Cruising Connecticut in a Quattroporte Executive GT
Refined sedan the ideal companion for a tour of the Constitution State

Given a fine day, no traffic and a twisting, challenging road, the driving seat of a Maserati Quattroporte is a truly great place to be – the ‘best seat in the house’, from where you can appreciate the finest sports sedan in the world. Attack the curves and you will find the way the car reacts to be scarcely credible; four-door luxury cars simply can’t handle like this, can they?

Well, in the case of the Quattroporte, they certainly can. The engineers in Modena have spent countless hours working on such details as weight balance, suspension settings and engine mapping, while test drivers have covered thousands of miles across all kinds of terrain, ensuring that the designers have indeed managed to achieve their goals.

Now, if your typical journey is spent in traffic, where the only highlight is an occasional sprint to the heady speed of 50mph, you might think all that effort would be pretty much wasted, something akin to buying a thoroughbred racehorse to pull a buggy. Quite simply, you couldn’t be more wrong. The refined interior and top-quality materials make the cabin of a Quattroporte a wonderfully relaxing place to be, even when conditions don’t allow much use of the prodigious performance.

For a couple of days in Connecticut, we took time out to savour the more relaxed side of the Quattroporte’s nature as we explored the villages and byways around the historic town of Greenwich. Some might view such a leisurely trip as a wasted opportunity, given that we had a Quattroporte Executive GT Automatic at our disposal, but we disagree. The Quattroporte may have the performance and handling of a sports car – “the best handling sedan I’ve ever driven”, according to one Motor Trend tester – but it is equally adept at a relaxed cruise as it is at tackling a winding road.

As we pulled away from Miller Motor Cars, in Greenwich, we got an early opportunity to enjoy the serene calm within the Quattroporte’s cabin as we joined the traffic thronging Route 1. Unlike some of our more spirited drives, where the glorious exhaust note from the 4.2-liter V8 engine was an integral part of the whole experience, we took the time to appreciate the 9-speaker Bose® sound system. The system does such a good job of faithfully reproducing music that it made us feel that perhaps we should spend more time listening to it – but then a gap in traffic opened up, so we quickly tapped the paddle-shift a couple of times to drop down two ratios; hearing the engine note soar as the V8 leapt up to 7,000rpm made us think that, actually, listening to that particular soundtrack would always be our preferred listening!

We peeled off Route 1 and headed down Greenwich Avenue, lined on both sides with upmarket shops and boutiques. Our Quattroporte ambled unobtrusively down the street, but its achingly beautiful lines – courtesy of Pininfarina – attracted admiring glances as we made our way down to the southern edge of town and the shore of Long Island Sound. It’s a curious fact about Greenwich that it doesn’t matter whether you head directly north, south, east or west, you end up in New York State – Westchester to the north and west, Long Island to the south and east.

Lying within easy reach of Manhattan and well served by road and rail, this area of Connecticut is home to numerous financial high-flyers and entrepreneurs; the beaches and harbors on Long Island Sound merely add to the allure of the region. As we headed east towards Bridgeport, we opted not to take the interstate; instead, we explored some of the communities which cluster along the shore. The roads twist and turn as they follow the waterline, but they aren’t the place to explore the handling of the Quattroporte; instead we allow the six-speed ZF gearbox to take care of itself as we amble past, the Maserati perfectly at home amidst such elegant dwellings. Indeed, at one point we inadvertently found ourselves in a private community; the guard, seeing us approach from his partially hidden gatehouse, naturally concluded that such a fine car was on its way to the country club, and waved as we drove by.

From Bridgeport we headed north to Waterbury; as we moved away from the coast, the traffic thinned out. Now, low-speed cruising and sightseeing are all well and good, but every Quattroporte was designed and built to be driven hard. So we found a near-deserted country road, which offered an entertaining challenge as it wound its way though the glorious Connecticut countryside, and we let the Maserati do what it does best – be the finest-handling sports sedan available. The leather-clad seats provided just the right degree of support as we tackled the curves, and the V8 engine delivered its marvellous accompaniment to our spirited driving.

At one stage we found ourselves alongside a sports bike at a red light. We each glanced over in mutual admiration at the other machinery – and when the light turned green we accelerated away alongside each other, plunging into a series of challenging curves. This was far from a race – both of us were capable of significantly higher speeds, had we been on a track – but more of a shared experience, both of us revelling in the handling of our own vehicle while admiring that of the other. A mile or so later, as the motorcycle peeled off to exit, we each gave the other the thumbs up in appreciation.

The following day we continued our exploration of the back roads of Connecticut, heading to Danbury and eschewing the fast but relatively unchallenging I-84 in favor of the state roads. The Skyhook suspension dealt with the changing road surface with complete efficiency, even areas where the harsh winters had left their mark. Driving a Quattroporte is always a pleasure, and the change of pace for this trip didn’t change that feeling. It is remarkable how the Maserati can cope with almost anything asked of it, whether it is long-distance high-speed mile-eating, hard charging on a twisting, hilly road or cruising though towns and villages.

The interior of ‘our’ car was as classy as they come, with the fine leather and wood trim making it a thoroughly relaxing environment. But such refinement would be worth little if the ride were too firm, bouncing the occupants around. Similarly the wonderful performance available from the engine would be wasted on a chassis which smothered road imperfections with excessively soft suspension. Spend any time in a Quattroporte, and you will quickly appreciate that all those hours of research and miles of testing were most definitely worth the effort.

As our time with the Quattroporte Executive GT came to an end we headed once more to Greenwich, and the striking architecture and interior of the Miller Motor Cars showroom. Given more time, we would have loved to have headed further east, visited Hartford, perhaps even gone as far as Rhode Island. As it was, our brief trip had given us a taste of some of the delights on offer away from the beaten track in Connecticut, and reminded us once more that the Maserati Quattroporte is a superlative way to explore. Contact your local authorized Maserati dealer to arrange a test drive, and discover for yourself that, whatever the roads, whatever the trip, the Quattroporte makes an ideal partner.