Maserati Quattroporte Wins 'Best Car' Readers' Poll

• German motoring magazine Auto Motor und Sport votes Maserati Quattroporte ‘best imported luxury saloon’
• UK orders for right-hand drive, 170 mph saloon pass the 110 mark

Maserati has scooped a ‘Best Car’ accolade in the annual readers’ poll held by the renowned German automotive journal Auto Motor und Sport. Readers voted the new Maserati Quattroporte ‘best car’ in the category for imported luxury saloons on the first occasion that the all-new V8-powered four-door saloon appeared in the candidate list. In its category the Quattroporte claimed more than 28% of votes to take the ‘best car’ crown. The Maserati clearly out-performed all its rivals, comfortably 10% clear of the runner-up Jaguar model.

First European customer deliveries of what is now the fifth generation of the Maserati Quattroporte will take place in March 2004. The original concept of the Maserati Quattroporte was introduced for the first time at the Turin Auto Salon of 1963. Even today, 40 years later, the Quattroporte uniquely combines the classical values of the Maserati label – innovative technical solutions and ultra-competitive performance combined with elegant design and a first-rate interior of outstanding comfort. The new Maserati Quattroporte is a vehicle with the soul of a luxury saloon and the dynamic heart of a Gran Turismo sportscar.

Stunning styling, both the glorious bodyshell and the luxuriously appointed interior, was cited by the magazine’s readers as fundamental to the ‘best car’ victory. It is more than 50 years since Pininfarina designed a Maserati. Now a car styled by the Italian design house he founded has blended distinctive visual element from the great history of the Trident marque to create a modern Maserati masterpiece.

The Auto Motor und Sport award represents a further confirmation of the Quattroporte’s superb qualities. British lifestyle magazine GQ has already selected the Italian luxury saloon as among the ‘100 best things in the world’, and the latest Maserati also won the international ‘World’s Most Beautiful Car’ award presented by Italian publishing house Automobilia.

In the UK, more than 115 orders for the Quattroporte have been placed, so the first nine months of right-hand-drive production are now allocated. Maserati’s new Quattroporte costs £69,995 on-the-road, including a comprehensive standard specification, a unique three-year ‘peace of mind’ service package, and Navtrak vehicle tracking system.