Vast and furious
You either 'get' this multi-talented car or you don't. Buy one if your heart occasionally tells your head to shut up
It's fast, entertaining in corners and looks and sounds fantastic 
It's thirsty, and less spacious or refined than rivals Maserati’s flagship gets a makeover and some added muscle, with a 4.7-litre V8 in the new Quattroporte S
By Leow Ju-Len in Salzburg, Austria
SUPPOSE YOU RETURN home and find an Italian sexpot on your bed, nude as a newborn and cooing in feline fashion. Instead of diving out of your clothes and into the sheets to mingle with her writhing form, you stand her up and push her out of the window.
Effectively, that’s what happens each time someone rejects a Maserati Quattroporte in favour of something like a BMW 750Li.
More’s the pity, too, especially now that the Quattroporte has received a number of updates for 2009.
There’s the obligatory cosmetic facelift, with the car receiving new bumpers front and rear reshaped to a degree sufficient to actually add slightly to the car’s length.
The revamped Quattroporte has a sculpted, more sharply-edged nose, too, incorporating upright grille slats to better resemble the shapely GranTurismo. No bad thing, that.
And just in case you really can’t tell old from new apart, look for LEDs in the lamp clusters.
All nice, I’m sure you’ll agree, but there’s better news concerning stuff more central to the core of the car. A Quattroporte S joins the range, bringing with it 4.7-litre V8 power, and it’s see how anyone is going to want the 4.2 now.
There’s a hike in power to 430bhp, and correspondingly the dash to 100km/h drops by 0.2 seconds (to 5.4 seconds). If you’ve got the balls for it, you’ll see 280km/h, too (10km/h up on the 4.2-litre).
Numbers aside, that’s a deeper rumble to the exhaust, and noticeably more oomph to call on. Though there’s still a fabulous V8 soundtrack when you cane the engine, there’s seldom a need to wind the 4.7-litre all the way to the redline, making for swifter progress than in the base model, but with a calmer delivery.
But it’s when the tarmac begins to snake left and right that the Quattroporte owners are likely to be happiest.
Despite its size and weight, the Maserati has never exactly relied on luck to get it around corners, making the most of its balance and steering accuracy instead. Quattroporte S models go one better with factory-fitted ‘Skyhook’ active suspension, however.
Pushing the ‘Sport’ button on the dashboard firms up the dampers, while sharpening up the engine and gearbox’s reflexes, and cures the chassis of any high-speed float.
Nor does it induce a punishing ride, and if you ask me Sports mode is sorted enough to be used as a default. But if you really want wafty progress over bad roads, the Maserati will do it, too.
Alright, the Merc S 500L and BMW 750Li both offer more room and refinement, but it’s the Quattroporte S that will provide the biggest grins every time. You can’t have it in bed, of course, but you really should bring one home to the garage if you can.
Need To Know
Maserati Quattroporte S
Engine tyre: 4.7-litre 32-valve V8
Max Power: 430bhp at 7,000rpm
Max Torque: 490Nm at 4,750rpm
Gearbox: 6-speed automatic
Top Speed: 280km/h
0 to 100km/h: 5.4 seconds
Price: $485,000 with COE
Warranty: 3 years / unlimited mileage
Contact: Hong Seh Motors
Telephone:6266-1555
