Maserati Quattroporte

The Maserati Quattroporte Frua genesis begane because at the beginning of the sixties the offer of high-performance sedans was limited to a few models produced by Lancia, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz. The optimism deriving from the strong economic recovery suggested a rapid development for the luxury car market, also confirmed by the sustained Gran Turismo sports sales that saw the Italian manufacturers Ferrari and Maserati excel. Based on these predictions and inspired by an idea of ??the sports journalist Gino Rancati, the management of Maserati, at the time hired by the Orsi family, decided to start building a high-performance sedan and, an absolute novelty, with adequate characteristics. techniques, thus giving life to the concept of “sports saloon” which, in the immediate future, would have a great following and success. A Quattroporte with an open bonnet. The car was presented at the Turin Motor Show in the autumn of 1963, finding favor with the public. The elegant line by Pietro Frua, the large dimensions, the luxurious finishes, the avant-garde technical solutions and the remarkable performance of the Maserati Quattroporte made it an immediate object of desire for the wealthier social class. The success caught the Maserati management unprepared, which had started the “107” project as an image operation and, prudently, had set up the production line to build only one example a day. Despite the high price of 6,230,000 lire on the road, equal to the cost of 13 Fiat 500, the exponents of the jet set gladly bought the car. Among the politicians, Ranieri di Monaco and the Aga Khan, who even bought two, and the secretary of the CPSU Leonid Breznev, to whom it was donated by the leadership of the PCI, in 1968.