MASERATI Quattroporte GTS Review

With a bore of 86.5 mm and a stroke of 80.8mm, the 3,799 cc unit is quite happy to be revved. Gone is the natural aspiration of the old V8, replaced by a pair of twin-scroll parallel turbos. You'll start by feeling the 524 lb-ft (710 Nm), which arrive between 2,250 and 3,500 rpm. From then on, it's a sprint to the 6,800 rpm finish where the 530 HP peak power arrives.

Official numbers talk of a 191 mph (307 km/h) top speed and a 4.6s 0-60 mph time (4.7s 0-100 km/h). What’s even better is that you’ll get to feel every bit of that performance even when driving slower.

There's still some unexploited potential in here - after all, McLaren's 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 delivers 625 HP. This all means that the Maserati unit is a box full of torque - you'll feel it from under 2,000 rpm. The full boost is quickly reached and, from this point on, the Quattroporte is a blast.

The eight-speed auto is extremely good at comfy shifts, while doing a decent job at sporty ones. Without getting into discussions about choosing the paddles or not, you should know that they work pretty nice. For example, you'll find the sharpest shifts in the Sport Manual mode. Here, the system won't shift up even if you hit the limiter.

Speaking of Sport, the Maserati Quattroporte GTS, the V8, always feels ready to attack even if you don't use this, leaving things in Normal. However, once you do push Sport, you'll feel a serious boost, while the throttle becomes super sensitive.

At the same time, the exhaust valves are always open, they no longer wait until 4,200 rpm like they do on Normal. Well, this feels a bit like having a few baby dragons in your trunk. This is an area where the Quattroporte managed to produce a more organic setup than the McLaren MP4-12C. It's all a delight, sprinkled with the occasional misfire sound.

The conclusion remains the same for the suspension's own Sport mode. The Skyhook adaptive dampers do a very, very good job at filtering out road imperfections. In Normal, they cope well with bends, so you'll only need Sport if you're really in a hurry.