It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life.
Despite inheriting a company saddled with debt, Alejandro de Tomaso was determined to get Maserati
up, running and back into a profitable state. It helped, of course,
that Maserati had an image and reputation to fall back on, and that the Citroen-developed
models were solid bases to work on. But reheating the leftovers wasn’t a
viable long-term option – new models to ensure Maserati’s survival were
required.
Is This Our First Glimpse At A Tesla Model...
Volkswagen Gives Us A Taste Of How It Will...
It Sounds Like Aston Martin Might Build A ...
Given de Tomaso already owned his own car company (no
prizes for guessing which one that was...), it was understandable that
the decision to base this new breed of Maserati on existing de Tomaso
chassis was made. The age of De Tomaso-based Maseratis began in 1976,
with the launch of the Kyalami four-seater GT – a car that was, in
essence, just a De Tomaso Longchamp with a few subtle styling changes
and a Maserati engine under the hood (the Longchamp, in comparison, was
powered by a big-block Ford V8). As competent as the Kyalami was, it wasn’t exactly a massive sales success.
However, it was a
competent platform on which to build another new Maserati: the
third-generation Quattroporte. Plans for a Kyalami-based Quattroporte
had been circulating from the moment de Tomaso assumed his role as
Maserati’s CEO – by 1976, a pre-production prototype was already being
shown off behind closed doors. However, it wouldn’t be until 1979 that
the Maserati clientele would be able to get their hands on this new
luxury sedan. Despite being rebranded as the ‘4porte’ (the name reverted
back to ‘Quattroporte’ in 1981), the new four-door wasn’t particularly
adventurous – as perhaps expected, from a car based on a De Tomaso that
had already been on sale for seven years prior to the Maserati’s
release.
In fact, it was eerily
similar specs-wise to the original Quattroporte. Both cars, for
instance, had engines that could pump out either 255hp or 280hp, and
each could be paired up to a five-speed manual or three-speed automatic
gearbox. Even the curb weights (1,780 kg for the third-gen, 1,757 kg for
the first-gen) were pretty much on par. Appropriately, then, the
Quattroporte Mk III ended up being a nice, much-needed shot in the arm
for the company. Like the Mk I,
it wasn’t a massive seller by Maserati’s standards (especially when the
incredibly popular Biturbo was added to the range), but the package it
offered was appealing enough to over 2,100 buyers.
Enough buzz was generated
by the Mk III QP, in fact, that De Tomaso decided it would be a
brilliant idea to replace the standard model in 1987 with a more
luxurious ‘Royale’ variant. Being a built-to-order car, it’s
unsurprising that the Maserati Quattroporte
Royale only accounted for a small chunk of Mk III sales (out of the 120
planned examples, only 53 were ever built). It was, though, a very
special model to top off the Maserati range – four
electrically-adjustable leather seats, a 300-hp 4.9-liter V8 and even a
mini-bar in the back were some of the many enhancements made to the
Quattroporte in ‘Royale’ guise.
Once Quattroporte Royale
production ended in 1990, Maserati was a vastly different company to the
one de Tomaso inherited in the mid-1970s. Finances were under control,
sales were pouring in and a swathe of new, predominantly Biturbo-based
models meant that Maserati, despite all the bankruptcy-induced
hardships, now had a future. De Tomaso himself would stay in charge of
Maserati until 1993, when he sold his 51% stake in the company to Fiat
(which already owned 49% of Maserati by 1989). And, as with all the
other post-Orsi owners of Maserati, Fiat was determined to bring the
Quattroporte name back from the dead.
No comments:
Post a Comment