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The Maserati Quattroporte is a luxury four door sedan made by Maserati, in the country of Italy. The name Quattroporte translated means "four doors" in Italian, as it was the only sedan made by the luxury sports car manufacturer. So far the Maserati Quattroporte has been through five generations, and tends to redesign every few years or so. The first generation of the Maserati Quattroporte originated in 1963, and continued until 1969. Maserati had a high reputation at this time, as well as now. At the time, the car featured a 4.1 or 4.7 liter V8 engine, with 256 or 295 horsepower. The transmission was either a 5 speed manual, or a 3 speed automatic. Compared to newer cars today, these numbers may not seem very impressive, but for a car in 1963, these numbers were unbelievable. The next generation of the Maserati Quattroporte, known as the Quattroporte II, ranged from 1974-1978. This generation featured a complete redesign of both the interior and the exterior. The car was downgraded to a 3.0 liter, 210 horsepower v6 engine, amidst the oil crisis of the 1970s. The next generation of the Maserati Quattroporte was known as the Quattroporte III, or the Royale, and spanned from the years 1979-1990. This is one of the longest generations of the Maserati Quattroporte. This car was more popular than previous models, featured a v8 engine, with horsepower ranging from 255 to 300, depending on the engine. The car was also rear wheel drive, for better performance, and featured either a 3 speed automatic, or a 5 speed manual transmission. The Quattroporte IV was later introduced, and this would range from 1994-2001. The car was designed a little less conservative as earlier models, as it was designed by Marcello Gandini, the same person who had designed the Lamborghini Countach, the Bugatti EB110, and several other incredible Italian vehicles. This generation of the Quattroporte featured both v6 and v8 engines, with top speed around 168 mph. Also during this generation, Ferrari took over Maserati, and some changes were made in design and production. The Quattroporte V, is the generation that has been around since 2004, and is still in production today. These cars are quite rare, and are usually only seen in big cities and wealthy areas, which tend to go hand and hand. The cars are also commonly seen on television, as a Quattroporte was seen in early seasons of Entourage, being driven by Vince and his friends. This generation features a V8 engine, with horsepower ranging from 400 to 440, with a 6 speed automatic transmission. Overall, the car is absolutely beautiful, and I hope to be able to purchase one in the near future, although I would probably purchase one that is a few years old, as they tend to have low miles, and be a better value. John Stone recommends the book "Maserati: A Century of History the Official Book" , found on Amazon here
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maserati, italian sports car, sports car, exotic car,
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