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Monaco. The legendary principality on the Mediterranean
coast of France near Nice, the smallest of its kind in the
world other than the Vatican, at 0.76 square miles, houses
more than 32,000 permanent residents. At the 1957 Grand
Prix in Monaco, the late Prince and Princess, Rainier and
Grace née Kelly, congratulated the winning driver as they
did every year. That year it just happened to be Juan Manuel
Fangio at the wheel of a Maserati on the way to his fifth
world championship title and Maserati's second. The Prince
would purchase a Maserati of his own in years to come; a
Quattroporte, which was considered the best sport sedan in
the world when it debuted in 1962.
Hallowed ground? Maybe, at least to classic movie buffs
and those who religiously follow the F1 circus each season.
Maserati no longer enters the race, now being part of the
Fiat group that also is Ferrari's controlling shareholder.
Monaco was nevertheless a fitting locale to launch the
updated Quattroporte Automatica, the first fully automatic
Maserati in a very long time. Around an oval table in a private
room within the Monaco Bay Hotel & Resort, Maserati
Global President and CEO Roberto Ronchi told us that the
six-speed ZF-built automatic transmission in the
Quattroporte was two years in co-development, an undertaking
that the Italian firm obviously did not embark on lightly.
Prior to the Automatica, the only transmission available
in the Quattroporte was Maserati's DuoSelect, a sequential
manual, derived from the coupe's Cambiocorsa unit that,
many iterations earlier, was Ferrari's F1 gearbox. The
Quattroporte's transmission is much more refined, and to
many Maseratisti is one of the key ingredients that goes into
making the marque's four-door one of the best luxury-sport
sedans in the world. There are some, mind you, who want
more of a luxury bias, and for these the Automatica is born.
To allay any concerns as to its sporting pretensions, the
new Q auto is the speediest in its segment at 5.5 seconds to
60 mph; 0.4 seconds shy of the DuoSelect version. Each
goes on to a top speed of 167.8 and 170.9 mph respectively.
Not too shabby – and optional steering wheel mounted paddle
shifters can be added to enhance the Automatica experience.
But to be clear, sheer acceleration numbers are hardly
what the Quattroporte is about. No, the Quattroporte is more
about balance.
It is also more about sumptuous Italian leathers stitched
together with almost purposeful imperfections here and
there, so that its hand-crafted artisanship is noticeable.
Comparatively, its
Japanese and German
counterparts seem more
clinical in their approach
to both luxury and performance.
The Quattroporte seems the
product of one clear,
unhindered vision, where
the others appear to be the products of collectives – talented
collectives, but agreement by consensus just the same. My
poor navigational skills while in the passenger seat, mind
you, can only be blamed on individual effort.
After getting thoroughly lost in only a single mile, turning
around, and then getting lost again, we were able to
cover more ground in our Q than anyone else at the event;
clearly an advantage for testing the car's high-speed prowess
when backtracking on the A8 towards Nice. Of course,
breaking the Euro speed limit is no problem for the
Quattroporte, and maintaining a quiet, controlled demeanor
at the brisk pace is equally uneventful. No doubt, the car is
well suited to our North American freeways, although a
warning is due: you'll be risking more than your license if
you allow this sedan to find its comfort zone while touring a
local Interstate. Try jail time. Yes, as previously mentioned
it's fast, and even if you tempt me with a bar of Lindt
Excellence 85% Cocoa dark chocolate, I'll never tell you
whether or not I verified the claim. Suffice to say that my
colleague and I were impressed.
More true to daily driving in a big city, however, we also
found it quite comfortable in stop and go traffic. As luck
would have it, a semi jackknifed on the highway as we were
coming back into Monaco, making our drive feel more like
an afternoon heading out of Venice on our way to Valencia
(California that is), or for that matter rush hour en route
from Manhattan to Jersey through the Lincoln Tunnel, or
any other bumper-to-bumper time waster you might happen
to know of. Fortunately for us, this was the wind-down of a
spectacular day of motoring up in the French mountains and
along the circuitous roadways of the Côte d'Azur, where the
scenery is as spectacular as the roads themselves.
For more on this article and much more grab a copy of Auto Aficionado Magazine on newsstands nationwide!
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