided invaluable guidance as we could never quite tell which way the roads would turn. 

Complicated and at times slow, such driving is immensely enjoyable and brings out a different side of the four door supercar: its incredible comfort.  This can often be taken for granted as one thrills to the road-holding and accessible power, but in a setting of slow driving on steep byways, on which the instant control of a DuoSelect is invaluable, one also notices the exceptional comfort of the soft but supportive leather seats, the imperturbable climate controls, and the superb Bose audio.  This is a relaxing and confident venue from which to negotiate steep, serpentine residential streets occasionally having to back up and allow an oncoming car room to pass. Of course, the Maserati was the ideal companion, the engine purring around the curves at little more than idling speed.

Since we were in the area we took a detour to see The Hollywood Bowl, site of so many entertainment triumphs. If only we could have taken the car up on stage – the mellifluous tones of the tuned exhaust and burble of the 4.2 liter Ferrari-sourced V8 would surely entrance an enthusiast to the same degree as a Pops concert! But the Hollywood Bowl is not just about superb performances, it is about presence, timeless design, and the genuine exclusivity of being the very best.  In these regards as well, the Quattroporte is a perfect match, particularly because we happened to be in a tastefully personalized car.

Heading back to Calabasas, this time through light evening traffic, we made better time on the ostensibly dull freeway made special for us by the Quattroporte. It is worth making time in your own schedule to try Maserati’s world-beating sedan, whether your aim is to be noticed or simply to experience one of the finest, most practical luxury sports cars money can buy. Contact your local authorized Maserati dealer to discuss a test drive.  Contact the Auto Gallery to give “our” singularly verdant Quattroporte the home it deserves.