Maserati Quattroporte II

Production period:	1974 to 1975
Class:	Luxury car
Body versions:	Saloon
Engines:	Gasoline Six-cylinder 3.0 litres
Length:	201.97 in, 513 cm
Width:	73.62 In, 187 cm
Height:	53.94 in, 137 cm
Wheelbase:	120.87 In, 307 cm
Curb weight:	3,528 1b, 1600 kg

The Maserati Quattroporte II (Tipo AM 123) was a four-door sports car of the Italian car manufacturer Maserati, which was presented in 1974.

History

The Maserati Quattroporte II was publicly presented on 3 October 1974 at the Paris Motor Show; This was also presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1975. At this exhibition, an enlarged 3.2 litre engine was announced, but not shown. In the following months, Maserati became insolvent; In August 1975, Alejandro de Tomaso finally took over the traditional sports car manufacturer. Since March 1975, no development work on Quattroporte II had been made more. Immediately after the acquisition Maserati’s de Tomaso gave up the Quattroporte II project.

The Quattroporte II was developed under the direction of Citroën and was technically more closely related than any other Maserati with Citroën models. This was the only front-wheel drive passenger car in the history of the Italian brand.The project did not go beyond the prototype stage. It ended when Alejandro de Tomaso took over Maserati from Citroën in 1975. The Quattroporte II was replaced by the Quattroporte III, based on De Tomaso technology.Maserati offered with the 1963 Quattroporte I successfully a sporty luxury car. 1970 finished the production of the Quattroporte I. The car designed by Pietro Frua was outwardly and technically outdated.

Pietro Frua designed in 1971 on his own initiative a potential successor (Tipo AM 121), which was technically based on the Maserati Indy. Frua presented the AM 121 with some success in public. Maserati's owner, the French car manufacturer Citroën, however, decided against mass production of the Frua model. Frua sold the exhibit in 1972 to Spain, possibly to the later Spanish King Juan Carlos I. A second copy was made in 1974 for Karim Aga Khan IV. Both vehicles still exist. There are rumours of a third Frua-Quattroporte, which is said to have also been in Spain in the 1980s. Instead of the Frua design, Citroën decided to develop its own Quattroporte, which was to rely on much larger scale than the previous Maserati models on series technology of the French manufacturer. The Quattroporte II was thus basically a prolonged notchback version of the Citroën SM, with whom he shared the essential technical components.

The body of the Quattroporte II was designed by Bertone with 4 doors and 5 seats, executive designer was Marcello Gandini. The car with notchback body had no similarities with earlier Maserati models. family resemblance consisted Citroen SM to the extent that even the Quattroporte II had six headlights behind a glass cover, of which the inner movable was followed and the steering angle. At the rear, the tail lights of the Lancia 2000 were installed, which were edged by a plastic panel and slightly alienated. Front and rear, the Quattroporte II wore bulky, black-painted plastic bumpers.

The unique design feature of the Quattroporte II was the engine hood and boot cover, which extended far into the sides of the car and projected down to the lateral edge of the light. Seats, dashboard, doors and headliner were covered with leather. The dashboard was decorated with inserts of wood. BODY saloon/sedan; 4 doors; 5 seats, separate front seats,reclining backrests, built-in headrests; tinted glass; electrically-controlled windows; electrically-heated rear window. Options Leather upholstery, with electric control. sliding roof 

For the Quattroporte II Maserati took the Citroen SM the entire drive technology, the chassis with equally long double wishbone front and parallel wings rear hydropneumatics suspension, the power-assisted steering and brakes. The Quattroporte II was also a relatively heavy vehicle, because with the 3.0-liter engine.  The Quattroporte II was thus designed as the SM front-wheel drive car. The drive was the six-cylinder engine Maserati had developed for the SM. This appeared in the enlarged, in SM from 1973 available 3.0-liter version, which delivered 140 kW (190 hp). At least one copy of the Quattroporte II received a further enlarged version of the engine with a displacement of 3.2 litres and a power of 147 kW (200 hp), As a power transmission used manually to be switched five-speed transmission of Citroen; an automatic transmission was provided as an alternative.

PERFORMANCE: 3.0L

• Max speeds (V) over 124 mph, 200 km/h
• Max power (DIN): 190 hp at 6,000 rpm
• Max torque (DIN): 188 1b ft, 26 kg m at 4,000 rpm
• Max engine rpm: 6,500; 64 hp/l
• Power-weight ratio: 18.6 lb/hp, 8.4 kg/hp
• Acceleration: standing 1/4 mile 16 sec
• Fuel consumption: 23.5 m/imp gal, 19.6 m/US gal

The Quattroporte II was unlike its direct predecessor not an outstanding sports car. This was as heavy as the Quattroporte I, but had significantly less power. The top speed of the 3.0-liter version was 190 km / h; the acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h was given as 10 seconds.The driving behaviour is described as "soft" and "unsportsmanlike". The hydraulically assisted steering was very direct and left little resistance. The total, there were complaints that the car does not feel like it to be driven fast. The Quattroporte II did not reach the production phase, both due to development problems with the body and because it was deemed unprofitable by Peugeot which, in 1974, had taken control of Citroën, in serious financial difficulties.

The Quattroporte II saw a dark fate even before being born: officially the production entrusted to Citroën ended in the first months of 1975 after only thirteen specimens having left the assembly lines. Of these, 6 were built according to the standards set by the French company, while the remaining 7 were subsequently completed and tested between 1975 and 1978 by De Tomaso. To date it is estimated that only 5 of the 13 Quattroporte II examples are in existence

With only total production of around 13 vehicles. Around six pre-production copies of the Quattroporte II were made by 1975, some of which were destroyed in the pre-production crash tests. In addition, body shells and spare parts for other vehicles. Some of the body shells were on the Maserati factory premises for several years. Until 1978 were from the existing parts crafted gradually building up a total of seven vehicles. Most vehicles were exported to Spain. From there they were sold to South America and the Middle East. The development of the Quattroporte II ended when Alejandro de Tomaso took over in the summer of 1975 Maserati. The decision to dispense with a series production of the Quattroporte II is initially to be understood as a break with the previous Citroën era. After the takeover by De Tomaso Maserati was again a purely Italian brand.