1967 Maserati Quattroporte: Italians Do It Better
Only seven examples of the first four-door Maserati ever built were delivered to England’s shores, and this is one of them.
Today, the luxury performance sedan market is ripe with fabulous offerings from a wide variety of manufacturers. But that wasn’t always the case, of course. There was a time when four-door cars were largely looked down upon, relegated to family hauler status. Then, along came the Maserati Quattroporte in the early ’60s. This groundbreaking machine managed to largely change our perception of the four-door sedan, even though it didn’t exactly break any sales records.
Part of that, of course, can be blamed on the car’s huge price tag. Only the very wealthy truly had access to cars like this, meaning that only 679 examples made it to production. And this stunning 1967 Maserati Quattroporte 1 4000 Berlina Sportiva Tipo 107 is even rarer, as it’s just one of seven right-hand drive models delivered to the U.K. It’s also headed across the block at Silverstone Auctions’ impressive Heythrop Classic Car Sale, taking place May 10 and 11.
The Quattroporte was a significant car for Maserati. It was both their first four-door sedan and first vehicle to utilize unitary construction. And yet, it didn’t lack for performance. The Quattroporte came with a 4.2-liter producing 260 hp. This engine was essentially a downsized version of the 5000 GT’s four-cam V8, and offered impressive (for the time) performance numbers. Its 8.7-second 0-60 time and 130(ish) mph top speed many not seem great today. But in the ’60s, this was very quick for a 2-ton four-seater.
The big Maserati proved to be a supremely comfortable and fun grand touring machine, despite meager sales figures. And that just makes this incredibly rare example even more special. With five owners and around 74k-miles on the clock, it’s a shining example of the breed. And today, we can look back at cars like this and their important role in shaping the automotive industry as we know it!
