1967 Maserati Quattroporte I

These cars are so cool. They were mechanically sophisticated, elegant, exclusive, and best of all, genuinely high performance cars. They were the fastest sedans around in their time (challenged perhaps only by the 300SEL 6.3 when that came out in 1968). The quad cam V8 is derived from Maserati's racing engines (in fact, there's a blanked off hole in the cylinder heads where the second spark plug would go for twin plug ignition), while the 5-speed transmission, disc brakes and deDion rear axle (on early models) ensured that the cars were more than just fast. Certainly a TME all time favorite, these cars are very rare, particularly in the United States, and a pleasure to use.

This 1967 Quattroporte was unearthed in a junkyard in Northern California after having sat for many years. The registration had lapsed, and it did not run. It was purchased extremely cheaply, and then sympathetically recommissioned. Aside from a tune up, new battery, and rebuilding the hydraulic components of the braking system, the car required little other work and was soon back on the road. The car performed beautifully and following the completion of the work, the car was driven several hundred miles around the San Francisco Bay Area. Performance and handling were found to be superb, even at high speed. It has a number of interesting features, including the rear curtains (diplomatic use originally?) and cloth upholstery (most cars had leather).

Vehicle Photos