Before continuing with the evolution of the Quattroporte, we must record an idea proposed by the Casa to produce, in limited numbers, a car with coachwork by Pietro Frua made especially for a very important client, Karim Aga Khan, already the owner of other Maseratis.
This car, designated AM 121 by the factory, was built on the chassis of the Indy and powered by a 4.9-litre V8 engine, thereby giving the car an extremely reliable mechanical profile. The styling, although traditional, was for that period elegant without being too spectacular. Exceptionally refined, it represented the logical successor to the Quattroporte I.
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# AM 121.004 - the prototype with coachwork by Pietro Frua
However this 'Quattroporte' never reached the production stage and remained a prototype, due largely to the political situation at Citroën, the then owners of Maserati, who encouraged a policy of producing cars utilising as many French components as possible.
As the years passed by, production of the Quattroporte I ended and the need for a new four-door saloon became apparent.
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The Quattroporte II with bodywork designed by Bertone
And so was born the Quattroporte II, built with many sophisticated components already in use at Citroën for their own production cars: hydropneumatic suspension, the 'fullpower' braking system and self-centring power steering, even when the car was stationary. The fuel crisis of the early Seventies and the opportunity of making use of the 3-litre V6 engine that had been in production for some time, made this power unit the obvious choice for the new saloon, even though its weight demanded a more powerful larger capacity engine.
The prototype of this model, designated AM 123 by the factory, was first displayed at the Paris Motor Show on the 3rd October 1974.
With coachwork designed by Bertone, who had utilised all his skills to achieve a design that was 'clean' with proportionate dimensions, the Quattroporte II gave one the impression of being elegant and "leggera". Particular attention was paid to sound insulation of the engine bay and wind noise was kept to a minimum by its aerodynamic exterior profile. The well finished interior oozed luxury (all four door widows had individual retractable sun blinds), the digital instrument panel, á la Citroën, being particularly sophisticated.
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The clean lines of the Bertone Quattroporte
Thanks to the use of the front-wheel drive, the Quattroporte II had a spacious interior, with a clear floor-pan free from the traditional transmission tunnel, and an extremely spacious boot compartment (25 cu ft).
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The Quattroporte II
The drive was effortless in spite of it's size: steering was particularly light with a total lack of adverse reactions. The level of ride comfort was extremely good thanks to the use of Citroën's hydropneumatic suspension, power steering and the servo-assisted brakes. However the car lacked something in the power and torque department, enough to make one weep for the power of that V8 engine. Performance figures from the official factory brochure claimed a top speed in excess of 200 kph (125 mph) and acceleration from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in nine seconds.
Standard equipment included air conditioning, tinted windows, sun blinds on all windows, radio cassette, electric windows, power steering and a heated rear window. Optional extras included leather interior and an electric sliding roof.
Early in 1968 Citroën gave Giulio Alfieri, Maserati's chief engineer, six months to design a new lightweight compact engine for their future SM model: the 'genius' took only three! Alfieri based his new V6 design by removing two cylinders from an earlier V8 design. The result was the 2.7-litre C114 engine with four overhead camshafts and two valves per cylinder. This all-alloy engine was used successfully in the Citroen SM and later, bored out to 3 litres (by increasing the bore size from 87 mm to 91.6 mm) in the Merak. The 3-litre engine, with its 210 bhp, performed well in the Merak, but in the Quattroporte II, was seriously handicapped by the car's weight of 1600 kg (around 3500 lbs).
The refusal on the part of Citroën to make any further investment into the company made the financial situation at Maserati so serious that on the 23rd of May 1974, Citroën placed the company into liquidation. These events meant that the Quattroporte II was unable to complete its full homologation process and only the 13 examples on the production line were completed when production ended.
Interior photos provided by Edwin in the UK
