Maserati Quattroporte IV

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Maserati
Maserati Quattroporte Evoluzione.jpg
Quattroporte IV
Production period: 1994-2001
Class : Upper class
Body versions : limousine
Engines:
Petrol engines : 2.0-3.2 liters
(209-240 kW)
Length: 4550 mm
Width: 1810 mm
Height: 1380 mm
Wheelbase : 2650 mm
Empty weight : 1543-1647 kg
Previous model Maserati 422
Maserati 4.24
Maserati 430 4v
successor Maserati Quattroporte V
High rear section: Quattroporte V8 Evoluzione
Wedge shape of the Quattroporte IV

The Quattroporte IV is a four-door sedan from the Italian sports car manufacturer Maserati , which was produced in two series from spring 1994 to the end of 2001. The internal factory name of the model is Tipo 337 .

The Quattroporte IV was based on the technology introduced in the Maserati Biturbo at the end of 1981 . It was the company's last new development before it was acquired by Fiat in 1994 .

background

Since the early 1960s, Maserati has regularly produced two-seater sports cars as well as sporty four-door sedans, which belonged to the upper-class market segment. The Quattroporte I was produced in 776 units from autumn 1963 to the end of 1970. The Quattroporte III appeared in the summer of 1979 and rolled off the production line more than 2000 times by mid-1986. It is one of the most successful Maserati models of the so-called pre-biturbo era. Of its successor, the largely identical Royale , Maserati only built around 50 copies from the summer of 1986 to the end of 1990.

Since 1983, the company's main focus has been on the Biturbo series , of which new engine and body versions have been presented over the years. The coupé was followed by a Spyder and, in 1986, a four-door sedan that was more than 50 cm shorter than the Quattroporte III and, unlike the latter, was not equipped with large eight-cylinder engines but with six-cylinder turbo engines with a displacement of 2.0 to 2.8 Liters. The last four-door versions had four-valve technology and were sold in Italy as the Maserati 4.24 until 1994 and as the Maserati 430 4v on the export markets .

The Quattroporte IV, presented in autumn 1993 and available from spring 1994, replaced the smaller biturbo four-door and at the same time stood in the tradition of the luxury sedans of the Quattroporte series, even if they were significantly larger and more exclusive.

Technology and structure

The Quattroporte IV was a model of the transition. It was created at a time when Alejandro de Tomaso was still running the company. Shortly after its launch, Fiat De Tomasos took over shares in Maserati. In the Fiat era and also after Ferrari (from 1997) took over the management, the Quattroporte remained a part of Maserati's model range. During this time it served as an “unpopular filler” until the “new generation” Maserati models based on Fiat technology were ready for sale. In the course of his production time he experienced numerous changes.

landing gear

For the Quattroporte IV, Maserati used the floor pan and chassis of the Maserati Ghibli , which in turn was an offshoot of the biturbo coupé. The wheelbase was lengthened by 45 mm. MacPherson struts and wishbones were used on the front wheels and a trailing arm axle at the rear . Front and rear adjustable adaptive dampers in four stages belonged to the standard equipment, which had been developed by Koni . The rear trailing arms are mounted on a subframe together with the limited slip differential . The rack and pinion steering was servo-assisted . There are disc brakes at the front and rear ; an anti-lock braking system (ABS) was installed as standard.

body

Marcello Gandini's trademark: trimmed wheel arches

The structure consisted of pressed sheet steel. It was manufactured by the Carrozzeria Golden Car in Turin .

The body of the Quattroporte IV was designed by Marcello Gandini . The structure was wedge-shaped: it had a very low front section and a high trunk. The drag coefficient was according to factory specification 0.31. A special design feature were the trimmed rear wheel arches, a trademark of Gandini, which had already been shown in his earlier designs for Maserati ( Shamal ), but also for Lamborghini ( Diablo ) and Cizeta ( V16T ).

The seats were covered with leather as standard, the dashboard was covered with elm wood.

Engines and gears

Over time, the Quattroporte was available with different engines with six or eight cylinders. Them in common was the charge by means of two turbochargers of IHI .

Six cylinder versions: Seicilindri

Logo of the six-cylinder

The base engine was a 1,996 cc V6 engine. The engine had four overhead camshafts - two for each cylinder bank - and 24 valves. The mixture was prepared via a Weber multipoint gasoline injection. The engine developed 287 hp at 6,500 revolutions per minute. It was designed with the Italian tax legislation in mind, which taxed engines with a displacement of 2.0 liters or more highly. It was only available on the Italian market.

