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Road Test
Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S

More Desirable
by Jim McCauley (12 Nov 07)

So little to bring it to perfection and Maserati's Quattroporte now has a chassis that does justice to its naturally-aspirated 4.2-litre V8. The latest evolution, the £86,400 Sport GT S, is a tauter, more responsive, more refined and better braking flagship for the company's successful high-performance luxury saloon range.

Maserati Quattroporte 26 - Sport GT S.

Yet, while the improvements are significant, the changes are minimal, paying tribute to its initial excellence. The GT S sits 10mm lower at the front and 25mm lower at the rear than the other models. The effect this has on the car's image is astounding, and the darkened mesh radiator looks as though it can now scoop up anything in its path and spit it out without hesitation.

The threatening stance of the vehicle on its 20" wheels is given an edge by continuing the dark treatment on the side window trims, and twin double exhaust pipes, while body-coloured doorhandles remove the remaining detail distractions and allow the eye to focus on the body lines which clearly identify the car from any angle.

Exciting panel sculpture is normally the reserve of smaller sporting models and too often designers fail to direct the energy of their lines on larger vehicles, allowing them to meander off course and disappear in a weak dilution. Not so in the Quattroporte, where every millimetre of surface panelling conveys the energy of the car and at every angle the falling light flexes its toned muscles to display a body that is athletic, yet sinister in its now lower stance.

This teasing introduction is the first indication that this model has worked out. And indeed it has; no Skyhook suspension choices here - just the one set-up that is 25% stiffer than the Sport GT with a lower centre of gravity to make the most of the car's near-perfect weight distribution.

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