WHEN YOU TAKE the wheel of a Maserati Quattroporte, you're entitled to a mix of emotions. On the one hand, you have the joy of driving perhaps the most beautiful performance saloon in town. On the other, you might feel apprehensive about an expensive car that's said to be hard to control.
Those concerns burble to life on ignition, but they're not the end of the world for China's rich. Despite what other writers say, all you need to enjoy Maserati's flagship is an open mind, patience, and to know how to 'dance' with a car.
So, you might first enjoy sitting back in a classic that embodies the revival of the Trident marque. Maserati used to sock it to Ferrari in Formula One in the 1950s with Stirling Moss and Juan-Manuel Fangio, but concentrated on production cars in 1957. Six years later it launched its first Quattroporte (which sounds a lot more exotic than 'four door'). In a succession of sales to Citroen (1968), an Italian state body, Gepi (1975), and Fiat (1993), the marque became known for producing fast, boxy cars.
But a 50 per cent controlling stake by Ferrari changed all that, on July 1, 1997, with the launches of the head-turning GT3200 (1998), the feisty Spyder (2001) and the Coupe (2002).
Now 100 per cent owned (since 1999) by Ferrari within the Fiat group, Maserati has called in its old coachbuilders, Pininfarina, installed the Ferrari-derived, 400bhp, 4.2-litre V8 engine, and created a 5.052-metre work of art on 18-inch wheels. There's enough chrome on that grille to turn heads at a classic car meet - and keep a chauffeur busy for about 30 minutes a week.
You'll see why Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi commutes in a dark blue bullet-proofed version while Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has one in silver, a more appropriate shade for Hong Kong or Beijing's dust. That long, broad bonnet spells 'boss', and the wide rear pillars and sharp-angled screen allow a hint of who is sitting in the back. Behind the Maserati's 'smiley' air-vent and bi-Xenon headlight expression lie two large pairs of exhaust pipes under a subtly lipped boot, and three slanted vents on high-waisted flanks.
