1966 Maserati Quattroporte

The Maserati Quattroporte was unveiled at the Torino Motor Show in 1963 and entered production a short time later. It wore styling by the Turinese coachbuilder Pietro Frua who used design inspiration from a Maserati 5000 GT (chassis number 103.060) which had been created for Prince Karim Aga Khan in the early 1960s. The construction of the Quattroporte was handled by Carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale Vignale.

The Quattroporte used a steel unibody structure with a front subframe. In the front was an independent suspension system comprised of coil springs and hydraulic dampers. The back used a coil-sprung De Dion tube with inboard brakes on the first series. Anti-roll bars were used in the front and back. Braking power was supplied by solid Girling discs at all four corners.

The Quattroporte was powered by a new, all-aluminum V8 engine that used two chain-driven overhead camshafts per bank, hemispherical combustion chambers, inserted cast iron wet cylinder liners, and four downdraft twin-choke Weber carburetors. It had 32 angled valves and a water-cooled inlet manifold.

Production of the first Series Maserati Quattroporte (Tipo AM107) lasted until 1966 with 230 examples produced. The name 'Quattroporte' translated from Italian to 'four doors.' These full-size luxury sports saloons were equipped with a 4.1-liter V8 engine delivering 260 horsepower at 5,000 RPM and backed by either a five-speed ZF manual transmission or three-speed Borg-Warner automatic. The potent powerplant gave these Grand Touring automobiles a top speed of approximately 143 mph.

The Quattroporte models exported to the United States were modified to comply with federal regulations resulting in twin round headlamps in place of the single rectangular ones found on European models. In 1966, the round headlamp styling became standard on all Quattroportes, and a leaf-sprung solid axle replaced the previous De Dion tube. Inside, the interior was completely new with a new dashboard that housed a full-width wood-trimmed fascia.

For 1968, a 4.7-liter engine option became available (AM107/4700), developing nearly 290 horsepower. This engine gave the Quattroporte a top speed of nearly 160 mph making them the fastest four-door sedan in the world at the time.

Production of the Series II Quattroporte lasted from 1966 through 1969.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2020