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The best driving impressions of the Quattroporte come at 90 miles per hour. It lives to zoom up there. Does that make it a better European car than American? Well, yes. Aren't all European high-speed sedans better to drive in Europe? But not necessarily. Go find some curves, and you'll come home very happy. The 4.2-liter, 90-degree V8 engine is new, with double overhead cams and aluminum block and heads. It makes 400 horsepower at 7000 rpm, and 339 pound-feet of torque at 4250 rpm. Those are strong numbers, although the QP isn't trying to be a BMW M5 or Mercedes C43 AMG, which have more power. However, the Quattroporte beats the horsepower of the BMW 750i (367 hp), Mercedes S550 (388 hp), and Audi A8 (335 hp). In torque, it's Mercedes, BMW, Maserati and Audi, in that order. The Maserati engine loves to rev, and it sings at higher rpm. It doesn't rev particularly quickly, but it's so incredibly sweet up around 6000 rpm. And unlike some V8s (the AMG Mercedes for example), it doesn't sound under-stressed, as if the redline is set too low; no, the Maserati screams like 7500 rpm is indeed the limit. This is a good thing. It makes you feel like you're using all your car, and leaves you fulfilled. The V8's 339 pound-feet of torque is certainly healthy, but because it comes at 4250 rpm, you need to use the transmission more. Maserati says that 75 percent of that torque is available at 2500 rpm, but we found ourselves climbing a hill at 70 mph and 2100 rpm in sixth gear, and when we put our foot down without downshifting, it didn't exactly zoom. The QP can manage such lazy acceleration, it's just that the sweet engine deserves a downshift. At 90 miles per hour, the Quattroporte rises to a new level of performance, and inspires a new level of confidence. When you get there, you go: Wow, this is where this car belongs. The feel of the engine at those speeds is sensational. Sweet is the word that keeps coming back. More S words: silky, smooth, sensual. While still being visceral. Silky and visceral is a combination that's so very rare. Italian passion pulls it off. The electronically controlled twin wishbone suspension, which Maserati calls Skyhook, is excellent. Sensors monitor wheel and chassis movement and make shock absorber adjustments, 10 times faster than some other systems, claims Maserati. It uses anti-dive and anti-squat geometry, to keep the nose and tail level under braking and acceleration. There's a Normal and Sport mode, and they responded appropriately, during casual driving and when we did a 100-mile run over some of our favorite curves through a remote forest in the Pacific Northwest. We drove the QP over a lot of different surfaces, and found no harsh spots nor soft spots, and that's saying a lot. We drove it hard over twisty bumpy roads, and on the freeway over familiar bumps that jar other cars, for example the Mercedes C43 AMG. The precision of the chassis in those corners gives you the same kind of satisfaction that the engine gives you at 6000 rpm. The QP is a mostly a driver's car, but, unlike some other good driver's cars, it won't get you in trouble unless you mess up, not merely when you make a small error, like some good driver's cars. The steering is quick and precise, although with a car this size, it's never going to feel like a go-kart. Still, you have to pay attention, or else you might find the car wandering. The balance is exceptional, with a weight distribution of 49/51, mostly because the engine is located behind the front axle, a touch farther back than the BMW 7 Series, a few inches farther back than the Mercedes S-Class, and way farther back than the Audi A8. That said, the turning circle of 40.4 feet isn't exactly sharp. But around town, it's as easy to drive as a Celica. Except, sometimes when you pull out from a standstill, when the wheels are turned, the rear tires snatch. It feels lik
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