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| This 1:5-scale model of a future Maserati Quattroporte design study was shown, along with a variety of illustrations, at Tokyo's "Artedinamica" exhibition in April, 2002. |
The Pininfarina styled design shown in Japan, while not necessarily reflective of the production model scheduled to appear at the next Frankfurt Motor Show in September of this year, stirs emotional ties with yesteryear more so than any other Maserati design in recent memory. It's a bold statement, incorporating a large, protruding grille, sensually curvaceous bodylines and a long, low profile. No other carmaker produces anything closely resembling its shape, nor have I seen anything near as provocative from the concept designers of any manufacturer, with the possible exception of Chevrolet's latest SS Concept - ironically penned from a company best respected for its trucks and sport utilities.
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| This spy shot of the upcoming 2004 Quattroporte shows some slight differences in shape compared to the model shown in Tokyo. Its heavy camouflage makes any other comparisons unwise. |
But it's one thing to draw beauty and another for the engineers to transform style into functionality. Often much gets lost along the way. A few recent spy photos show a very different production car than these illustrations initially previewed, but heavily masked front and rear fascias make realizing an accurate picture virtually impossible to ascertain. Thus we're left guessing.
One thing's for sure. Just like the original Quattroporte marked the first use of Maserati's race-proven V8 engine in a production car, the next generation 4-door will use race-proven V8 power. The only difference of course is that the 2004 model will derive the engine from its championship winning Ferrari sibling, as it did with the current 4200 Coupé and Spyder. There is talk of a slightly detuned 385-hp version, biased toward an increase in torque to compensate for the sedan's larger dimensions and resultant heavier curb weight. Like its sister cars the dual overhead cam, multi-valve Quattroporte engine will be 4.2-liters in size.