・Singing V8 engine

・Only 2 previous owners

・Original throughout

The Quattroporte has been a continuous contender in the Maserati line up since 1963 and is still on sale to this day. The fifth generation was a step forward for the brand with a completely new chassis design, coded M139, that was agile for its size and had a body styled by Pininfarina.

Inside there is no doubt you have stepped into a Maserati with every detail painstakingly designed and special attention given to the leather seats to not just make them look good, but hold their occupants with a sporty yet comfortable feel, a tough balance, but one that Maserati wasn’t shy of targeting. Add to this the interior space and here is a car that four adults can travel in with ease, whether they are going to a fashion show on the continent, or the local supermarket.

After being driven daily for the first three years this Maserati has slowed down its day to day duties over the last decade, with only 7,000 miles being covered in the previous six years. This hasn’t stopped owners lavishing the car with attention though, evidenced by several invoices from 2017. In the time since then the car has only done a few thousand miles and in the last year has turned its matching set of Pirelli P-Zero Tyres less than a thousand miles.

There is a stack of invoices and receipts from Dick Lovett, Swindon for the most recent work carried out on the vehicle which came to over £4,000 and was carried out in 2017. Aside from this, the vehicle has a current MOT until December, having only covered 50 miles since its last test, receiving a clean pass. The logbook is also present and waiting for a new owner to put their name to it.

Both original keys come with the car, and reassuringly, there are no warning lights or faults showing on the dashboard.

All seats are trimmed in Maserati’s Cuoio leather; this lighter hue complements the darker exterior as you step in, and is unspoiled throughout. We did witness a small dent in the rear seat, likely the result of a child seat and fortunately has not damaged the leather in any way.

The blue dials all worked along with the small screen behind the steering wheel that showed no warnings, and all the dash lights were working as witnessed by cycling through the key positions.

Minimal wear could be seen throughout the interior and it appears to have escaped the usual scuffs and stains that lighter interiors can be plagued with if previous owners haven’t taken care of them.

The original owner specified Neptune Blue exterior paintwork that becomes an almost black colour in low light but is reminiscent of the open ocean on a sunny day. The nineteen-inch wheels were wrapped in good matching tyres with both offside rims appearing completely unblemished and the two nearside showing only very minor kerb wear.

The bodywork is commensurate with age and mileage and would benefit from a polish to bring out the best, although several passers-by commented on how nice the car was as it stood in the sun during photography. All panels and door shuts were straight and true on our look over the vehicle and no dents were immediately obvious.

The V8 sang a gentle hymn at idle and opened its lunges a little more once showing a gap in traffic, unlike many fast saloons that thunder or bellow, the Maserati appears to offer an endless orchestral symphony to a petrolhead's ear.

The engine and gearbox showed no problems whilst we were with the car and although the automatic isn’t the instant shift of a modern twin clutch unit it has a charm that few can emulate. The one fitted to KL08 OWH didn’t judder whilst crawling in traffic, instead, it shifted smoothly and even as the engine stretched its legs it wasn’t left waiting for another ratio.

The time of naturally aspirated spritely engines that will keep you smiling has ended. Few typify the era of powerful, but playful V8 engines like the Maserati Quattroporte and opportunities to find good ones are thinning. Those that haven’t got warning lights peppered across the dashboard and bodywork that has spent too many years in the city to merely be polished back to life are being locked away by collectors and enthusiasts as prices remain competitive. Neptune Blue with Cuoio leather, say it, because every time you arrive in this example, you will be repeating it an awful lot to envious eyes.

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