Maserati Quattroporte Trofeo
The rarely spotted Italian supersaloon is still on sale, and in new Trofeo guise it’s better than ever
DON’T BE EMBARRASSED IF YOU THOUGHT Maserati had quietly put the Quattroporte out to pasture while it focused on launching the Levante SUV, revealing a hybridisation strategy for the smaller Ghibli saloon and throwing its Mc20-branded cap into the mid-engined hybrid supercar ring. I had too. Then a trio of new Trofeo models were announced earlier this year, amongst them a Quattroporte version.
In the nine years since this sixth-generation Quattroporte was launched, BMW and AMG have introduced two generations each of the M5 and E63 respectively, Audi has had two new RS6S and Jaguar has killed off the XJ. Yet still the Quattroporte catches your eye when you see it loitering in a car park, and not solely because you’re about to exclaim, ‘Look! It’s a Quattroporte! When was the last time you saw one of those?’ Rather because it still looks refreshingly cool compared to its more uptight German rivals.
Well, from the front it does, its low nose combined with Italy’s answer to today’s trend for exaggerated frontal design giving it a pseudo hot-rod look. The rear is less successful, lacking any real flair, but the overall low-slung appearance and simple approach to the four-door’s aesthetic results in a car that has to work less for your attention.
For the Trofeo, which replaces the GTS, Maserati has had a thorough read of the How to Upgrade Your Supersaloon handbook. Styling updates amount to some discreet red flashes on the front wings, red stitching inside and carbonfibre liberally applied inside and out. There’s much more to the mechanical upgrades, however, starting with the Ferrari V8. Capacity stays at 3.8 litres, but there is a new pair of higher-flow twin-scroll turbochargers, the pistons and con-rods are a new design to allow the engine to achieve its increased peak outputs more effectively, and new camshafts and valves have been installed within a pair of freshly designed cylinder heads to improve combustion efficiency and performance.
Those hoping for a roaring V8 on start-up will be disappointed; instead an incredibly quiet and refined engine note belies the 572bhp available – up from the GTS’S 527bhp. Mated to the ubiquitous ZF eightspeed gearbox it makes for an impressively refined powertrain, with credit due to those responsible for mapping that brings an unexpected cohesion between engine speeds and ratios, something that not all rivals can claim. In Drive it takes some clumsy driver inputs to instigate a flare of revs with an unnecessary downchange or the embarrassment of hanging on to a gear for too long. You can of course use the well-sized and neatly crafted paddles (mounted to the steering column for a bonus point), and you find yourself doing so more often than not because the Trofeo feels like that kind of car, one that encourages you to be part of the proceedings.
Extend the V8’s revs and it manages to deliver a sprigthly rather than explosive performance. With a kerb weight of 2000kg resuling in a power-to-weight
ratio of 291bhp per ton, the Trofeo is never going to feel feral, but its 538lb ft of torque certainly helps keep the mid-range alive, even if the engine feels like it’s running out of shove before peak power arrives at 6750rpm. Despite this, a glance at the speedo indicates you’ve reached a higher speed than you thought sooner than you expected.
As well as using the paddles more often than leaving the ZF unit in auto, selecting the Sport drive mode sharpens the responses further to provide a small additional layer of interaction. And when pushed the big Trofeo doesn’t feel like it will trip over itself. The steering is quite light, and the steering wheel diameter is also on the large side by today’s standards, but you can be precise
with the front end, and while there’s no detailed texture at your palms you can still judge when the 21-inch Pirellis are beginning to feel the strain. But there are no surprises to how the rear-drive chassis reacts and much of this is down to its Skyhook adaptive dampers.
Unlike its German rivals there is a suppleness to the Maserati, with the iron-fist approach of BMW M, AMG, Audi Sport etc replaced by a more relaxed gait, allowing the Quattroporte to flow with a calmness as it breathes with the surface rather than trying to beat it into submission.
Revisions to the QP’S geo are designed to improve and sharpen responses, while the Skyhook continuously variable dampers have also been recaliberated for a more focused performance. There’s quite some body roll, although it looks more extreme from the outside than it feels from behind the wheel, and when the car is turned-in and settled, which happens with a clean, linear motion, you can carry your speed and momentum throughout the corner as you wish rather than holding on and hoping it sticks. The long wheelbase means it’s all very controlled, with a sense that everything is happening in slow motion, any corrections requiring nothing more than a roll of the wrists to maintain the smoothness the Trofeo excels at.
For the Trofeo, Maserati has also introduced a Corsa drive mode, which enables a Launch Control function (crucial for a car with a three-metre wheelbase, seating for five and enough rear legroom for Michael Jordan to stretch out…) and engages a firmer setting for the dampers and a sharpening of the throttle and gearshift response beyond what you get in Sport mode. Unfortunately you can’t select the Corsa engine/shift setting without having
the stiffer damping, which undoes all of the Trofeo’s strong work of being a light-on-its-toes super-execsaloon. The stiffer damping adds an unnecessary harshness to the chassis that’s at odds with the car’s core attributes and brings nothing to the party. Engineers really do need to forget this whole ‘chassis stiffness equals a performance car’ nonsense.
Thankfully the Quattroporte Trofeo in its Sport mode still makes for an appealing leftfield performance saloon offering. It’s too far off the pace to be a considered an M5 Competition, E63 S or Panamera GTS rival, the Maserati’s performance and ability more closely aligning it to the likes of BMW’S M550i. But here the Italian makes for a frighteningly expensive alternative – £127,310 to the M550’s £71,425 – so it comes down to how much of a premium you’re prepared to pay for exclusivity. Hopefully some of you will be willing to stump up the extra, because the Trofeo brings joy to every drive.
Engine V8, 3799cc, twin-turbo Power 572bhp @ 6750rpm Torque 538lb ft @ 2250-5250rpm Weight 2000kg (291bhp/ton) 0-62mph 4.5sec Top speed 203mph Price £127,310
+ An alluring alternative to the German defaults
- How much?! evo rating ★★★★ ☆