Quattroporte Ideal for California’s Backroads
Great Driving, Superb Car along Pacific Coast

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.” Those are the final lines of the poem The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost. While Frost may not have intended the poem to suggest that the road less travelled is the better choice, there are certainly occasions when that is true. And, on a recent trip to California, we used it as our guide.

Almost everyone has heard of the Pacific Coast Highway, the sinuous ribbon of tarmac which hugs the coastline from Monterey down to San Luis Obispo. Far fewer people realize that Highway One extends north of San Francisco, following the coast for a hundred and fifty miles or more to Fort Bragg and beyond. When we were in the area, we restricted ourselves to the stretch which runs to Bodega Bay – it proved a wonderful area to explore in a Maserati Quattroporte.

Bodega Bay is around fifty miles from downtown San Francisco, as the crow flies (or the seagull – more on that later), but the way the roads in the area twist and turn made our drive considerably longer. A packed itinerary made it impossible to cover the road in both directions so we luxuriated on the freeway north to Santa Rosa, our overnight stop. As always, the Quattroporte proved itself the ideal car for such a journey, making effortless progress through the traffic. While it handles like a sports car, the suspension somehow manages to smother the usual highway imperfections without ever feeling too soft.

Heading to Bodega Bay for dinner, we ate at the Tides Wharf and Restaurant. Bodega Bay was immortalized in the Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds, starring Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor; much of the film was shot in the surrounding area, and the Tides Restaurant was used prominently in the film. Early next morning we returned to make use of the dawn light to get some photos of the car on roads which, like Bodega Bay itself, nestle between verdant old growth forests and the stunning Northern California coast. Having parked near some buildings, we became increasingly aware that seagulls were starting to perch on the roofs – one or two at first, but soon a dozen or more were taking an interest in us, with others circling in. Rather than tempt fate, we packed our gear into the capacious trunk of the Quattroporte and started to head south.

As it leaves Bodega Bay, Highway One actually heads inland, and is called Valley Ford Cutoff. The inland route is caused by the Estero Americano, a shallow estuary which is surrounded by 400 acres of wetlands and which provides a natural haven for fish, shellfish, reptiles and amphibians – and, of course, birds. Once past the estuary, Highway One turns off Valley Ford Road – and we got our first clue as to the nature of what was to come. The short straight after the turnoff was marked by the signs of countless burnouts and donuts done by racing bikes; like drivers of high performance sports cars, sports bike riders simply adore roads which couple fast sections with challenging bends, especially when they are combined with a good road surface and little traffic.

That proved to be the perfect description of Shoreline Highway. Over the next couple of hours we saw almost no other traffic, and the twists, turns, rises and dips of the road provided a constant challenge. Our Maserati Quattroporte Executive GT was more than up to the task, tackling the corners at a pace which belied the size of the luxury sedan. But all that was to come – the first stretch of road had fast, open curves crossing farmland on its way towards the coast. We cruised through the town of Tomales; this attractive place seemed cursed in its early years. Fires ravaged the town in 1877, 1891 and 1898, and the 1906 earthquake leveled many houses and the Catholic church – and another fire destroyed almost every business property in the town. Nowadays it’s a picturesque little place, the old-fashioned storefronts beckoned invitingly as we ambled through but the Quattroporte and this incredible stretch of black top was the better place to be.

Just a couple of miles further on, the road reached the sea – but not the open coast. Here the shore forms one side of Tomales Bay, an inlet a mile or so wide, with Point Reyes Peninsula on the far side. The views are spectacular – but the road gave us little chance to enjoy the scenery. The road twisted and turned with a vengeance, and the constant rise and fall made for a seemingly endless succession of blind crests and corners. The Quattroporte remained unfazed by everything the road served up; the way the chassis remained stable and controlled, and the levels of grip on offer, allowed us to carve our way at a remarkable pace.

At one point our photographer thought that a particular sequence of corners would make a good location for some action shots set against the bay. Given the opportunity to make repeated passes over the same stretch, we were able to push the Quattroporte ever harder, yet the only limits we found were within ourselves. The 4.2-liter V8 engine provided a great soundtrack for our exploits, rendering the exceptional Bose sound-system temporarily redundant.

The scenic nature of this wonderful area was only emphasized after we had reached the end of the bay. As we continued south down Highway One we had the Golden Gate National Recreation Area on our left, and the Point Reyes National Seashore on our right. And as we neared the sea, and the road skirted Bolinas Lagoon, the road once more twisted and turned as it tracked the shoreline, giving us further opportunities to revel in the handling and performance of the Quattroporte. The car seems to have a remarkable ‘Clark Kent / Superman’ ability to transform itself; if you are content to amble along, enjoying the stunning scenery from the serenity of the cabin, then the car will match the mood perfectly. Succumb to the temptation of hurling the car through the bends and it responds with alacrity, the Skyhook adaptive suspension keeping the body under firm, but not jarring, control.

As we neared San Francisco we turned off Shoreline Highway- opting instead for the aptly named Panoramic Highway. This proved to be an excellent choice; if anything, the road was even more challenging than what had gone before. As it made its way out of Stinson Beach the variety of corners was even greater, helped by the steep gradient – there were even a couple of tight hairpin bends to tackle. On and on the road climbed, working its way through Mount Tamalpais State Park. We worked the Quattroporte ever harder, grateful the climate control was able to keep us cool as the work rate increased.

Finally, at the southern end of the park, we rejoined Highway One. Our trip was almost over; tired but happy, we opted for a gentle pace on the final descent as we made our way to Mill Valley. Once the descent was complete we headed for Maserati of San Francisco, to return the car they had generously loaned us. It had been a fantastic trip – proof that often you do not need to travel hundreds of miles to find roads which are almost deserted, spectacular scenery, and a drive to challenge any car – a challenge the Maserati Quattroporte accepted with relish.