1983 Maserati Quattroporte

The Quattroporte III was first presented at the Salone di Torino in 1979 by the new owner of Maserati, Alejandro De Tomaso. It represented Italy's only competitor in the field of high-class luxury saloons. Launched as an alternative to the Mercedes S Class, the new Quattroporte was styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign and was equipped with a 4.9 litre V8 engine producing 290bhp mated to a 3 speed automatic transmission. This new lavishly equipped Quattroporte started a fascinating new chapter in the history of Maserati.

In spite of it's large size, Giugiaro's classic styling gave the visual impression of strength and speed; a long imposing bonnet sloped down to a large trapezoidal chrome radiator grill adorned with the traditional trident and flanked by a pair of rectangular headlamps. The four-cam V8 can trace its lineage back to the 450S racer of the late Fifties and road going versions of it were used in every V8 Maserati until the Nineties. Engines don't get much more thoroughbred than that.

Exclusivity is a given with a Maserati. Only about 2100 of this particular generation of Quattroporte were built, and production ceased in 1990. Even by modern standards this sizeable car can intimidate on a motorway. This is undoubtedly a car for those who enjoy great machines from a time when oil was cheap and the wealthy few. Picture a smartly turned out Milanese captain of industry thundering down the autostrada from his villa on Lake Como to intimidate the workforce in Naples and you're almost there.

Manufactured in January 1983, we are informed by the vendor that this particular car was sold to a wealthy customer in the Middle East region until it was imported to the UK in 1990 by its English owner. We are informed he kept the car in dehumidified storage for the next ten years with plans to re-commission and register the car in the UK. Those plans changed and the vendor acquired the car in late 1999, re-commissioned it at the marquee specialist 'Bill McGrath Maserati', registered it and has maintained it since. We are informed that the vendor has documents relating to this moment.

We are informed that the car is well known to Bill McGrath Maserati with paperwork and MOTs going back over the last 14 years that clearly show a careful maintenance schedule to this very rare car, including upgrading the air conditioning system to accommodate the modern R134A gas system in recent years. This car will come with a new MOT, again carried out by Bill McGrath Maserati.

Thirty years since its construction, this car has to be admired for both its mechanical form and palpable charisma, not to mention its engineering heritage and presence on the road.