Saturday, November 9, 2024

Maserati’s last V8 car is also the final current-gen Quattroporte – Autoblog

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Maserati said arriverderci to the V8 engine in late 2023 when it unveiled limited-edition variants of the Ghibli and the Levante. The company built its last V8 engine in July 2024 and installed it between the vented fenders of the final example of the current-generation Quattroporte

Sending off the Quattroporte, which made its debut for the 2014 model year, without a celebration was out of the question, so Maserati asked its Fuoriserie department to create a one-of-a-kind model called Grand Finale. The sedan is finished in a shade of dark blue called Blu Nobile, it’s fitted with a subtle body-colored carbon fiber body kit, and it’s equipped with brushed-aluminum brake calipers.

Low-key luxury characterizes the interior as well. There’s wood trim on the steering wheel, the center console, and the door panels, black-stitched trident logos on the headrests, and a leather-upholstered trunk. The plaque located behind the shifter lets passengers know that they’re not riding in a run-of-the-mill Quattroporte. Maserati made no mechanical changes to the sedan — power comes from a 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8 rated at 572 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque — but the folks who worked on the project signed the engine cover.

Maserati simultaneously unveiled a one-off, rainbow-themed MC20 called Iris. It’s painted in AI Aqua Rainbow with white accents, and this color was also chosen for the contrast stitching in the cabin. Blue accents on the seats and door panels add a finishing touch to the look.

Seeing these two cars side by side is interesting. While the Quattroporte represents the end of the V8 era for Maserati, the MC20 ushered in the Nettuno era. It’s powered by the V8’s replacement: a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 that makes 621 horsepower in this application.

Both cars were delivered to an American enthusiast identified only as “a significant entrepreneur in the biomedical sector.”

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