The export versions of the Quattroporte IV were powered by a 2.8 liter version of this engine. It had a lower compression than the small engine. The torque was significantly higher, while the maximum output was slightly lower than in the 2.0-liter version. The performance was specified with 284 hp at 6,000 revolutions per minute.

In the six-cylinder models, power was transmitted either through a manually shifted six-speed transmission from Getrag or - for an additional charge - a four-speed automatic transmission from ZF .

Eight-cylinder version: Ottocilindri

Logo of the eight-cylinder
Engine compartment

From 1996 a 3.2 liter eight-cylinder engine was available as an alternative, which also had four overhead camshafts and 32 valves. The engine was originally developed for the two-door Shamal. There it made up to 326 hp. It has been revised in detail for use in the Quattroporte IV. The maximum power increased to 335 hp at 6,400 revolutions per minute. The engine block was cast at Ferrari.

Instead of the ZF automatic, Maserati used a four-speed automatic from BTR in the eight-cylinder models of the Quattroporte IV. The basic design was a BorgWarner transmission that the Australian company BTR had modified for use in high-performance Holden sedans. The automatic had switching programs for normal as well as for winter and sports operation.

Performance

In the six-cylinder versions of the Quattroporte IV, the manual versions achieve a top speed of 260 km / h according to the factory specifications; with automatic transmission the car was 5 km / h slower. The 2.8-liter version takes 5.9 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h. The eight-cylinder Quattroporte reached a maximum of 270 km / h with a manual transmission, and 100 km / h was reached in 5.8 seconds.

Versions

Interior of the eight-cylinder
Center console with Cartier clock

The Maserati Quattroporte IV was created in two series that differ in details. Significant cuts occurred at the beginning of 1998. The trigger was the fact that Fiat had transferred its Maserati shares to Ferrari. Maserati, under Ferrari's leadership, was to regain the competitiveness that the company had lost in the last few years of the De Tomaso era. Ferrari initially stopped production of the Quattroporte in the summer of 1997. In the months that followed, Ferrari renovated the outdated production facilities with the aim of improving the quality of workmanship. At the same time, the Quattroporte was revised in some technical details. Maserati said in 1998 press releases that over 400 changes had been made.

  • The first series was produced from 1994 to 1997. At the beginning of 1996, the Quattroporte was slightly revised on the occasion of the introduction of the eight-cylinder model. The main difference between the new version and the original model was the design details. Some decorative elements were omitted and the position of emblems and lettering was changed. 1,670 copies of the first series were made.
  • The second series was available from May 1998 and was given the addition of Evoluzione for both engines . The improvements that Ferrari worked out in the course of the second half of 1997 included modified cylinder heads that were supposed to enable quieter running at high speeds, a revised crankshaft and new pistons. The interior has also been redesigned in details. There were now two airbags , some switches were redesigned, and the wood that had been laid in the dash was a darker color. Maserati also enlarged the list of possible special equipment.

production

Production numbers
Seicilindri 2.0 Seicilindri 2.8 Ottocilindri 3.2 total
First series 587 668 415 1670
Evoluzione 200 190 340 730
total 787 858 755 2400

See also

Maserati Quattroporte

swell

Michl Koch: Otto dispatch . Driving report Maserati Quattroporte Ottocilindri in: Auto Motor und Sport, Issue 17/1996, S: 64 ff.

literature

  • Martin Buckley: Maserati. Italian luxury and flair . Heel Verlag, Königswinter, 2012. ISBN 978-3-86852-633-2 .
  • Cancellieri, Gianni, et al. (Ed.): Maserati. Catalog raisonné 1926–2003 . Automobilia, Milan 2003. ISBN 88-7960-151-2

Web links

Commons : Maserati Quattroporte IV  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ This is the name of Buckley: Maserati, p. 152.
  2. ↑ a b Auto Motor und Sport, Issue 17/1996, p. 66.
  3. ^ A b c Buckley: Maserati, pp. 148.
  4. ^ Auto Catalog No. 41 (1997/98), p. 103.
  5. ↑ factory information; quoted from the 1998 sales prospectus.
  6. ↑ Auto Catalog No. 42 (1998/99), p. 99.