Maserati Quattroporte History

The Quattroporte (Italian: 'four doors') debuted at the Turin Motor Show on 30 October 1963 as the world's first high-performance luxury four-door sedan — a V8-powered, rear-drive grand saloon styled by Pietro Frua. At its launch it was the fastest four-door car in production, capable of approximately 230 km/h (143 mph). Only 230 first-generation examples were built between 1963 and 1966, but the nameplate established a new category that Maserati would own for decades.

After brief second and third generations in the 1970s and 1990s, the fifth generation (M139, 2003–2012) marked a genuine renaissance. Designed by Ken Okuyama at Pininfarina and launched at Frankfurt 2003, it rode on a shortened Quattroporte platform with a Ferrari-connected 4.2-litre V8 and a rear-mounted transaxle gearbox. This generation put Maserati back credibly among the world's sport sedans and was produced in meaningful volumes.

The sixth generation (M156, 2013–2023), dramatically larger and now powered by Ferrari-built twin-turbo V6 and V8 engines (up to 580 PS in Trofeo trim), was designed to compete head-on with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series. Over 75,000 Quattroporte examples had been made across all six generations before production ended in 2023 as Maserati pivoted to a fully electric future.