What's the deal with the quattroporte?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nightmage82
  • 38 comments
  • 2,819 views

Purely based on the way it looks, what do you think of the Maserati Quattroporte?

  • I agree with you Paul, it sucks!

    Votes: 12 29.3%

  • You need some glasses, Paul, It's absolutely beautiful!

    Votes: 29 70.7%
  • Total voters
    41
Nightmage82

Nightmage82

Messages
1,494
Ok simple deal guys. I first saw the Maserati Quattroporte outside my uni pretty much the same month it came out in magazines. To be fair, my first impression, which is still my impression to this day was: :yuck:

I thought "oh ok, so the italians have started taking queues from failed british motorcars from the 60's and combining them with korean family sedan lines". To my utter surprise, I haven't yet met a person who thinks it's anything less than beautiful. And the magazines seem to agree!

I don't get it, perhaps someone could explain it to me. My taste in cars I would say it fairly mainstream, I think some of the most beautiful are cars like the F40, XJ220, 997 GT3, Speedster, F275GT/4, Ferrari P4 etc.

But when I see the quattroporte I see a car that is too long, a car that has a kink in the middle for no reason, a car that has a mismatched front and rear, and virtually every part is out of proportion with other parts making it ungainly.

Comments appreciated!
 
Well i don't know about you,but i think the car is ok even though the Maserati is nowhere near as good as the other luxury cars.The power and interior is good,but everything else about the car is disappointing.
 
I've never been a fan of it myself. It is just too fussy, with too many details that kind of clash. The headlights look out of proportion to the grill and the back end of the car is too plain in comparision to the rest of it. Also what is with those portholes in the front wings?!?
 
Who voted for the "You need some glasses, Paul, It's absolutely beautiful!"? I can't believe it!Are we that blind to say that the car is ugly?I think not.....
 
I am Sparticus!

No wait, I voted You need some glasses, Paul, It's absolutely beautiful! !

What can I say, it all seems to 'work'. It has a large grill that doesn't resemble a guppy fish, the body work is smooth and fairly subtle and yet I wouldn't call it bland.

However, as always in these "how does it look" discussions, I'm legally obliged to add that I think the BMW Z8 looks like a cross eyed frog.
 
I find the poll is very limited. You're saying we actually love it or hate it? I'm in-between. The rear end and grill are great, but the overall profile of the car seems a little too fussy.

I'm voting for beautiful anyway...
 
Depends on your point of view. It is a striking thing, but no, personally I don't like it. I think I'd probably change my mind if I drove it. I'm going to have a bit of a personal ramble now, hope you all don't mind.

If you wanted a striking, undeniably stylish four door, four seat supercar, you'd consider it. You'd probably have a slightly cavalier and/or latin view on life, and wouldn't mind spending an arm on a leg on servicing, or having questionable electrics. (Yes, they still suffer.)

If you were slightly, say, conservative, you'd buy a Mercedes.

If you had no taste, you'd a buy a BMW 7-series. (Sorry guys, but even though the cars are incredible pieces of engineering and handle with such sublime grace, you could make them into cheesecake and stick an 'ambrosia' badge on them, they've been styled by a weirdo. Anyone who thinks that new concept is 'beautiful' as opposed to 'slightly less hideous than every other current BM' then you too need a good optometrist/psychiatrist.)

If you had no sense of style but lots of money (and luggage) you'd buy a Bentley.

And if you were perfectly normal (and rich, which says something too) but wanted to stunt the growth of your kids (or just didn't like your business acquaintances) you'd wait for the Aston Martin Rapide.

V.
 
well that says it,the Maserati Quattroporte sucks!:yuck: If i had the money,ill buy whatever car that doesn't have a masurati in it (it also depends on what typy of car you are talking about) Heck,ill buy an Audi S8 or even a Volkswagen Phaeton (both are more luxurious and more powerful)
 
mnm_bmx
well that says it,the Maserati Quattroporte sucks!:yuck: If i had the money,ill buy whatever car that doesn't have a masurati in it (it also depends on what typy of car you are talking about) Heck,ill buy an Audi S8 or even a Volkswagen Phaeton (both are more luxurious and more powerful)
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I'd question whether an S8 or Phaeton were more luxurious than the Maserati. However, it's the "Boxster effect".

The guy who has an S8 knows that somewhere there's a guy with an A3 saying "You're car is like mine!". However, you won't get that with the Maserati, atleast not with the same 'ouch' facter.
 
I'm going to agree with the statements I've heard from more then one person and say it does in fact look like an upscale, Italian Buick.
 
Haha! misspelled it :lol: but never mind.Its always fun to do something like that (makes and argument more interesting) but ill stop arguing now.To be fair,yeah it maybe look ok but i think maserati just are not good making 4 door luxury sedans.The maserati 3200GT and the maserati coupe is awesome (but like i said,there are better cars than maserati) But still,its you guy that have the say,not me :p

(by the way,do i make myself look like a fool in here :dopey: ?)
 
I wouldn't say it was that beautiful, but I like it more than I dislike it.


Joey D
I'm going to agree with the statements I've heard from more then one person and say it does in fact look like an upscale, Italian Buick.
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Most people would say Buicks are good all-round cars.
Most would also say that Italian cars are fast and stylish.

Put the two together and get something that looks like an Italian Buick....

.....is it a bad thing?

Conclusion - Fast and stylish Buick!
 
Oh I don't think it's a bad car or even an ugly car, just that if Italians made a Buick that's what it would look like.
 
I love the look of the car, personally. The engine alone makes it worth the entry price...

Considering how well it performs despite its size, the only other full-sizer that I really love over the Quattroporte would probably be my beloved S-Class, or maybe the Jaguar XJ...
 
I saw a pre-production Quattroporte on the freeway several months before it was released. At that time, I had no idea what it was (I wasn’t close enough to read the badges – I could only barely see the back), and I honestly thought it was a Korean car, because the rear lights looked like they were designed by Hyundai. I think I even had a conversation with Doug about it, and I probably asked him if a new Korean car was coming out. It wasn’t until I read a press release several months later that I released it was a Maserati.

2004.hyundai.xg350.28975-E.jpg


112_2007_detroit_auto_show_621s+2007_maserati_quattroporte_automatica+rear_view.jpg
 
I voted for you needing glasses, but my real vote would have been for, "well i like it but i can see why some people wouldnt".
 
I've seen about 30 Quattroportes (including six Sport GTs) on about 45 occaisions, and I can firmly state that the styling has never grown on me - taken as a whole, I dislike it.

But we must remember: we aren't the kind of person Maserati is trying to appeal to. Those people seem to be enjoying it, because the vehicle is selling quite well.
 
I'd buy one because it's a Maserati. Then I'd sell it because it's ugly and buy something that looks good, like a Saturn Aura. Or two.

The Quattroporte is one of the most god-awfully ugly cars I've ever seen. Right up there with everyone's favorite Jellybean Taurus. The only thing cool about that car was the air conditioning (literally) and the SHO's tiny but gutsy V8.
 
Thanks for all your comments, guys.

G.T
I find the poll is very limited. You're saying we actually love it or hate it? I'm in-between. The rear end and grill are great, but the overall profile of the car seems a little too fussy.

I'm voting for beautiful anyway...
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To all the people who think the poll is limited, it was meant to be. I don't think sports/luxury cars costing more than $100k/£50k should be allowed to be middle of the road. They should either be utilitarian, form over function and deliver the best performance due to aerodynamics etc, or they should be great but beautiful and thereby sacrificing a little optimal aero performance.

Hence this maserati should either be "yeah its ugly but look at all the space it has inside for cup holders!" or "its a saloon and yet looks like a ferrari, i love it" to me it's neither.


Sage
I saw a pre-production Quattroporte on the freeway several months before it was released. At that time, I had no idea what it was (I wasn’t close enough to read the badges – I could only barely see the back), and I honestly thought it was a Korean car, because the rear lights looked like they were designed by Hyundai. I think I even had a conversation with Doug about it, and I probably asked him if a new Korean car was coming out. It wasn’t until I read a press release several months later that I released it was a Maserati.

2004.hyundai.xg350.28975-E.jpg


112_2007_detroit_auto_show_621s+2007_maserati_quattroporte_automatica+rear_view.jpg
Click to expand...

I love that, and it's pretty much what I thought too. Thought it was some sort of asian kia hybrid :yuck:

lol

And as for the post about the 7 series, hell yeah. bangle should be shot. although lots of people like his cars so maybe he's doing something right huh...

one thing's for sure, you wont catch me buying an E60...
 
I don't remember who I got the idea from, but Joey got the "Italian Buick" idea from me, so naturally I agree with him. :lol: And considering I think Buicks are some of the absolute worst cars ever built, you can take that as a bad thing.

The Quattroporte is so ugly not even its mother could love it.

harrytuttle
I think the current one looks good, and in the context of the previous Quattroporte, it looks fantastic:

qp3-01a.jpg
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Are you one of those types who is afraid to like 1980s cars? :p

That thing is kickass, and a thousand times better-looking than the new Quattroporte.

Nightmage82
And as for the post about the 7 series, hell yeah. bangle should be shot. although lots of people like his cars so maybe he's doing something right huh...
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BMW addict as I may be, the facelifted E65 7er really isn't that bad.* BMW definitely pulled an "oops, sorry guys" on it. Then again, I'd never buy one anyway, so I couldn't care less if people think it's ugly.

Nightmage82
one thing's for sure, you wont catch me buying an E60...
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The E60 5er certainly has goofy qualities to it, but looking at it as a whole it really isn't as outlandish as people make it out to be.*



* - I may defend modern BMW design, but I'd much rather own their earlier cars -- I can tolerate the new styling, but I love the old styling.
 
Joey D
Oh I don't think it's a bad car or even an ugly car, just that if Italians made a Buick that's what it would look like.
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Because it has portholes, is that it?


I absolutely love the car, esp. the Sport GT which has lapped times equal or faster than M5 such as Beford Autodrome by EVO. The audio from it's essentially, derived F430 V8 gives it a powerful sound, and while it's new automatic option puts it even farther away from the machine the Quattroporte should be with the V8 it has, it's 6-speed manual remains to keep the car Italian.

Most people won't like the Quattroporte, which is fine by me since that means more Quattroportes for me to ever choose from.
 
Wolfe
Are you one of those types who is afraid to like 1980s cars? :p
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Not at all. I love the 924/944, the Z cars, BMW, Audi, the cheeseball supercars.... Of course, having seen all that when it was new certainly helps, but the 70's and 80's Quattroporte looked about as graceful as the Lagonda. :yuck: It was no coincidence that both Maserati and Aston Martin disappeared into the background of the automotive market around that time, and mechanical expectations weren't a help either.

I can see how some people love that look, but other than the Esprit and Countach, I never thought the wedge shape looked good, especially on sedans.
 

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